Getting ready to attempt belt alignment

[frj322]

Hi all...
Some of you may remember me posting in the “Kanine beta test” thread a couple of weeks ago... Got my rear installed and so far so good on the tire but noticed my F3s (2018) felt just a bit “off” since. Checked yesterday and, sure enough, the belt has a much larger gap between the inner rear sprocket and the belt than my wife’s identical bike does. Gut feeling is the dealer somehow messed up the belt alignment 😢 Yes, I know the proper thing to do is take it back and make them fix it BUT considering it took a month to put the tire on I’m not willing to wait that long for them to tell me there’s nothing wrong and it’s within spec (it’s obviously not). Seems to me the rear tire is skewed slightly to the right and that’s causing the belt to track more towards the outer edge of the sprocket. Anything I should know before I attempt the fix?
Any outlines on this particular procedure?
As always, thanks in advance for any information.

[RICZ]

If you have a way to measure the tension, such as a Krikit, adjust the belt to #140 with the wheel off the floor. Keep rotating the wheel in the forward direction until the gap is credit card thick.

[K80Shooter]

I would suggest that after you get the belt where you want it to tighten slightly then let the bike down to complete the tightening process. I had lots of problems until I did it this way.

[frj322]

Thanks for the advice so far... What sort of problems K80?

[K80Shooter]

With the torque being so high the rear swing arm will flex a little thus causing the belt alignment to be thrown off. There's another member on here that used a wedge between the wheel and swing arm to keep that from happening.

[safecracker]

I watched a video years ago of a guy in Australia adjusting his belt. He mentioned that use the left adjustment for tension and the right for belt alignment. I do the same thing and it works for me. As mentioned above when tightening the bolt, it can cause the wheel to go out of alignment. I use a wedge between tire and frame on right side to keep alignment as I tighten the bolt up.

[Snoking1127]

I watched a video years ago of a guy in Australia adjusting his belt. He mentioned that use the left adjustment for tension and the right for belt alignment. I do the same thing and it works for me. As mentioned above when tightening the bolt, it can cause the wheel to go out of alignment. I use a wedge between tire and frame on right side to keep alignment as I tighten the bolt up.

Yep, loosen the axle bolt and tap the right side forward with a board and hammer and retighten before adjusting. If belt is still running to the left, repeat while backing off the right side adjuster a bit, actually you turn the hex bolt in to move the right side back, which moves the belt away from the flange. Repeat until right gap on the rear pulley.

[ButterSmooth]

If you've got a dial or digital caliper, I suggest you use that to measure the belt/flange gap. I find it visually misleading. The spec is 2-5mm, so mid spec is 3.5mm. That makes my belt appear to be centered on the pulley. When I reverse, it moves to the flange and goes back to the same place when I drive forward. And you must check the tension after aligning. As far as the correct tension goes, there are differences from machine-to-machine and measurer-to-measurer, so it may take some experimentation to find the vibration-free zone for your machine.

[VitoNam]

What ButterSmooth says is accurate. My 2018 F3 Limited came from the factory with the belt to pulley flange measurement close to a 3mm gap. Last summer, when I reinstalled the rear wheel with new tire (Vredestine Quadrac 5 all around), I spent a LOT of time trying to get that suggested credit card belt to flange gap. I had read everything I could fine here on Spyderlovers about the procedure and how to properly adjust gap and belt tension. I could get the belt tension to 150 to 160 lbs reading on a Kricket, but that flange gap was seemingly impossible to achieve not matter what "trick" I attempted. The belt seemed to be happy to ride close to just shy of 3mm of off the flange closer to the center of the pulley which is within the factory 2 to 5mm specs. I make sure to inspect the belt, belt to flange gap and the driving pulley for red dust several times during the riding season. For me, so far, everything has worked out problem free with the belt riding where it is.

[Navvet]

I watched a video years ago of a guy in Australia adjusting his belt. He mentioned that use the left adjustment for tension and the right for belt alignment. I do the same thing and it works for me. As mentioned above when tightening the bolt, it can cause the wheel to go out of alignment. I use a wedge between tire and frame on right side to keep alignment as I tighten the bolt up.

I saw a similar video from Australia where the guy adjusted and tightened the axle with the rear wheel up, bike running, in gear and idling ...

I thought he was crazy ....

But then (after a trip to the dealer) I started having a lot of chirping from the rear sprocket when accelerating.

Looked to me that the belt was too close to the flange. Tension was also above 220 according to my cricket.

After several failed attempts to fix the chirping, I gave it a try while lifted and running. I torqued it to approx 90# while running, then shut it down and dropped it to finish tightening.

What a difference. Fixed and running smooth and quiet.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

From my reading of the specs for belt tracking on both the front and rear pulleys, and other info from where I don't recall, as long as the belt tracks somewhere between the flange and outer edge you're golden.There's no need to try to hit the credit card thickness guide. Besides, the belt wanders back and forth as you drive anyway.

