Belt Replacement - Anyone Else?

[DarkSage]

So, a few weeks back, I was having issues on my way to work with my 2009 GS Spyder - It seemed to be bucking on my way down the road.

Couldn't for the life of me figure out why until i got to work, only to see that the teeth on the belt were being RIPPED OFF! As you can see in this picture - it was REALLY serious! Only thing i can think is that it has something to do with the coolant leak I had earlier this year - perhaps the coolant leaked onto the belt and ate away at it?

80179

I took it to the shop ASAP - they had never seen this before - and talking to the surrounding 4 shops, NONE of them had ever had to replace a belt before (note I've only got 25k miles on this bike!) - so $300 for a belt, and $300 for labor got me back to this

80180

So anyone else have this happen before?

[ARtraveler]

I have had the "pleasure" or replacing two different belts. Both were driver caused and not defective parts. Replaced belt on 2009 because rocks got caught in it and caused belt to tear. I try to avoid rock and gravel roads to this day. The other incident happened in my driveway. Tried to back it out in ice/snow. Got the 2010 stuck, gunned it, the wheel buried itself in the gravel, and the rocks split the belt in half.

Your cost seems a bit high--but it is what it is wherever you are. I paid $250 (approx) for the belts and about $150 for the labor to repair. Towing costs extra of course.

[Yazz]

I've had it happen. It's called delamination. Some dealerships have a chart with pictures showing different types of belt failure. It's interesting that my Spyder is an '09 with around 25k when this occurred. It was covered under warranty, but had to pay shop time.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28032&d=1307666285

[tigerdr]

To prevent belt damage from rock or gravel, try the belt guard from Spyderpops. Much less expensive than a new belt. It's very effective...

http://www.spyderpops.com/5.html

[DarkSage]

That's the weird thing - there were no rocks or anything in the sprockets at all - the belt seems to have degraded and the sprockets themselves were ripping the teeth off

[Chupaca]

mostly hear of damage due to rocks and debris..should have the belt checked out see if it is flawed though it lasted a good length of time..:dontknow:

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

So, a few weeks back, I was having issues on my way to work with my 2009 GS Spyder - It seemed to be bucking on my way down the road.

Couldn't for the life of me figure out why until i got to work, only to see that the teeth on the belt were being RIPPED OFF! As you can see in this picture - it was REALLY serious! Only thing i can think is that it has something to do with the coolant leak I had earlier this year - perhaps the coolant leaked onto the belt and ate away at it?

80179

I took it to the shop ASAP - they had never seen this before - and talking to the surrounding 4 shops, NONE of them had ever had to replace a belt before (note I've only got 25k miles on this bike!) - so $300 for a belt, and $300 for labor got me back to this

80180

So anyone else have this happen before? WOW.....$ 300 for re-placing the belt :gaah:....I would find a new dealer A.S.A.P. , if it took them more than 1/2 hour not only are they thieves but they are in-competant ! ! ! to boot. I would hate to think what they charge for an actual PROBLEM .....None of this was said to Offend or Hurt your Feelings but you have been a Spyderlover for a long time .....Do you read any of what is said here.......And I'm truly sorry for your loss .......:pray:.....Mike

[docdoru]

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/docdoru/DSC00947.jpg?t=1385860224

[ChasingWind]

Hopefully they checked your drive / front pulley while the belt was off - this what caused my belt to shred teeth.


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[SpydermanCT]

I picked up a rock at some point and there is signs of minor wear on the center my belt in certain areas. When I discussed this with my servicing dealer he said I would need to replace the front and rear sprockets at the same time. It's difficult to see all of the teeth on both sprockets but I can't see any wear on either. Opinions on replacing just the belt ??

[Spyder4Tess]

Hopefully they checked your drive / front pulley while the belt was off - this what caused my belt to shred teeth.

I was going to ask how did they look.

[DarkSage]

That was why the labor bill was so high, i had them check both front and rear sprockets - they both looked fine, no chips or rocks or anything (guy wanted me to replace them anyways - not gonna happen if there isn't anything wrong with them) - just had never heard of a Spyder with such low miles needing a belt replaced

[ThreeFeet]

Just put the 3rd belt on my :spyder2:. NOW have the belt guard from Spyderpops. BUT not before the 1st 2 had rocks!!! Now have over 38,000 miles. a tad over 400Per. to replace.

[Yazz]

Some things to ponder...

DocDuru shows a picture of a rock damaged belt. It does not look like ours.

I had SpyderPops Missing Belt Guard on because I knew there were going to be gravel roads.

Both our Spyders are '09 Phantoms and both our belts delaminated around the same milage.
Delamination is caused by a manufacturing flaw or improper handling during installation. Bad batch?
Should have been covered under warranty.

More dealers need to get the handy-dandy poster sized chart of all the different belt failures. It could save you $300.

[edmarino]

Harley Davidson has been using HTD (High Torque Drive ) belts for years without the need for guards etc. From the pictures it looks to me like they are using to small of a tooth to handle the load. BRP needs to go back to the drawing boards and re-engineer this design.

[3 Wheel Addict]

I think that the belt is Gates design not BRP's. Never been a fan of belts or chains for that matter, touring bikes need shaft drive and leave chains to motocross, leave belts to holding up your pants!

[edmarino]

Gates manufactures the belt but BRP has to decide what design the belt requires. There are a number of different tooth patterns depending on load and torque . In my opinion the current belt BRP is using is to light for its requirement.

