Drive Belt Hole - For Info

[Peteoz]

I stole this from an Aussie Spyder site. I hope the poster doesn’t mind. It just goes to show how much damage a Spyder belt can take without affecting its integrity.

He was a fair way from home (3000km….about 2000miles) when a bit of metal pierced his belt. He marked it with a sharpie, then rode it home, checking frequently. The hole did not expand at all. He has a new belt on order.





Pete

 

[Freddy]

I've posted this pic of mine when 2 weeks old previously, but here it is again just for fun. A pebble got stuck in the rear pulley and split the full length. An inner belt guard went on soon after replacement.

 

[FrogmanDave]

Those pictures are crazy!

 

[Mikey]

Just shows that sometimes we tend to over think things and worry to much.

 

[Isopedella]

Crazy pictures indeed.

Anybody know if you can feel or hear it clunking when that occurs, or is it spotted at some stage as damaged?

 

[SLICE]

My Harley kicked up a rock and it fell in the belt it took a massive chunk out and was only being held together by an 11 inch long piece about a 16th of an inch wide, it held for 62 mile ride to the closest dealer for repair.

The belts are amazingly strong.

 

[BajaRon]

My Harley kicked up a rock and it fell in the belt it took a massive chunk out and was only being held together by an 11 inch long piece about a 16th of an inch wide, it held for 62 mile ride to the closest dealer for repair.

The belts are amazingly strong.

Yes, they certainly are.

 

[Freddy]

Crazy pictures indeed.

Anybody know if you can feel or hear it clunking when that occurs, or is it spotted at some stage as damaged?

In my experience - No.

 

[canamjhb]

A few years ago I picked up a rock about the size of a pencil eraser, except with lots of sharp edges. It wedged itself in the belt just about in the middle and was visible from both the top and bottom of the belt. I definitely felt it when the rock came along for the ride. It felt like I rode over something solid in the road. I removed the rock and had to smooth a few places in the rear sprocket. I did replace the belt but kept the old one as an emergency spare. I think the old belt would have lasted as long as It would have originally but just opted to replace.

BTW; I was traveling in a construction zone with loose gravel and doing about 20 MPH when the rock made it's presence known.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Crazy pictures indeed.

Anybody know if you can feel or hear it clunking when that occurs, or is it spotted at some stage as damaged?

I did. I thought the front wheels had gone wacky since I had a strong vibration/shake in the front end and mirrors. I think I even swapped the front wheels to see if it made a difference. It didn't. Then finally one day I happened to glance at the rear pulley and there was a pebble stuck in it. Pried it out and all became quiet. No hole in the belt from that one.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Crazy pictures indeed.

Anybody know if you can feel or hear it clunking when that occurs, or is it spotted at some stage as damaged?

Some are instantly obvious; some not so much! It depends on all sorts of things: how badly it's damaged the belt, ie. is it just a hole or a dirty great chunk of teeth gone; how big the rock/pebble/chip seal grit that did the damage is; where it's damaged the belt, on one side/edge or in the middle; did said pebble/chip seal grit get caught in the sprocket's teeth so that it's now ripping the belt in a new spot with every rotation (see Freddy's pic); did it damage a couple/few sprocket teeth as well; and the list goes on.... :dontknow:

But for most, as you may have noticed from the responses above, any belt damage you're most likely to score (IF that ever occurs! ) won't usually mean you're stuck on the roadside - even Freddy's belt pictured, that was clearly 100% damaged & a throw-away, yet that happened somewhere in Oz, where the distances between places can be significant, yet it would've got him a fair way if not all the way home, and almost certainly would've let him ride to a place where he could at least seek help! :lecturef_smilie:

Sure, there'll be the few occurrences where the belt totally snaps just to prove the adage, but MOST belt damage is relatively minor and doesn't stop the bike from riding on; the belts ARE massively strong; and these belts are considered to be 'self healing' for minor holes, just so long as the sprocket/teeth haven't got a pebble jammed in them &/or the teeth haven't been torn/damaged so they'll continue to damage the belt! Personally, I'm more concerned about sprocket tooth damage than I really am about any belt damage... but then, I only ride about 10,000 miles of dirt most years... :donyknow:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Yes, they certainly are.

:agree: .... I expect to get at least 250,000 mi. ..... So this will occur long after I'm no longer riding ...... I do have a spare, probably a dumb purchase ..... but I got it for half price ( and it was new ) ..... Mike :thumbup: