Belt Tension & Blown Seals

[DragonSpyder]

For those that have not changed your belt tension to the new recommended setting I would highly recommend it.

I heard about the new recommended tension and asked my dealer and was told it was only for new Spyders as part of the pre-delivery setup. A few weeks later I started hearing a slight grinding noise coming from the front sprocket. I did an inspection and all looked OK and convinced myself it was the belt rubbing. About a 100 miles later the seal blew out on the highway. I do have 17K miles and thankfully it's still under warranty. If I had them change the tension it probably would not have blown out until my warranty was up.

I'm fairly certain the blown seal is due to the high belt tension so I recommend everyone get it changed ASAP.

 

[docdoru]

:agree: I'm at the 4th front sprocket in 82K miles...the only down site for the new low belt tension: vibrations over 90 miles/hour. :doorag:

 

[NancysToy]

It is difficult to blow a seal on a rotating shaft merely from putting tension on that shaft. It would take that in combination with a worn or failed bearing (or shaft) to do so. This could actually be the inboard bearing...anything that allows the shaft to go out of parallel. Make sure your dealer gives your Spyder a very thorough checkup, including shaft, bearings, and sprocket.

 

[Firefly]

I lowered mine to 140 lbs and rode for a bit--- but the vibrations were too different for me--made me change my shift points a bit. Now I've got it up to around 190-200 lbs. and all is good.

Bought new rear bearings and seals and will swap next tire change. Also bought new front sprocket bolt and will change that just to be safe.

The vibrations certainly are different with the lower tension---- but overall they are MUCH better IMO.