Belt alignment, what am I doing wrong?

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Okay, I took off the muffler, removed the plastic caps, took out the cotter pin, loosened up the axle nut, then tightened the right adjuster about 1/2 a turn (to get the belt off the inner flange) and the belt didn't move at all. It continues to ride on the inner flange of the rear pulley. Since I'm not too sure about belt tension, I didn't want to adjust the right side too much. Did I just not move the adjuster enough? On Harleys the belt is designed to pull towards the tire when running forwards. Please give me a little guidance.

 

[NancysToy]

You aren't really telling me enough for me to offer any pinpoint advice. First, did you have the rear of the Spyder jacked up, with the rear wheel off the ground and the engine in gear and running as you changed the setting? The belt will not track any differently until the wheel and belt are turned quite a way. If you choose not to run the engine while doing the adjustment, adjust a bit, tighten the axle, then ride a short distance, checking the clearance only after moving forward, straight ahead for the final several feet. One half turn is quite a bit, and you should definitely see some movement, unless the original alignment was pretty grim. If the axle was not loosened sufficiently, the belt won't re-track...but you probably already knew that.

 

[JJW SpyderRider]

Don't feel too bad, had the dealer adjust my belt when the DPS was replaced. The belt was correct for a whole 5 miles before moving back to the hub. I guess it was too cold for them to take it out for the required ride after replacing the DPS. I have an appointment to try it again.

 

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Yes, I had the rear end jacked up and I was running the rear wheel by hand. I had the axle loose enough that I thought that I should be having some effect. When that didn't help much I did in fact run the engine and ran it in 1st and reverse. In reverse the belt tacks to the left. I was wondering if, in fact you can get the belt off the inner lip. Yes, that's why I just gave it only half a turn as I have read here that the Spyder is sensitive. I have now looked at the distance from the end of the swing arm to the centre of the nut and it looks like I have have about a 1/16 of an inch difference between the two, so I may need a to be a little more brave tomorrow when I try it again (before the rain starts again).

 

[boborgera]

Before you do any adjustments to the belt, the bike should be rolled forward 10/15 or more feet to set the belt.
A 1/8 to 1/4 Turn should be enough for most adjustment's.
Also why did you remove the Muffler and Cotter pin.?
I have a GS and All i had to do was loosen the nut[36 mm]
Could that be the difference??:dontknow:

 

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Bobogera: Thanks for the info. I removed the muffler because the RT that I'm working on will not allow me to get the torque wrench and rather tallish socket on the nut without removing (or at least loosening it up). I should have said I was working on an RT. I took the cotter pin out because the manual told me to, but I did see that even loose, the nut didn't come close to where the cotter pin was. This procedure is not all that different than Harley.

I think that the rear alignment must not have been too good when I picked up the bike. Belt deflection was probably checked, but they didn't care too much about alignment I guess. I'm going to give it another try tomorrow, but I'm thinking that the belt tension will be off a bit at that point. So, I'm gonna have to learn myself that part too (without the fancy sonic resonance tool).

 

[NancysToy]

You sound like you are on the right track. I'd keep at it. Don't run the wheel in a reverse direction, though. The Spyder belt tracking is sensitive to reversing or to sharp turns, and you will get a false measurement. If you turn the wheel by hand to set the alignment, be sure to run it for a while after you tighten the axle nut, to check the final alignment, or ride it up and down the block, then verify things.

For a rule of thumb belt tension check, the belt (while setting on the ground) should twist 1/4 turn in the middle of a run, with a fair amount of effort from your thumb and forefinger...just like a Harley. Before they reduced the tension spec, it would not twist this far.

 

[JohnS_Rosamond]

NancysToy: Thank for that, I was rather wondering what I was going to do about deflection without the sonic device. The drive belt on the Can Am is so much longer than what I'm used to. Anyway, back at it tomorrow when I have a chance.

 

[JohnS_Rosamond]

O.K.

Alright, I finished adjusting and alighning the belt. I guess the right side adjuster was off almost one full turn. Good grief is the belt sensitive to small movements. I think that my final adjustment (spinning the wheel by hand) was about 3mm or so from the inner flange. After riding for about 5 or 6 miles and then turning into the garage, it looks like it's about 1.5mm from the flange. But I can deal with that. Put a little black paint on the grey shield / covers. A bit too much silver on my Silver RT. Thanks.

My father got me the LED's that go in the headlight (from the RT-S). So I put those in also.

 

[NancysToy]

Alright, I finished adjusting and alighning the belt. I guess the right side adjuster was off almost one full turn. Good grief is the belt sensitive to small movements. I think that my final adjustment (spinning the wheel by hand) was about 3mm or so from the inner flange. After riding for about 5 or 6 miles and then turning into the garage, it looks like it's about 1.5mm from the flange. But I can deal with that. Put a little black paint on the grey shield / covers. A bit too much silver on my Silver RT. Thanks.

My father got me the LED's that go in the headlight (from the RT-S). So I put those in also.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I told you that 1/2 turn was a lot. There is no excuse for a dealer to prep a Spyder and have the adjustment a full turn off. Even 1/8 turn is a lot of adjustment...as you have found. I would watch this dealer like a hawk if you take your Spyder there for future service or warranty work. Glad you got things squared away.