Belt Alignment was up against flange after dealer service

[BlueLghtning]

Hey, so I have a question about the belt alignment and what totally surprised me about what the dealer said when I questioned them.

For a little background, I'm borrowing a 2013 Can Am RS to ride while my knee recovers from ACL surgery. I'm an avid motorcycle rider and do my own maintenance so I'm pretty familiar with a lot of things. This is the first time I've worked on anything with a belt, but I've done plenty of chains on my motorcycles. I picked up the Spyder from the owner about 2 weeks ago knowing I'd be putting a new tire on it right away. I had read a bunch and watched a bunch of vids about getting the rear wheel on/off and setting and adjusting the belt tension so I was familiar with all this before I started. I noticed though before I even started that the belt was up against the inside flange and thought that was strange since I knew the owner always takes it into the dealer for service. I put the new tire on and was able to get the belt aligned to have a bit of space between the belt and the flange and stay there. It took a little fiddling, but the process is pretty similar to how you adjust a chain, and once I got it where I liked it after tightening everything down, I was happy. I rode a few hundred miles and everything was good. The belt stayed exactly where I put it.

I told the owner I would be happy to do the oil change/filter change at my expense since I was borrowing their Spyder, but they have a prepaid service contract through a dealer and preferred that I took it in for the next service which I did this past week. I saw on the sheet that they did the oil/filter change, checked some other things, and they said they adjusted the belt tension. However as soon as I looked at the belt, I saw it was once again right up against the inside flange. I couldn't even get my finger nail between the belt and the flange. I went back inside to talk to the service manager and he basically said it was no big deal and you can't get the belt to stay in the middle anyways. :yikes: I should have called his bluff and BS right there, but I just shook my head and left knowing I'd have to go back home and re-adjust the belt alignment again because apparently it's too difficult job for the dealer to do.

So is this dealer basically full of crap? Are they just too lazy to set the belt alignment with a gab between the flange? I would assume that if you continue to let the belt rub up against the inside of the flange, you'll have a lot of premature wear and be replacing what I suspect is a pretty expensive belt. Since I did it once, I'm sure it will be no problem adjusting the belt again to get it to track in the middle.

This experience just reminded me why I prefer to do all my own work. :banghead:

BTW, even as an avid motorcycle rider, I'm really enjoying the Spyder and certainly glad I have a good friend that trusts me with their Spyder while I heal up. I'd be going pretty crazy about now if I couldn't ride in some form or fashion.

 

[dginoregon]

I've got about 4500 miles on a 2013 st. I looked at the belt tension in the manual to check my belt and I saw exactly what you saw. The belt is right up against the flange, but the manual says it should have a small gap. I need to take it in for regular service in the next week or so, I'll see what they say........

 

[Peter Aawen]

The belts do wander a little!!

Take it for a ride & check it out again in a few miles - my belt sometimes appears to be hard up against the flange, but it 'walks' a little during use!! So sometimes when I stop the belt's hard against the flange, sometimes when I stop it's about 1-2mm away from the flange, sometimes (not often) it has even been as much as 3-4 mm away from the flange & closer to the outside edge than I - but the tension is exactly to spec; the alignment shows the rear rim/tyre is exactly where it should be in relation to the frame & the front tyres; and while there's clean marks on the flange where the belt gets close, there is no indication of wear on the 'touching' edge of the belt or on the flange itself!!

So unless the belt &/or flange shows visible signs of increased wear developing between them, maybe you should do what I do, & worry a bit less about that so you can enjoy the ride a bit more!! :thumbup:

 

[Magdave]

Ideally you should be able to stick a credit card between the belt and flange. Mine is a little tight was before the dealer adjusted my 2013 tension and after too.:dontknow:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

BELT AND DEALER

:agree: :yikes:....This is just another example of why I stay away from the Dealers and their expert technicians as much as possible ......Mike :thumbup:

 

[BlueLghtning]

Take it for a ride & check it out again in a few miles - my belt sometimes appears to be hard up against the flange, but it 'walks' a little during use!! So sometimes when I stop the belt's hard against the flange, sometimes when I stop it's about 1-2mm away from the flange, sometimes (not often) it has even been as much as 3-4 mm away from the flange & closer to the outside edge than I - but the tension is exactly to spec; the alignment shows the rear rim/tyre is exactly where it should be in relation to the frame & the front tyres; and while there's clean marks on the flange where the belt gets close, there is no indication of wear on the 'touching' edge of the belt or on the flange itself!!

