Its how I found it when I decided to take the belt guards off. I'm the second owner so it must have happened to the first owner? At first I thought OMG, must get new belt and pulleys but a few people said they go like that and don't worry about it. 5k later and all is well still...

 

May want to consider putting the guards back on. The is no reason, other than esthetics, to remove them.

Once your belt snaps and you replace it, and yhe rest of the hardware, you'll be doing it again soon. That stuff is there for a reason

 

I guess I would replace it because it really does look like it will tear up the belt (eventually) and if that snaps who knows where you will be, how fast you'll be traveling and what (who) else might get damaged.

My belt pulley is 23 years old and looks new compared to that.

As far as the belt guard goes, like cvaria said, it's only a matter of aesthetics to remove it but....it does look better without in my opinion.

 

I could care less. I cant see the belt guard while riding. Go ride more and look at the bike less. lol

 

There's a train of thought that thinks the belt guards keep stuff in, which, on the face of it would seem to be the case with mine!

 

I think the belt guard is there to hopefully keep legs and hands out of there if you happen to go down..Or your latest squeeze from sticking her flipflop foot in there getting on.

 

yes to keep you and debris out of the mix as well as protect the belt.

the lower is actually called a debris deflector.
the upper is the belt guard... not the rider guard.



http://www.stcharlesharleydavidson.c...c%7eGUARD%5cLE

 

There have been extremes of view about them expressed around HDF over the years! To some degree they are there to reflect the old chain guards, to 'finish' off the looks, so to speak. I had a pal who bought a new Buell Firebolt many years ago. He so despised the guards he took them off as soon as he got his bike home, then rode out to show it off. In less than 100 miles he had picked up a large sharp flint, punctured his belt and seriously damaged his rear pulley.

In my 26 years of belt-drive Harley ownership I have owned five bikes, left the guards on them all and only had one belt damaged, by a small sharp stone. That belt ran for about 4k miles before I replaced it, prior to going on a long continental trip.

 

IMHO -
a) Yes, it looks better with it gone. MoCo likely knows that too - but they still added it.
b) MoCo wants to make as much money as possible. That part costs them more money (even if it's not much - think of the aggregate) - but they still added it.

I'll be keeping mine in place.

 

Nothing like a good flip-flop catastrophe to make someone swear off riding two-up.