This look correct for belt replacement

[Genradman]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

[Sarge707]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

All depends where it is on the front Sprocket? Mine is very close to the rear sprocket but right in the middle of the front sprocket which is good.

[canamjhb]

No. It should be 2-5mm from the inner flange. It does move around, especially going from forward to reverse. A good way to measure is that the belt should normally ride about the thickness of a credit card from the inner flange. My (former) dealer adjusted mine way too tight and had it rubbing against the inner flange. When I brought it back to have them correct their work, they said it was done correctly and wanted to get into a big P...... contest. So, with the help and advice of others on this forum, I learned to fix it myself.

[oldgoat]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

Mine is like yours. I'm happy with it. I feel it is not worth the effort to move it more toward the flange. It is still fully on the pulley & you can see some of the exposed pulley to the left of it.

[Warlock]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

Most of them usually has a space about the thickness of a hacksaw blade. Now that is while moving forward. Whenever you back up it will change.
David

[BajaRon]

As others have mentioned. Always check belt alignment and tension after having gone forward at least several feet. Never after having backed up.

[UtahPete]

Just had a rear tire replaced. Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

2017 rear belt.jpg

It is typically closer to the right flange after removal and replacement. Keep an eye on it for the first few hundred miles to see if it wanders any more to the left, which indicates a misalignment. If it stays where it is then it should be okay.

[oldguyinTX]

It is typically closer to the right flange after removal and replacement. Keep an eye on it for the first few hundred miles to see if it wanders any more to the left, which indicates a misalignment. If it stays where it is then it should be okay.

about the misalignment. If the belt is not that "credit card width" off of the inner flange of the sprocket, it will wear your rear tire abnormally. I found that out the hard way. My bad for not checking it frequently, but my belt was running where yours is. That caused the right side of my tire to wear very quickly, while the left side hardly wore at all. Had to replace the tire.

[ARNIE R]

A related question to belt alignment in regards to straight line tracking.

Is there much of a significant degree change in the rear wheel in relation the front wheels if one adjusted the belt tracking from running against the flange to running it about 3-4 mm away from the flange? On cars/trucks/vans, etc., thrust angle was always or usually measured to make sure the vehicle was not crabbing or tracking slightly to the right or left.

[jcthorne]

about the misalignment. If the belt is not that "credit card width" off of the inner flange of the sprocket, it will wear your rear tire abnormally. I found that out the hard way. My bad for not checking it frequently, but my belt was running where yours is. That caused the right side of my tire to wear very quickly, while the left side hardly wore at all. Had to replace the tire.

Ehh, sorry but the very tiny lateral shift of belt alignment will have near zero effect on tire wear. The adjustment is entirely within the plane parallel to the ground, there is no Z or vertical component to the adjustment and therefore no effect on how the tire roles or wears side to side. The VERY small angle difference is not even measurable with the laser alignment tools. Well, less than 1/16 inch in the 150 inch measuring distance of the targets. Minuscule.

Something else wore your tire. If the belt is anywhere within the suggested alignment range, its fine. In general its easy to see if the belt is where its supposed to be. If ANY of the sprocket is visible on the outside of the belt, its within range. If its hard up against the sprocket, the belt will wear and fray long before any tire wear would be noticeable and that tire wear would be even across the tread, not on one side.

[jcthorne]

A related question to belt alignment in regards to straight line tracking.

Is there much of a significant degree change in the rear wheel in relation the front wheels if one adjusted the belt tracking from running against the flange to running it about 3-4 mm away from the flange? On cars/trucks/vans, etc., thrust angle was always or usually measured to make sure the vehicle was not crabbing or tracking slightly to the right or left.

Is there a difference in thrust angle? Yes but its incredibly small within the adjustment range of belt tracking. Hundredths of a deg. Don't worry about it.

The thread pitch on the rear axle adjusters is 1mm. Normally adjustment is 1/4 or 1/2 turn for a pretty significant movement in belt position.

[BajaRon]

Ehh, sorry but the very tiny lateral shift of belt alignment will have near zero effect on tire wear. The adjustment is entirely within the plane parallel to the ground, there is no Z or vertical component to the adjustment and therefore no effect on how the tire roles or wears side to side. The VERY small angle difference is not even measurable with the laser alignment tools. Well, less than 1/16 inch in the 150 inch measuring distance of the targets. Minuscule.

Something else wore your tire. If the belt is anywhere within the suggested alignment range, its fine. In general its easy to see if the belt is where its supposed to be. If ANY of the sprocket is visible on the outside of the belt, its within range. If its hard up against the sprocket, the belt will wear and fray long before any tire wear would be noticeable and that tire wear would be even across the tread, not on one side.

I was going to say something similar to this but decided not to. Someone told this poster that belt alignment caused the problem and I have found it can create issues to try and set the record straight.

Instead I'll just say;

[trikerbiker645]

I agree 100% with what jcthorne said.

[gerald37]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

Mind is just about the same as yours not quite off the inside flange as yours. Less than 1/16 of a inch from the flange. I did check it on the front sprocket and it had clearance on both sides of the flange. It is just about impossible to get it a credit card thickness from the inside flange. It either goes again the flange or goes about where yours is.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Just had a rear tire replaced.

Does this rear belt look correct?

Mine was too close to the right. I thought the tech said it should be 1 to 3 mm away for the right.

Mine is fully on the hub but all the way to the left!

Comments

Thanks!!!!

