Yet another belt tension question!

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08-29-2012, 12:40 AM
SequiMike

Yet another belt tension question!

I hate to bring up belt tension, as I know it has been discussed in numerous threads. :bdh: I've read through most, if not all, but still have a question. Is there some seat-of-the-pants method that will at least land me in the ballpark? I live too far from a Dealer, have no Spyders around here to compare with, and certainly don't own a sonic meter. I ordered a Krikit last night, so hopefully that will help. I purchased my bike through ebay and have no idea when the last Dealer check was done on the belt, but it seems awfully tight to me - way beyond what I would expect. I did install an idler, but have the tension on that set low (about 10 lbs), so I know it's not contributing much to the overall tension. I can, with effort, twist the belt 90 degrees as someone mentioned, and when I press hard on the top of the belt in the middle, it will deflect about 3/8 of an inch at the most (with rear wheel on the ground). Can someone with a properly adjusted belt press down in the middle and let me know how far it deflects, or give me a better way to wing it until I can have it checked??
08-29-2012, 05:30 AM
Farmboy

This is the way "I" do it, I checked mine with a standard Harley belt gauge after dealer adjusted it. got 10 lb. at 1" of deflection. At a later date a dealer rechecked it and was still in range, on the lose side but good. I do not have the belt pulley.
08-29-2012, 08:24 AM
NancysToy

The "quarter-twist) method is the standard seat of the pants assessment. Pushing on the belt, withut the aid of a gauge like the Harley unit, tells little.
08-29-2012, 09:58 AM
SequiMike

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farmboy

This is the way "I" do it, I checked mine with a standard Harley belt gauge after dealer adjusted it. got 10 lb. at 1" of deflection. At a later date a dealer rechecked it and was still in range, on the lose side but good. I do not have the belt pulley.

I don't have a Harley gauge, so I'll have to fake it with a 10 lb weight. If I understand this correctly, this means that a 10 lb weight placed on top of the belt in the middle will make the belt sag 1" - is that right? As it stands now, a 20 lb. weight would probably not make it sag 1/4", so my suspicion that the belt is way too tight might be right.

As I see it, once the bike is in motion and pulling down the road, the tension on the TOP half of the belt is pretty much going to be determined by the pull forces from the front sprocket. So, static tension settings are designed primarily to keep the BOTTOM half of the belt from flopping excessively. The idler arm should handle most of this. Of course in a deceleration situation everything is reversed, and there is no idler arm on top to help compensate.

I'll loosen the belt to where it seems more like yours and see what happens. I know the consequences of a too-loose belt can be severe, so I'll do it in small steps and see how it works out. Sure wish CanAm had designed a simple way for Owners to check/adjust the belt tension.
08-29-2012, 06:01 PM
cjackg

Testing Belt tension with a Krikit Gauge

I have used a Krikit (NAPA version) at times to test the belt tension on my RT and find it useful for comparison readings as a baseline, but, I dont think you can depend on it as a precise measure of actual belt tension. The Krikit is very prone to "operator error" that will occur unless you are very careful in taking the readings. There have been several posts with details as to how to use the "Krikit", and even including a video,

see: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...rikit!!!/page2

Maybe someone can give us a demo of using the Krikit on Thurs at Lamonts BBQ !
09-04-2012, 11:07 PM
SequiMike

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjackg

I have used a Krikit (NAPA version) at times to test the belt tension on my RT and find it useful for comparison readings as a baseline, but, I dont think you can depend on it as a precise measure of actual belt tension. The Krikit is very prone to "operator error" that will occur unless you are very careful in taking the readings. There have been several posts with details as to how to use the "Krikit", and even including a video,

see: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...rikit!!!/page2

Maybe someone can give us a demo of using the Krikit on Thurs at Lamonts BBQ !

With your belt set to factory specs, what reading do you get on your Krikit?
09-05-2012, 07:21 AM
NancysToy

Quote:

Originally Posted by SequiMike

With your belt set to factory specs, what reading do you get on your Krikit?

That's a loaded question. It depends on a lot of things. For one thing, the factory spec is +/- 33%! (450 N +/1 150 N). That is a lot of leeway. Second, the factory reading is taken with the Spyder jacked up, which lowers the reading. On the ground, it is different, and any cargo weight changes it further. Your best bet is to have a dealer adjust with the sonic gauge (and ideally tell you the readings) then do a Krikit test of your own for a baseline comparison. I have a number that I use, based on this method, but I won't share it because it applies only to me...and the reading is different for our two different model Spyders, believe it or not.
09-05-2012, 07:23 AM
Bob Denman

Quote:

Originally Posted by SequiMike

I hate to bring up belt tension, as I know it has been discussed in numerous threads. :bdh:

This may be a "Well-Beaten" issue, but it's importance is pretty darn high on the scale. :shocked: It's a good thing to bring it back up so that folks who haven't been paying attention in the past have another crack at the information. :thumbup:
09-05-2012, 10:28 AM
SequiMike

Quote:

Originally Posted by NancysToy

That's a loaded question. It depends on a lot of things. For one thing, the factory spec is +/- 33%! (450 N +/1 150 N). That is a lot of leeway. Second, the factory reading is taken with the Spyder jacked up, which lowers the reading. On the ground, it is different, and any cargo weight changes it further. Your best bet is to have a dealer adjust with the sonic gauge (and ideally tell you the readings) then do a Krikit test of your own for a baseline comparison. I have a number that I use, based on this method, but I won't share it because it applies only to me...and the reading is different for our two different model Spyders, believe it or not.

I agree that having the Dealer do a sonic test on it would be the best way to go. However, they are over an hour away in a direction I rarely travel. I have no trailer to haul the bike, so it must be ridden, and I don't know when I can make an appointment and get down that way. As such, a Krikit reading from another Can-Am owner might at least let me know if I'm in the ballpark (+/- 33%) until such time as I can get to the Dealer's. Going through the forum posts, I see mention of readings around 140, but I'm not sure if they were confirmed by a sonic test. When I got my Krikit, I got consistent readings of 220, so I eased off the tension a bit. If someone with a Krikit, and a Dealer-adjusted belt, would share their reading with me, I'm sure it will be better than the "Press-with-a-thumb" method, and give me a fairly safe adjustment until I can take it in.
09-05-2012, 11:00 AM
NancysToy

Quote:

Originally Posted by SequiMike

I agree that having the Dealer do a sonic test on it would be the best way to go. However, they are over an hour away in a direction I rarely travel. I have no trailer to haul the bike, so it must be ridden, and I don't know when I can make an appointment and get down that way. As such, a Krikit reading from another Can-Am owner might at least let me know if I'm in the ballpark (+/- 33%) until such time as I can get to the Dealer's. Going through the forum posts, I see mention of readings around 140, but I'm not sure if they were confirmed by a sonic test. When I got my Krikit, I got consistent readings of 220, so I eased off the tension a bit. If someone with a Krikit, and a Dealer-adjusted belt, would share their reading with me, I'm sure it will be better than the "Press-with-a-thumb" method, and give me a fairly safe adjustment until I can take it in.

PM me.