Hi there. So recently i realized I have squeaky sounds coming from the belt and i did search in the forums and found the suggestions saying its either the wheel being out of aliment or the belt being too tight.

Then i realigned the week the belt in now in the center of the sprocket so it doesn't rub against anything and it is true that if i release the tension the sound goes away however after i sort of felt like the bike is not exactly running as supposed to so right now I`m trying to find what is the reason for the squeak. Could it be i need a new belt ?

Problem is the deflection of the belt if i want it not to squeak is something like 1.5-2 cm on 4.5 kilos applied fores and the harley spec says 7mm on 4.5 kilos force. I must say if i do tension it to spec it does feel a bit too much in my opinion

Attached a video of how it sounds like - here as the file is too big apparently.

P.S. The squeak only occurs when engine braking but not when accelerating or just free running

 

Do it to spec with a belt gage. Dust it with a couple sprays of talcum power. Too clean a belt makes squeeks.
Does your driven large pulley still have the hard chrome layer on it? Coggs when scratched with a hard steel scribe should not scratch like the aluminum outer face does.

Be sure to eyeball whole belt both sides for defects. And the whole drive and driven pulley.
Properly maintained, usually, belt last as long as pulleys. Harley recommends replacing as a set. I would not replace for just a squeek. Talcum..nothing else as a dressing.

 

I had a squeak on mine even though i had checked alignment and tension, just could not get rid of it.
Turns out it was a tiny amount of play in the wheel bearings and the same in the swing arm bearings
I found the cause when i was checking belt tension as i could see the wheel moving as i pushed up on the belt.
When i took the wheel out to change the tyre, i re-greased the swing arm bearings and replaced the wheel bearings.
And whilst the wheel was out i cleaned every pulley tooth of tiny bits of road tar.
Sorted now.

 

If you confident the alignment is right try spinning the wheel while holding a bar of soap lightly against the side of the belt on both sides, it will be quiet after that.

 

Thanks all.

So the chrome is still there but it does have some damage - I know that I`ll have to replace it in the next 10k or so as this is 30k belt by now. However checked with the service manual all the damage i can see is the one you would expect nothing out of the ordinary.

Wheel bearings actually sound sort of reasonable because i have noticed when I rotate the wheel backwards and forwards the belt slightly shifts from left to right which does mean there is some play i would imagine.

The soap is a good suggestion i will try that!

 

Inspect wheel bearing unless it is really obvious it is damaged with the wheel off the bike. That slight belt tracking fwd and reverse side to side is normal. Think they all do it when wheel alignment is correct.

 

No need to replace the belt unless it breaks or has damage in it. I had 68,000 miles on my original belt before it broke.

 

Mihail, relax old chap! You've corrected your wheel alignment which is great, many of us have been there. As for belt tension, buy yourself the belt tension gauge, which makes life easy - mines almost 30 years old now! By all means keep an eye on your belt and pulleys, but leave well alone. They are known to do over 100k miles, by which time they will look pretty awful, but check your FSM for details on what to look out for. I've done around 150k miles on various belt-drive Harleys and Buells and the only replacement I've had to make is down to damage from a small stone chip penetrating the belt. That lasted for 4k miles, before the wound started to spread and it was time to replace.

 

When I listened to the video I could hear each individual tooth on the belt making a squeak as if the cogs on the belt were rubbing as they entered the corresponding cogs on the pulley. It's as if the belt did not perfectly match the cogs in the pulley. Also the belt should be super tight when adjusted properly. I only adjust my belt during tire changes and it never comes loose in between. My belt has 55,000 kilometers on it and shows no signs of deterioration.

Do you drive down a lot of dirt roads?