Does this look ok on my belt?

[jroberts650]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]148904[/ATTACH

Does this look normal on my belt? I've got 27,000 miles and my belt was aligned and tensioned last year by my dealer. The service manager says it's ok for the belt to run up against one of the flanges.

[Tazzel]

has some ware but without seeing closer I would say it is still good.

[jroberts650]

Yes, it has some wear and you can tell that it's been rubbing on the outer drive pulley. Just didn't want to make sure I'm shortening the life on the belt.

[Chupaca]

picture from this angle does not show much. Belt looks good , solid fit on the teeth and ribbing looks good. This side has no flange so can't tell about the wear on the flange or inner side nor how close it is to the flange. :dontknow:

[youngers]

i am goin too look at my r-t but from the photo , is your belt on backwards ? inside out ...

[jroberts650]

picture from this angle does not show much. Belt looks good , solid fit on the teeth and ribbing looks good. This side has no flange so can't tell about the wear on the flange or inner side nor how close it is to the flange. :dontknow:

On the sprocket it's a credit card thickness away from the flange. On the drive pulley it's up against the outer flange, away from the motor. I saw a few places on the belt where it looks like you can see the cord in the belt. It's just a few small amount a few spots around.

[Bob Denman]

While I'm not happy to hear that it's rubbing against the outer flange: it sure looks good to go! :thumbup:

[jroberts650]

i am goin too look at my r-t but from the photo , is your belt on backwards ? inside out ...

I have no clue. This is the original belt, it had 15,500 miles when I bought it. Didn't know that it could be backwards.

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Unlike the specs for the triple, the V-Twin engine only has a belt clearance spec with respect to the rear sprocket....and that is 1 - 5mm from the rear sprocket's inner flange. When it comes to the front sprocket, and unless you want to try to move the motor over to the left somehow, you got what you got. I've had my belt tight against the rear inner flange and still could not see any air gap at the front sprocket. My belt shows a little scuffing on the outer edge, also. But the belt is so darn long, I doubt that the side loads are that significant. And the way the front sprocket is designed, it can't come off. And no, you can't put the belt on inside out or backwards. Well...I guess you could, but it would be pretty obvious.

Great questioning attitude. Just keep the belt alignment and tension in spec, and check the torque on the front sprocket bolt every oil change and you'll be good to go. Your biggest concern right now, regarding your belt, is fresh tar and chips. Enjoy the ride.

[jroberts650]

Unlike the specs for the triple, the V-Twin engine only has a belt clearance spec with respect to the rear sprocket....and that is 1 - 5mm from the rear sprocket's inner flange. When it comes to the front sprocket, and unless you want to try to move the motor over to the left somehow, you got what you got. I've had my belt tight against the rear inner flange and still could not see any air gap at the front sprocket. My belt shows a little scuffing on the outer edge, also. But the belt is so darn long, I doubt that the side loads are that significant. And the way the front sprocket is designed, it can't come off. And no, you can't put the belt on inside out or backwards.

Great questioning attitude. Just keep the belt alignment and tension in spec, and check the torque on the front sprocket bolt every oil change and you'll be good to go. Your biggest concern right now, regarding your belt, is fresh tar and chips. Enjoy the ride.

Thanks for the info. I check it regularly to make sure the belt is ok in relation to the rear flange. But I was down there painting the sprocket and noticed the side and it had me curious.

[Peter Aawen]

Wot 'e (snowbelt spyder) says!! ^^

As for this:
.... I saw a few places on the belt where it looks like you can see the cord in the belt. It's just a few small amount a few spots around.

The belts are made like that! The outer edges on each side WILL have a few places where you can see what looks like ends or edges of cords in the sides of the belt, but that's no biggie, it's all part of the way they are constructed! ;)

It's really only when the teeth of the belt start pulling off or otherwise being destroyed, or the cords along the length of the belt start showing thru the back or fraying out thru the teeth that you need to consider your belt may be compromised! Even one or two small holes punched thru the belt by rocks etc getting caught in the sprocket teeth shouldn't really compromise the drive capabilities or strength of the belt (just as long as they aren't right alongside each other, anyway!) These belts are pretty strong things & will still safely operate even when/if they look bloody awful, just so long as any 'fraying' isn't happening around/along the length of the belt!! :thumbup:

[bmccaffrey]

Looks good to me.

try holding it within a credit card thickness. It does move quite a bit while moving u just can't c it lol

worry less ride more

[jroberts650]

Wot 'e (snowbelt spyder) says!! ^^

As for this:

The belts are made like that! The outer edges on each side WILL have a few places where you can see what looks like ends or edges of cords in the sides of the belt, but that's no biggie, it's all part of the way they are constructed! ;)

