Hi Corb,

Thanks for your service and have a great trip in May!

Ride Safe,
Steve R.

 

thanks man! i been doing this trip from NC to OR every year since 2005. love seeing the country side. last trip was painful. both of those belts were on that trip. new built bike, etc, etc.... got all the bugs worked out, and should be 100% for may. i m gonna buy that thing in the next few days.

thanks again,
corb

 

At 25 years old and only 41K I wonder if age is a big factor or not?

Everything looks in good shape.

Unless it gives me a concern, like actually breaking, I really don't want to replace it before it's time. It's quite a bit more than a $35 part and 10 minutes to change.

 

i was fortunate enough to have AAA (w/MC coverage! make sure you have MC coverage on your AAA, reg AAA does not do bikes!) so, extra cost wasnt too much of a factor. still gotta either pay the labor for doing it, plus parts, or do it yourself if you have the tools. but, the inconvenience of being stuck on the side of the highway, in the middle of no where, for hours sometimes, until a truck can get to you, well, that sucks.

plus consider the safety factors. my last one was in the southern part of idaho, just north of utah, on 80/84. sat there in 95 degrees, with two bottles of water for almost 2 hours. saw a few snakes, my chick got attacked by birds while she was trying to pee in a bush. funny, but a pain in the ***. if that was at night.... who knows how long i would have been there. and, fortunately i did not have to walk several miles so i could get cell reception.....

i hate to "what if" it, but, it could have been much worse. or, just change the belt if you feel leery about the way it looks. or, if you cant remember when or if it has ever been changed. lol! i say, if you have gotten 25 years out of it, spend the couple hundred bucks, and enjoy the next 25, worry free. kind of like the whole "one ounce of prevention, beats a ****-ton of the cure".....

thoughts from the peanut gallery,
corb

 

Biggest belt killer, small rocks, puncture cut the belt and allow wounding to progress to failure without warning. I lost mine at 6 years with only 12000 miles to a rock cut, I look at the belt during washings to make sure the next failing isn't quite as a surprise.

 

I believe that alot of the "clean" breaks are the result of a slightly too loose belt. The belt jumps the sprocket teeth. Back in 2001 we ran a '99 Dyna in the ProStar " Hot Rod Cruiser" competition, ( 135 HP, 9.95@ 118 mph,) and broke just one belt early on. The second was set banjo string tight and was still on the bike as of a couple of years ago.

Of course we weren't concerned about stressing bearings on that bike, but the point is a little too tight is probably better than a little too loose.

As I said before, my belt looks good, so I'll get the Emergency Belt and carry it, and run the old one untill it starts to look bad or breaks, whichever comes first...Thanks All!

 

The Harley website doesn't list emergency belt repair kits for bikes newer than '06. I know the belt design was changed in '06. Does anyone know if there is a kit for '07 FLHs and newer?

 

Dealer indicated there isn't an emergency belt kit for the narrower '07 and newer belts. And as far as anyone knows there are no plans for one in the future.

That would suggest Harley doesn't perceive a need for a replacement kit for the newer carbon fiber reinforced belts or it's just not physically possible to repair one of the newer belts.

Anybody else hear anything different?

 

Got a stone puncture from a chip and seal road job in Colorado a few years back. The stone was the size of a chili bean and cut right thru the middle of the belt. The hole was half the width of the belt and it still held up. I didn't discover it for almost 4,000 miles after it happened. It wasn't easy to see. Even went to Sturgis with it in there. So I put a lot of faith in the strength of those belts. Fortunately, the bike needed some warranty work that included removing the primary and wheel. But, I still had to pay for the new belt. So check your belt often, especially after riding on those stoney roads.

 

When I sold my 98 FXD it had 90,000 on the orig. belt. I have 70,000 on my 08 FLHT.