RT Bad Pulley

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

BELT TENSION ETC

I'll try to get a measurement tomorrow both off the ground and on the ground with the Kricket gage.[/........ Not sure but I think Ron ( of BAJARON ) had a conversion comparison for the two ..... so folks would know what their Kritket was telling them .... annnnnnd it makes no sense to me to do the test " wheel off the ground " .... do you ride with it that way :lecturef_smilie:...I don't think so and lifting your Spyder to check the Tension gets pretty old fast .... He has a comparison if you do it on the ground also ........... PM Him He will give you the LINK ......Mike :thumbup:

Mike - Did some searches and found some great information. Yes, BajaRon already covered this in early 2015. First of all, for my bike (2015 RT-S) the numbers I found were a match for he numbers he gave. Regarding wheel on or off the ground, the on the ground conversion numbers he shows were only through I believe 2012 models. He stated that on the ground numbers for 2013 - 2015 would exceed the range of the Krikit II therefore he only gives off the ground numbers for 2013 and up.

Now for as why you use the off the ground measurements.... I DON'T - I USE ON-THE-GROUND BRP only gives it this way and there is a reason. Ron's explanation as to why also makes sense to me. Variations in swing arm position due to tire size, tire wear, current payload in the bags, etc. causes an on the ground reading to be inconsistent. The only common position not affected by these variables is with the rear shock fully extended. Only in this condition are all the bikes of the same model exhibiting the same swingarm position and thus the same distance from front to rear pulley. Only with the rear wheel off the ground can you be consistent. That is at least why BRP does it this way. I'm sure one could develop their own "conversion" by measuring on the ground and off the ground to find values that they could use for "on the road" checks.[/QUOT......t OK it may not have been Ron I was quoting, but I did read where someone ( reliable ) did the conversion from His BRP sonic reading to His Kritket reading ..... the years don't really matter it is the belt spec changes that BRP has made - then you can adjust using that .......Mike :thumbup:

 

[pontow]

Thanks to all for your comments. One of the concerns on this thread was that belt tension may have had an effect on the degradation of the pulley. From my viewpoint, holding the pulley in my hand, knowing the history of the bike, knowing the mechanics involved (including myself) it is my opinion that there is zero correlation between belt tension and pulley damage in this particular situation. For some other situation, there may be different results.


Since this thread somewhat turned to a belt tension thread, I did some research and found the following (only interested in my own machine at this point, 2015 RT-S SE6):

BRP has changed belt tensions many times for many different models. All values are with the wheel off the ground. For my RT, the manual started at 1050 (236#) +/-150 Newtons. I have also seen official BRP documents that are stating 775 (175#) +/-150 and 630 (142#)+/-100 but I don't know their time frame because the examples of the documents on this site did not have a date showing.

In several cases, there are comparison stating that the results of the Krikit gage were very close to the Gates sonic gage so "no worries" in using the Krikit.

In my case, using a Krikit II, I measured 250# with the wheel on the ground and 200# with the wheel in the air. This is immediately after picking it up this week from a very reputable dealer after having the pulley replaced. It is lower than the original BRP shop manual call out but not as low as some of the "revised" figures that I have seen. I don't have any significant vibration issues (feel some from time to time) and I don't have any belt "walking" issues so I'm totally happy with where it is. This will probably be one of those "to each his own" and we will each have our own philosophy for as to why we think so.

Signing off as we will be on the road for the next 2 weeks, riding from San Diego to Bend, OR and back. To all, have a great Holiday weekend and be careful out there!