So unless the belt &/or flange shows visible signs of increased wear developing between them, maybe you should do what I do, & worry a bit less about that so you can enjoy the ride a bit more!! :thumbup:

Hmm, when I put the couple hundred miles on it after I put the tire on and adjusted the belt, it didn't seem to wander at all and I checked it frequently as I was worried about it possible walking towards the outside. I'll check again since the dealer serviced it, but since it's not my Spyder, I'm probably being a little more cautious too. I went for a ride today and the belt never seemed to move off the flange. I thought the same thing too that maybe it would walk out from the flange a bit, but it never seemed to happen. I certainly don't want to damage the belt in anyway. I know I'd feel better if I just adjust it out a bit which I'll probably do.

Thanks

 

[Chupaca]

Curious..!!

Did you check it in both directions..?? When backing up the belt, if not right , can wander a lot. Recomend rechecking after tightening the axel nut...:thumbup:

 

[oldgoat]

I recently adjusted the belt tension & alignment on my '08GS. It was a painstaking job for me to get the tension correct & the alignment as well.

Once the alignment was correct it has not moved at all in 2000 miles. About 2-3mm from flange. It does move when going backwards though, but returns to its proper setting when going forward again.

IMO the dealer was lazy.

 

[billybovine]

Set from 1 to 5 mm

Always adjust spinning the wheel in the forward direction. My 2009 would go from a 1 mm gap in forward direction to the hanging off the pulley a little bit in reverse. Yet my 13 there is little difference forward and reverse.

 

[ARCTIC]

Mines very close to the flange. You can barely tell it's just a tiny bit away from it.

 

[DrewNJ]

Mines very close to the flange. You can barely tell it's just a tiny bit away from it.

That's perfect!

 

[r1100rider]

Hey, so I have a question about the belt alignment and what totally surprised me about what the dealer said when I questioned them.

For a little background, I'm borrowing a 2013 Can Am RS to ride while my knee recovers from ACL surgery. I'm an avid motorcycle rider and do my own maintenance so I'm pretty familiar with a lot of things. This is the first time I've worked on anything with a belt, but I've done plenty of chains on my motorcycles. I picked up the Spyder from the owner about 2 weeks ago knowing I'd be putting a new tire on it right away. I had read a bunch and watched a bunch of vids about getting the rear wheel on/off and setting and adjusting the belt tension so I was familiar with all this before I started. I noticed though before I even started that the belt was up against the inside flange and thought that was strange since I knew the owner always takes it into the dealer for service. I put the new tire on and was able to get the belt aligned to have a bit of space between the belt and the flange and stay there. It took a little fiddling, but the process is pretty similar to how you adjust a chain, and once I got it where I liked it after tightening everything down, I was happy. I rode a few hundred miles and everything was good. The belt stayed exactly where I put it.

I told the owner I would be happy to do the oil change/filter change at my expense since I was borrowing their Spyder, but they have a prepaid service contract through a dealer and preferred that I took it in for the next service which I did this past week. I saw on the sheet that they did the oil/filter change, checked some other things, and they said they adjusted the belt tension. However as soon as I looked at the belt, I saw it was once again right up against the inside flange. I couldn't even get my finger nail between the belt and the flange. I went back inside to talk to the service manager and he basically said it was no big deal and you can't get the belt to stay in the middle anyways. :yikes: I should have called his bluff and BS right there, but I just shook my head and left knowing I'd have to go back home and re-adjust the belt alignment again because apparently it's too difficult job for the dealer to do.

So is this dealer basically full of crap? Are they just too lazy to set the belt alignment with a gab between the flange? I would assume that if you continue to let the belt rub up against the inside of the flange, you'll have a lot of premature wear and be replacing what I suspect is a pretty expensive belt. Since I did it once, I'm sure it will be no problem adjusting the belt again to get it to track in the middle.

This experience just reminded me why I prefer to do all my own work. :banghead:

BTW, even as an avid motorcycle rider, I'm really enjoying the Spyder and certainly glad I have a good friend that trusts me with their Spyder while I heal up. I'd be going pretty crazy about now if I couldn't ride in some form or fashion.

if you lift the back and pull the shock bolt you can change the tire without losing the belt settings

 

[cptjam]

Adjust it!

Just takes a slight tweek, and will run forward or back with no more than 3/16" of migration. After nearly 400 of them, I can assure you it can be done. Take your time,and roll it forward and back at least 10 revolutions. If it wanders, loosen the axle, and adjust it. This is critical to the bike's alignment and handling. Well worth the effort, and saves the belt. Get the belt off the flange at least 1mm.
Good for you; keep riding while you heal. Best therapy there is! Joe

 

[BlueLghtning]

if you lift the back and pull the shock bolt you can change the tire without losing the belt settings

Yep, I saw that approach in a video and I might do that when I put the new Kumho tire I have for it on.