Some have asked "how long should my drive belt last? "
I've seen them go in 20 thousand miles and others go over 100 thousand miles without a problem. I would suggest that any belt that has been in service for the extended time above should be considered aged and recommend changing it at the next service interval for the bike.
The answer to this varies with the care and servicing of the belt itself.
A loose belt will whipsaw and greatly stress the fibers in the belt itself shortening the life of the belt over a properly adjusted belt.
Also a tight belt could also damage the belt because as the load on the bike is increased with a passenger/luggage etc, as the wheel rides up in the arc of travel the belt will tighten as the wheel reaches the top of the travel stretching the belt more than it is designed too be stretched.
There's also the human factor here to consider on how the bike is driven, if it is ridden hard and put away wet or driven easy which will usually get more mileage out of the belt.
Care and cleaning of the belt is important also as well as any debris that may become lodged between the belt and the pulley. Debris deflectors should be kept in place for this reason and not removed just for looks alone. Always check the pulleys themselves to see the condition of the mating surface and see if the hard coating is chipping off or wearing away.
Check this post for a comparison of the two. Belts And Pulleys
Lastly rear wheel alignment plays a big part in the life span of the belt. A properly adjusted rear wheel will help to keep the belt tracking true and eliminate the stress on the belt from an out of alignment situation. Most belts will track to one side of the pulley when backing a bike up and to the other side or center when going forward.
I've seen them go in 20 thousand miles and others go over 100 thousand miles without a problem. I would suggest that any belt that has been in service for the extended time above should be considered aged and recommend changing it at the next service interval for the bike.
The answer to this varies with the care and servicing of the belt itself.
A loose belt will whipsaw and greatly stress the fibers in the belt itself shortening the life of the belt over a properly adjusted belt.
Also a tight belt could also damage the belt because as the load on the bike is increased with a passenger/luggage etc, as the wheel rides up in the arc of travel the belt will tighten as the wheel reaches the top of the travel stretching the belt more than it is designed too be stretched.
There's also the human factor here to consider on how the bike is driven, if it is ridden hard and put away wet or driven easy which will usually get more mileage out of the belt.
Care and cleaning of the belt is important also as well as any debris that may become lodged between the belt and the pulley. Debris deflectors should be kept in place for this reason and not removed just for looks alone. Always check the pulleys themselves to see the condition of the mating surface and see if the hard coating is chipping off or wearing away.
Check this post for a comparison of the two. Belts And Pulleys
Lastly rear wheel alignment plays a big part in the life span of the belt. A properly adjusted rear wheel will help to keep the belt tracking true and eliminate the stress on the belt from an out of alignment situation. Most belts will track to one side of the pulley when backing a bike up and to the other side or center when going forward.
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