2017 rear belt.jpg

That's good enough! The belt likes to wander some so don't rely on just one check after a ride. Every few weeks or every few thousand miles check it several times after you stop with forward motion only. If it is repeatedly riding near the outside an adjustment would be warranted. Like all engineers, BRP engineers want to have everything exact. They would be loathe to say, "If it's somewhere near the middle that's good!" My dealer said as long as it's between the flange and outside edge it's good!

What we tend to forget with regard to belt alignment is the pulley is held in place in the wheel by 6 rubber bushings. It is not rigidly fastened to the wheel. There is some inherent flexibility in the pulley mounting so there is no way to have the belt track absolutely dead center of the specified track all the time.

[canamjhb]

Another very informative thread. I spent WAY too much time adjusting my belt getting it to where I THOUGHT it needed to be. Next time things will be different and I will worry less. Thank you, gentlemen.....

[gerald37]

I have my tension set at 160/180 ft. pounds and here is where my belt is running.

IMG_20180706_161549.jpg

[Freddy]

That's good enough! The belt likes to wander some so don't rely on just one check after a ride. Every few weeks or every few thousand miles check it several times after you stop with forward motion only. If it is repeatedly riding near the outside an adjustment would be warranted. Like all engineers, BRP engineers want to have everything exact. They would be loathe to say, "If it's somewhere near the middle that's good!" My dealer said as long as it's between the flange and outside edge it's good!

What we tend to forget with regard to belt alignment is the pulley is held in place in the wheel by 6 rubber bushings. It is not rigidly fastened to the wheel. There is some inherent flexibility in the pulley mounting so there is no way to have the belt track absolutely dead center of the specified track all the time.

Not so. The pulley is clamped rigidly to the hub by the axle bolt and runs on a double row ball bearing and develops lateral movement or twist only when/if the bearing is failing or loose in it's bore (which happens). The rubber bushings (cush-drive) you mention are for shock absorption when torque is applied.

If 'there is some inherent flexibility in the pulley mounting' you have a problem.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Not so. The pulley is clamped rigidly to the hub by the axle bolt and runs on a double row ball bearing and develops lateral movement or twist only when/if the bearing is failing or loose in it's bore (which happens). The rubber bushings (cush-drive) you mention are for shock absorption when torque is applied.

If 'there is some inherent flexibility in the pulley mounting' you have a problem.

I'll have to concede on this one. My memory obviously didn't match reality! I did wonder after I posted the comment if maybe I had blown it, which of course I did. I'll blame my failure to double check on it being late in the evening when I posted and we had only a few hours earlier come home from being away for six days!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I have my tension set at 160/180 ft. pounds and here is where my belt is running.

IMG_20180706_161549.jpg

You know, I don't know that anyone has determined if there is any correlation between belt tension and tracking. I know the angle of the axle with respect to the centerline of the two pulleys is absolutely controlling.

Back in the old farm days of belt driven machinery we had a wood cutting buzz saw we ran from our small Allis Chalmers tractor. We used a short flat belt, about 6" wide. To get it to stay on track we had to have quite a bit of tension on it. And then we had a long, maybe 20', flat belt we occasionally used to run the saw from a different tractor. That belt had to have a fairly low tension, so low we had to depend on belt dressing to keep it from slipping. If we got it too tight it would walk right off the pulleys. Does this experience have any bearing on our Spyder belts, I don't know, but maybe it does.

[gerald37]

You know, I don't know that anyone has determined if there is any correlation between belt tension and tracking. I know the angle of the axle with respect to the centerline of the two pulleys is absolutely controlling.

Back in the old farm days of belt driven machinery we had a wood cutting buzz saw we ran from our small Allis Chalmers tractor. We used a short flat belt, about 6" wide. To get it to stay on track we had to have quite a bit of tension on it. And then we had a long, maybe 20', flat belt we occasionally used to run the saw from a different tractor. That belt had to have a fairly low tension, so low we had to depend on belt dressing to keep it from slipping. If we got it too tight it would walk right off the pulleys. Does this experience have any bearing on our Spyder belts, I don't know, but maybe it does.

I did not say tension had anything to do with the alignment. I was just stating what my tension is. Which is recommended 160/180 ft lbs. My alignment was all done with the two screws on each side. If the belt is tracking to the inside flange I just barely tied the screw on the right side which pulls the wheel back. You need to do just tighten it very little. You don't even think you have moved it and the belt will track to the outside. It takes patients you sometimes have to ride it awhile before it moves. I have mind so the belt is running about center on the front drive sprocket. I feel no vibration other than just a smidgen on acceleration if in sixth gear pulling. Riding at any speed I feel no vibration. I do have car tires, centralmatic balancer's and Doc's belt tension-er. Also I feel my alignment is right on. I have done my own laser alignment.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I did not say tension had anything to do with the alignment. I was just stating what my tension is. Which is recommended 160/180 ft lbs. My alignment was all done with the two screws on each side. If the belt is tracking to the inside flange I just barely tied the screw on the right side which pulls the wheel back. You need to do just tighten it very little. You don't even think you have moved it and the belt will track to the outside. It takes patients you sometimes have to ride it awhile before it moves. I have mind so the belt is running about center on the front drive sprocket. I feel no vibration other than just a smidgen on acceleration if in sixth gear pulling. Riding at any speed I feel no vibration. I do have car tires, centralmatic balancer's and Doc's belt tension-er. Also I feel my alignment is right on. I have done my own laser alignment.

Sorry for the misread. When you mentioned the tension and alignment together in one sentence I read it as though you were implying a connection between the two.