Drive belt life - at what milage/years does it need to be replaced? Or just carry one?

[TRMary]

2021 F3T, 33000 mi. driving 1 up sometimes with camping gear, drive belt still looks very good, but at what Milage/years just replace belt carry replacement? Spyder does get a lot of long milage rides, don't want to be 1000's of miles from home with a bad belt.

 

[BajaRon]

Most belts will last the life of the vehicle. Check for dry rot, missing teeth, or other damage. Make sure belt tension and alignment are good. And just ride. Your belt is one of the most reliable components on the entire machine.

Belt dampeners probably destroy more belts than anything else. So check your roller at intervals.

Rocks can also take out a belt. But even rock damage is not necessarily lethal.

 

[Gwolf]

I put 350,000+ miles on a 2001 Harley XL converted to trike with narrowed 9 inch Ford rear end. Had to replace belts about every 50,000 miles. A few of them went over 100,000. Long trips I carried a spare. Had 2 identical engines for it. One was always repaired and waiting on the engine stand. Bottom end was almost bullet proof. Most of the time got the liner bored and went up one step with rings, and ready to go again. Most people never run one that long, but I spent a lot of time modifying it so I could ride with left leg amputated at the knee. Easier to fix it than modify a newer model.

 

[Peter Aawen]

See the 'Similar threads' below. Your belt is barely worn in!

 

[Gabby]

2021 F3T, 33000 mi. driving 1 up sometimes with camping gear, drive belt still looks very good, but at what Milage/years just replace belt carry replacement? Spyder does get a lot of long milage rides, don't want to be 1000's of miles from home with a bad belt.

I just replaced mine after 15,000+ miles, I caught a rock. Just the belt for my 2018 F3 LTD is $329+, so it's expensive to keep a spare.