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Belt Tension

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fattyboy

Active Member
Hi everybody. Does anybody no when you sit on a softail does the belt get tighter or looser,The reason iam asking is my belt is making alot of noise after i adjusted it dont no if i got it to tight or not.Thanks all.
 
It will help if we get a little more info. like when does it make the noise and how much deflection you gave the belt and how did you make sure the rear tire was back in alignment.
 
fattyboy said:
when you sit on a softail does the belt get tighter or looser,
Click to expand...

On my Dyna, the more weight on the bike (lower bike gets), the tighter the belt gets. I am sure the same is true for most other late model frames.
Like HDDon said, alignment or how hard the belt is driven to a pulley shoulder can also result in noise.
 
I think on most bikes tension should be checked with the bike upright and a rider seated on the bike
However using the correct tool and procedure on my dyna i still got some squealing from the belt so i made it a wee bit on the loose side of correct spec and all was quiet
For the sportster and the softail prior to removing the rear wheel i felt it for tension and put it back to the same on reassembly without any issues

Brian
 
The service manual gives 2 conditions in adjusting the belt...

with motorcycle on jiffy stand without rider or luggage

vehicle upright with rear wheel in air
 
It makes noise when iam driving down the road,It seems to get louder when i let off,I measured it from the swing arm bolt on both side to the center of the axel bolt,the belt when i go forward for a little bit ends up in the center of the pully,Maybe i got it to tight.
 
fattyboy said:
It makes noise when iam driving down the road,It seems to get louder when i let off,I measured it from the swing arm bolt on both side to the center of the axel bolt,the belt when i go forward for a little bit ends up in the center of the pully,Maybe i got it to tight.
Click to expand...

When Belt TOO TIGHT it Will make Noise...

OLD School: Belt moves easily 1/2 inch not LOOSE but Not as tight as HD says to make it...(cold adjustment)

Every once and a while I check "new bikes out on the floor" at HD shops... I checked the belts....MOST were TOO Tight...

IT doesn't take much in adjustment to get either way...

Belt Centered on rear pulley is a Gift (while turning wheel forward)

Remember when Belt is Warmed-up from riding it WILL tighten from a Cold adjustment.

signed....BUBBIE
 
I tried making the case a few years ago with the local service manager that when I tighten my rear drive belt using the factory tool and then went out and rode for an hour that the belt would actually tighten up a little. He more or less told me that I was crazy because anybody knows that when a belt (or anything else, according to him) gets warm, it loosens up a bit. There are still a lot of people who believe like the service manager did. I never did tell him that I had read the engineer notes from a Gates rubber employee in Denver. CO who actually had a hand in the development of the Harley belt. As I recall, he said Harley hired Gates to develope the belt and it took them 4 years before they got it right and Harley started buying it.
 
The metal in all the moving pulleys Heats and causes the Tightness. It is just easier to say the belt tightens.

Like the cylinders on the motor. Heat causes that metal to grow/expand upward.

Your belt might not change much from HEAT but the metal will.

I know the belts are a great piece of engineering but I would like to see a closed drive like the BMW,s or back to a chain ESPECIALLY after my belt snaps:newsmile077:

signed....BUBBIE
 
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