[rogerb]

I lost my belt on my 2010 with 43000 miles. Looked like someone stripped the grooves out of it. New belt and a thousand mles later I total the bike because some guy thought he had the right of way. Two stop signs and the flashing red light didn't mean anything to him.:dontknow:

[NancysToy]

Gates manufactures the belt but BRP has to decide what design the belt requires. There are a number of different tooth patterns depending on load and torque . In my opinion the current belt BRP is using is to light for its requirement.
Your opinion is noted...but there have been extremely few spontaneous failures of the Spyder belts. Probably no more incidence than for the Harleys, overall. It is not practical to design something for a zero failure scenario...and it is not likely the design is flawed if there have been only a handful of failures. There are a number of possible causes for the OP's failure, and they have not been talked about here (except for rock damage) so it is not really possible to evaluate the reason in this case. I'm guessing that there was an external cause, but it is possible that it was a bad belt or abuse, too. JMHO

[3 Wheel Addict]

Your opinion is noted...but there have been extremely few spontaneous failures of the Spyder belts. Probably no more incidence than for the Harleys, overall. It is not practical to design something for a zero failure scenario...and it is not likely the design is flawed if there have been only a handful of failures. There are a number of possible causes for the OP's failure, and they have not been talked about here (except for rock damage) so it is not really possible to evaluate the reason in this case. I'm guessing that there was an external cause, but it is possible that it was a bad belt or abuse, too. JMHO

:agree: and I'm not knocking the belt drive because clearly I own a Spyder and a belt drive, just stating my feelings and besides BRP did not ask me for my input on the final drive..... :roflblack::roflblack:

[Spyder4Tess]

Harley Davidson has been using HTD (High Torque Drive ) belts for years without the need for guards etc.
Most of the touring models do have a lower guard.They still pick up rocks on dirt/gravel roads.

[gmctech]

So, a few weeks back, I was having issues on my way to work with my 2009 GS Spyder - It seemed to be bucking on my way down the road.

Couldn't for the life of me figure out why until i got to work, only to see that the teeth on the belt were being RIPPED OFF! As you can see in this picture - it was REALLY serious! Only thing i can think is that it has something to do with the coolant leak I had earlier this year - perhaps the coolant leaked onto the belt and ate away at it?

80179

I took it to the shop ASAP - they had never seen this before - and talking to the surrounding 4 shops, NONE of them had ever had to replace a belt before (note I've only got 25k miles on this bike!) - so $300 for a belt, and $300 for labor got me back to this

80180

So anyone else have this happen before?



$300 LABOUR TO CHANGE A BELT????l holy crap! I just did my friends new belt this morning on his 2015 RT Limited.... start to finish, tools out, adjustment and test ride down the street and back, all fasteners torqued, tools away, 28 minutes.... actual belt replacement to the point of all back together and belt tensioned was 17 minutes... 5 bolts, axle and trailer hitch removal... I don't unbolt the caliper... just undo everything and roll the tire out of the caliper and it will slide right out and hang on the mounting stud.

[wd8ajj]

Just wondering, but looking at most of these posts were pre 2014 Spyders with the 990 engine. I have not heard of problems with the 1330 engine belts. I have 15K on my 2014 RT with a stone guard and the belt look like new. I also pull a camping trailer. Wonder if there is a big difference in composites between the 2 models and are the newer belts holding up better.
Just an insite

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

$300 LABOUR TO CHANGE A BELT????l holy crap! I just did my friends new belt this morning on his 2015 RT Limited.... start to finish, tools out, adjustment and test ride down the street and back, all fasteners torqued, tools away, 28 minutes.... actual belt replacement to the point of all back together and belt tensioned was 17 minutes... 5 bolts, axle and trailer hitch removal... I don't unbolt the caliper... just undo everything and roll the tire out of the caliper and it will slide right out and hang on the mounting stud.
Did you notice you are responding to a post that is nearly 5 years old! DarkSage has posted only twice since the one you're responding to, and those were in 2016. Your post here is probably a fruitless use of bits and bytes!! :gaah:

[PW2013STL]

Just wondering, but looking at most of these posts were pre 2014 Spyders with the 990 engine. I have not heard of problems with the 1330 engine belts. I have 15K on my 2014 RT with a stone guard and the belt look like new. I also pull a camping trailer. Wonder if there is a big difference in composites between the 2 models and are the newer belts holding up better.
Just an insite

Wish this was true! I have not had to replace a belt yet, but two of my friends have, and both of their bikes are 1330 RT's.

[Road-Kill]

What is BRPs belt life?
My belt is over 27,000 miles and looks new.
I ride over gravel from time to time and nada on any damage.
This is a big nothing burger because its failure is both visible for inspection and when it fails it will not leave you stranded.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

What is BRPs belt life?
My belt is over 27,000 miles and looks new.
I ride over gravel from time to time and nada on any damage.
This is a big nothing burger because its failure is both visible for inspection and when it fails it will not leave you stranded.
IIRC, the only failures reported here due to life have been well over 100k miles.

[gmctech]

Did you notice you are responding to a post that is nearly 5 years old! DarkSage has posted only twice since the one you're responding to, and those were in 2016. Your post here is probably a fruitless use of bits and bytes!! :gaah:


Thanks captain obvious.... :shocked: did notice and why do people have this insatiable need to state the obvious. ....geesh......