It's really only when the teeth of the belt start pulling off or otherwise being destroyed, or the cords along the length of the belt start showing thru the back or fraying out thru the teeth that you need to consider your belt may be compromised! Even one or two small holes punched thru the belt by rocks etc getting caught in the sprocket teeth shouldn't really compromise the drive capabilities or strength of the belt (just as long as they aren't right alongside each other, anyway!) These belts are pretty strong things & will still safely operate even when/if they look bloody awful, just so long as any 'fraying' isn't happening around/along the length of the belt!! :thumbup:

That makes me feel better then. Thanks

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Some if not most people think that the belt , once aligned and set , does not move across the face of the sprocket ..... well it does , so don't worry about it........ If the belt was very badly aligned it would either come off or you would notice it burning , I gather neither has occurred .................... Mike :thumbup:

[Peter Aawen]

I thought the teeth on the belt should be facing inward. Yours looks like inside out. :dontknow::dontknow::dontknow::dontknow:

That's a side on view of the rear sprocket you're looking at akspyderman!! So the teeth on IT (the rear sprocket - light grey) are facing out & the teeth on the belt (dark grey/black) are facing IN and engaging with them! Very precisely too btw, no readily visible signs of wear or tooth damage anywhere! So if it looks like the belt is on 'inside out' to you, it's gotta be an optical illusion! :thumbup:

The ribbing you can see on the outside of the belt is the ribbing found on the back of some belts, altho I've noticed that some newer belts don't seem to have any at all!! That lack or otherwise of ribbing has been noted elsewhere, particularly in the threads where people are discussing the a/mkt vs BRP belt tensioner pulleys that run on the back of the belts - those with ribbing get a hum or whine from the tension idler pulley, those without don't so much! Go figure! :dontknow:


But I'm pretty sure that belt in the OP's pic is on the right way! ;)

[2Paw]

I have no clue. This is the original belt, it had 15,500 miles when I bought it. Didn't know that it could be backwards.

Your belt is not on backwards. The ribs on the outside are normal and in no way match up with the teeth on the sprocket. The inside teeth are bigger and differently spaced.

[jroberts650]

The mentioning that the rear clearance is a credit card thickness is good, but the belt running tight on the outside flange of the engine pulley is concerning to me.

In the past, others have made mention of odd belt alignments, sometimes followed by engine pulley failure of the drive splines.

If it were me, I would take a proactive step and ensure there is no "wear dust" around the front pulley retention hardware, and while accessed, ensure the pulley hardware is properly tightened.

As the engine pulley splines wear, the pulley does not sit true, and runs somewhat tilted, forcing the drive belt towards the pulley outer flange.

Your call, but with the number of posts regarding failed drive pulleys, I would not rule out the onset of spline wear.

I don't see any dust on the drive pulley and nothing looks loose or wobbly. I turned with tire off the ground. I haven't put a torque wrench on it but I will definently do that.

[ARtraveler]

That's a side on view of the rear sprocket you're looking at akspyderman!! So the teeth on IT (the rear sprocket - light grey) are facing out & the teeth on the belt (dark grey/black) are facing IN and engaging with them! Very precisely too btw, no readily visible signs of wear or tooth damage anywhere! So if it looks like the belt is on 'inside out' to you, it's gotta be an optical illusion! :thumbup:

The ribbing you can see on the outside of the belt is the ribbing found on the back of some belts, altho I've noticed that some newer belts don't seem to have any at all!! That lack or otherwise of ribbing has been noted elsewhere, particularly in the threads where people are discussing the a/mkt vs BRP belt tensioner pulleys that run on the back of the belts - those with ribbing get a hum or whine from the tension idler pulley, those without don't so much! Go figure! :dontknow:


But I'm pretty sure that belt in the OP's pic is on the right way! ;)

Yup! Ya Got Me on that one. :roflblack: As I thought about it, I went down to the garage and looked at both machines. The belt on my 2014 is smooth and the belt on the 2011 is small ribbed like the OP's picture. The important nubs that catch the sprocket are in the right place. I did delete my post, but you were just to quick.
I learned something new about belts yesterday. :bowdown::bowdown:

[Peter Aawen]

....I did delete my post, but you were just to quick.
I learned something new about belts yesterday. :bowdown::bowdown:

:thumbup: Yep, gotta be quick around here! :ohyea:

But I do wonder why the change/removal of the ribbing on the back of the belts?? Innn-teresting?? :dontknow:

[youngers]

yes , mine are like the one in the photo , it does look funny , thanks for the clarifications on this topic