Rear belt tension - Any way to check without special tool?

[stevehendo34]

Any way to check without special tool.

[jtoro1]

With the kriket Baja Ron sales or napa

[Snoking1127]

Gates Carbon Drive app on a smart phone. There is a thread here somewhere that explains it.

[Mikey]

In a nut shell, not really, unless you have real good calibrated fingers!

[joekeys]

What is the Kriket spec for the Spyder??

[Snoking1127]

What is the Kriket spec for the Spyder??

I do not believe there is one calibrated to the belt/installation on the spyder.

[2dogs]

The "kriket" works great and it cost about $12. You can also do the finger thing. Halfway between the sprockets, twist your belt 180 degrees. The amount of pressure it takes to achieve that twist will give you an idea of the belt's tension. Yep, it takes know-how and experience to achieve that skill. Opinions vary from 160 lbs to 200 lbs.

[ButterSmooth]

The "kriket" works great and it cost about $12. You can also do the finger thing. Halfway between the sprockets, twist your belt 180 degrees. The amount of pressure it takes to achieve that twist will give you an idea of the belt's tension. Yep, it takes know-how and experience to achieve that skill. Opinions vary from 160 lbs to 200 lbs.

The old Harley riders trick is if you can turn it more than 90° using your fingers (not grasped in the hand), it's too loose. If you can only turn in less than 90°, it's too tight. After tensioning my belt I've checked it this way and it's pretty close. Closer than an improperly used Krikit IMHO.

[2dogs]

The old Harley riders trick is if you can turn it more than 90° using your fingers (not grasped in the hand), it's too loose. If you can only turn in less than 90°, it's too tight. After tensioning my belt I've checked it this way and it's pretty close. Closer than an improperly used Krikit IMHO.

Right on, 180 degrees would be too much. 90 degrees is correct.

[DerSpyGuy]

I just checked belt tension, using the Krikit gauge and it measured ~150 lbs. Just for fun, I measured the Harley and it too showed ~150 lbs. Interesting they both measured the same belt tension. The Harley was set up using a different tool and slightly different methodology. Much prefer the audible click of the Krikit over the Harley way of deflecting the belt 5/16-3/8 using 10 lbs of pressure.

Kriket.jpg

[RICZ]

I adjusted my belt using a Krikit II to 160 rear wheel on the floor, 140 off the floor. I get a wee bit of belt vibration at 70ish, but I can easily ride around that using the throttle.

[stevehendo34]

My Harley is 5/16-3/8 deflect for 10lbs with the Harley or Yamaha tool.
I don't get how this Krikit do-da works, but it must somehow, seems like the price is more like $25.
Harley guys, (like me), estimate/calibrate index finger to be ~10lbs. So could somone go push on the belt with their index finger nearest the center of span without arm mussels and measure deflection on a rule. I bet it is about 3/8 if spider is like an HD.

Actually its kinda like the twist test, but I hadn't herd of that, I'll give it a try also.
Regardless I'd rather have the belt a bit loose than too tight.
Just thought there might be a guy here that has done this a few hundred ot thousand times and new a prety good approximation.

[2dogs]

My first scoot was powered by a 3 HP Briggs & Stratton with a chain drive. From there on up to today's belt drives we all had to know how/why to adjust chain/belt slack. Checking chain slack was a weekly thing, and then along came idlers. Those idlers made chain slack adjustments a little less critical. Then came the drive belts which were a bit more critical regarding their adjustments. Again closely followed by today's belt idler/tensioners which reduced critical belt slack. From sloppy chains to today's tight belt requirements many of us learned the finger test method. My crystal ball tells me that our great, great grandkids will not know anything about chain slack or drive belt adjustments. Why? Because they'll all be playing around with jet packs driving FAA crazy.

[Mikey]

Or maybe a drive shaft!

[EdMat]

Electric don't need no drive shaft. But by great great grandkid time electric will be the past.

[BajaRon]

Here is a great video. It features the Krikit. But it's got some good, general information on other tension measuring methods as well. This is a Dayco video. This is a re-branded Gages gauge. Same thing, different name. I've been using the Krikit for years. It's a good way to measure belt tension.

They make the process sound much more difficult than it actually is in practice. It's small, cheap, portable and reliable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRFP...=DaycoOfficial

[Snoking1127]

Electric don't need no drive shaft. But by great great grandkid time electric will be the past.

You rear want the electric drive motor as part on the unsprung weight on the rear wheel, or are you wanting three really small electric motors?

[EdMat]

You rear want the electric drive motor as part on the unsprung weight on the rear wheel, or are you wanting three really small electric motors?

Motor per wheel. If they keep going the motor may weigh less than the pulley, belt, etc. on there now. Brakes could be smaller cause the motors could share part of that load. Glad I most likely will never see it!

[Peter Aawen]

Motor per wheel. If they keep going the motor may weigh less than the pulley, belt, etc. on there now. Brakes could be smaller cause the motors could share part of that load. Glad I most likely will never see it!

But just think of the torque & performance you could get from 3 electric motors!!


Riders would need to wear jackets with reinforced sleeves & hooks on the ends to help them hold onto the handlebars so they didn't rip their bleedin arms off whenever they did a WOT take-off!! But they would need to have a better range than the current crop of vehicular electric batteries can provide!