[frj322]

Thanks for all the info.. will be trying this over the weekend and report back.

[K80Shooter]

Also for me once I got the alignment very close to being correct I noticed that a "LOT" of my belt/pulley whine went away also.

I had to do this on my own as the dealer claimed there was nothing wrong with my belt alignment and that my pulley was the issue and that I would get one when the new one was available.

[frj322]

Thanks again for all the advice everyone. I’ll be working on this in the morning... I wanted to check the belt tension while I was at it and rectify any problems there too. I’ve got the Krikit being delivered today! Should I be checking the tension on the top part of the belt (by the idler/damper) or the lower part of the belt? Wheel off or on ground? Seems like 140-160 is the consensus for tension but can’t really get a feel for top or bottom where I should be measuring.
Thanks in advance...

[ButterSmooth]

Thanks again for all the advice everyone. I’ll be working on this in the morning... I wanted to check the belt tension while I was at it and rectify any problems there too. I’ve got the Krikit being delivered today! Should I be checking the tension on the top part of the belt (by the idler/damper) or the lower part of the belt? Wheel off or on ground? Seems like 140-160 is the consensus for tension but can’t really get a feel for top or bottom where I should be measuring.
Thanks in advance...

Theoretically top or bottom doesn't make a difference. But, I could never get the sonic method and the Krikit to agree on the tension, until I tried it on the bottom of the belt. I think seeing the alignment of the Krikit, and being able to push on it squarely made the difference. If I go for 160#, I get significant belt vibration in the 60-70mph range, depending on load. More load, more vibration, like when going up-hill. My best results are 190# at the loose spot, and 210# at the tight spot, which is at the low end of the tension specified in the manual. The book says 236 lbf +-33.7 lbf, off the ground. Off the ground makes it easy to rotate the wheel to the tight and loose spot of the belt. My rear pulley has considerable run out and I can't ignore that.

[K80Shooter]

Make sure to measure the tension without the belt tensioner putting pressure on the belt. Try to measure about midway between the two sprockets. I measure the tension with the rear wheel on the ground.

[redrazor]

Depending on when I check it; my belt is often in a different place than it was when I left the house; especially if I've used Reverse gear to back it into the garage; or drove it straight in. Never any noises or rubbing sounds coming from the belt or sprockets. It's not that critical for it to be exactly in the middle of the rear sprocket. No idler on my 2014 RTL, and glad of it.

[frj322]

Well... got things adjusted this morning. Didn’t take too long. Belt rides very close to inner flange of the rear sprocket. Depending on when I check during several stops during the road test. Belt tension is at 140 pounds with the wheel off the ground. Does have a slight vibration between 65 and 70 but... better than over stressing the front pulley I’d think! Thanks again for all the advice!

[Plarimer]

OK, please understand I’m fairly new to the Spyder experience. As I have said before I have ridden Harleys for decades, seven to be exact, and with my latest bikes I have never had to adjust the drive belt. Now yes I took it in for yearly service, but most of the time I did the work myself. I never even worried about the belt and it did not make noise, so am I missing something here with the Spyder or does it just have a touchy belt system. Thanks.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

OK, please understand I’m fairly new to the Spyder experience. As I have said before I have ridden Harleys for decades, seven to be exact, and with my latest bikes I have never had to adjust the drive belt. Now yes I took it in for yearly service, but most of the time I did the work myself. I never even worried about the belt and it did not make noise, so am I missing something here with the Spyder or does it just have a touchy belt system. Thanks.

I suppose I could be wrong, but... The Harley belt is shorter. The shorter the belt the less likely it is to wander. The HD rear pulley is flanged on both sides. The larger the pulley the more likely the belt will go off track. You've got to wonder how many misaligned HD belts are disguised by the double flange not letting it crawl off the pulley. And from what I find by Google both alignment and tension are supposed to be paid attention to. Maybe BRP decided to the best way to make owners pay attention to tension and alignment was to make it so the misalignment couldn't be easily ignored. In old farm days when threshing machines powered by steam tractors were common many farmers had to put a twist into the flat belts they used in order to keep them from flopping up and down and crawling off the pulleys.

[Plarimer]

Maybe you have an idea there. A twisted belt!

[Plarimer]

Not arguing, but I think the length is about the same. I’m sure I have many hundreds of miles before even checking the tension, which I did at least once a year but I never had to adjust it. Different type of belt?

[IGETAROUND]

OK, please understand I’m fairly new to the Spyder experience. As I have said before I have ridden Harleys for decades, seven to be exact, and with my latest bikes I have never had to adjust the drive belt. Now yes I took it in for yearly service, but most of the time I did the work myself. I never even worried about the belt and it did not make noise, so am I missing something here with the Spyder or does it just have a touchy belt system. Thanks.

it is fairly touchy IMO

Al in Kazoo