Broken Drive Belt

[Mr. White]

Have any of you broken your drive belt.? I have two HD friends and they have broken their drive belts recently, leaving them stranded. I have not heard of any Spyder belts braking. Just wondering. Thanks.

:spyder2:

 

[Bob Denman]

Hi George!
I don't recall seeing anything like that in here..


...Yet! :shocked:

We've had lots of folks sustain damage to their belts; it seems to get noticed, before the situations get any worse! :thumbup:

 

[Mr. White]

I couldn't find any breaks here either, Bob. I picked up some road tar and a small rock stuck in my belt grove, but I check my belt once in a while and found it....no problem.

:spyder2:

 

[Bob Denman]

Could it be the extra torque of those large Vee-Twins? :dontknow:

 

[cptjam]

Broken belt

SpyderAnn broke her belt on her 2010 RT. first it ate a few teeth, then broke a couple of weeks later. Warranty item. Typically not, but no sign of rock penetration. Just a bad one. That was in 2012, so she probably only had 40K on it. They do break!

 

[Bob Denman]

Thanks for that info! :thumbup:
Although if it had some teeth knocked off of it for a couple of weeks: "death" was already inevitable, and to be expected.

 

[Yazz]

My GS's belt lost a whole lotta teeth but didn't break. There was no sign of rock damage and warranty covered it.

The picture gives a good idea of what the entire belt looked like.

 

[Bob Denman]

 

[ARtraveler]

I have replaced two drive belts. Both were from ingesting rocks that were to big. The first one (2009) did not break the belt in half, but teeth were missing. I managed to get it back to the dealer for replacement before it broke.

The second happened in my driveway. I got the :ani29: stuck in the gravel, gave the throttle to much juice, buried the belt in the rocks, and it promptly broke. That was a tow and repair job.

"They" say the belt should last 50K miles or more. I have not been there on any :spyder2: yet. Close inspection once in a while should help. If you drive with a lot of rocks, the Spyderpops belt guard is a good idea.

It's about a $350 repair job--including labor. Add more if you need a tow.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: You DID break one... :shocked:
I should have remembered that! pps:

 

[larryd]

I remember reading on this forum back when there just GS/RS Spyders that someone had broken a drive belt...That inspired me to buy a spare that I've never needed...

 

[Grandpot]

THEY

I have replaced two drive belts. Both were from ingesting rocks that were to big. The first one (2009) did not break the belt in half, but teeth were missing. I managed to get it back to the dealer for replacement before it broke.

The second happened in my driveway. I got the :ani29: stuck in the gravel, gave the throttle to much juice, buried the belt in the rocks, and it promptly broke. That was a tow and repair job.

"They" say the belt should last 50K miles or more. I have not been there on any :spyder2: yet. Close inspection once in a while should help. If you drive with a lot of rocks, the Spyderpops belt guard is a good idea.

It's about a $350 repair job--including labor. Add more if you need a tow.

Akspyderman:

I get some strange ideas and every so often I feel the need to follow up. You mentioned "They". I always wondered who "They" are so I did a phone search. There is a Vietnamese woman in Southern California with the last name of They. There are about six others I found, mostly in the western states. I just had to share this information. Now I'll go back to doing something important. :clap::clap::clap:

 

[pegasus1300]

Have any of you broken your drive belt.? I have two HD friends and they have broken their drive belts recently, leaving them stranded. I have not heard of any Spyder belts braking. Just wondering. Thanks.

:spyder2:

Harley's don't break belts very often either. It seems to be a fairly reliable drive system. I also have not heard of there being a problem with Spyder drive belts breaking,but you would for sure want a good roadside service plan and good cellphone coverage.

 

[Cruzr Joe]

My GS's belt lost a whole lotta teeth but didn't break. There was no sign of rock damage and warranty covered it.

The picture gives a good idea of what the entire belt looked like.

That could have been caused by those Gators in Louisiana.

Cruzr Joe

 

[SPYDERGUY1]

So if , you were on a road trip and had a spare belt, how do you replace it without a rolling tool box behind you ?? Think about that, because roadside assistance will more than likely be unable to assist other than a tow .

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Interesting that Harley and Spyder drive belts appear to be quite reliable, yet several years ago I believe almost all, if not all, car companies dropped timing belts and went back to chains because of reliability problems. Remember some of the first ones in Ford Escorts? They were supposed to be good for 60k miles and started breaking belts and breaking engines at 40k miles. Almost hard to believe that was 30 years ago already.

 

[Bob Denman]

If a drive belt breaks; you're only stuck. :gaah:
If a timing belt breaks; you might lose the top end of your engine! :yikes:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

If a drive belt breaks; you're only stuck. :gaah:
If a timing belt breaks; you might lose the top end of your engine! :yikes:

No damage at all when the timing belt broke in the Ford Escort I had. Ford had redesigned the engine to tolerate a broken belt. But the 1986 Nissan Maxima I had got hurt, fortunately not too badly, when the timing belt in it jumped a couple of teeth. Damage was a lot worse when a cam shaft broke.

 

[Yazz]

That could have been caused by those Gators in Louisiana.

Cruzr Joe

The Gators have been good to me in Louisiana. Just feed them marsh-mellows. :thumbup:

The belt started delaminating going south on 93 in British Columbia. Was able to limp/thump into Lake Louise. Luckily, our tow truck driver lives there. Luckily, luckily, he was planning on going to Calgary that evening to watch the Hockey finals anyway.

Unluckily, after three day sitting in a hotel room waiting for the belt to get replaced, our scenic tour of B.C. was screwed. Imagine Kansas with slightly rolling hills vs. the majestic Canadian Rockies.

The moral of the story is, sometimes you have to get to a place you can get stuck at. Then pray your budget isn't blown...ray:

 

[hecoon]

Have any of you broken your drive belt.? I have two HD friends and they have broken their drive belts recently, leaving them stranded. I have not heard of any Spyder belts braking. Just wondering. Thanks.

:spyder2:

yes 09 phantom 62000 miles something wore off about 18 inches of the belt