I apologize beforehand for the long post. I have a problem that is causing me to pull my hair out and I really need some advice. Please!

Background: I have a 2010 SG which I wrecked a few years ago. The bike went down hard on the shoulder of the rode and may have flipped over once. I was tumbling in a different direction, so I didn't see what happened to the bike. The bike was repaired by an HD dealer. I didn’t do much riding for a year because the bike stayed in the shop for most of the riding season. About a year after the bike was repaired I changed out the transmission pulley for a smaller one and I replaced the belt with one appropriately sized for the reduction in teeth on the trans pulley. The belt was a BDL Falcon. About a year after that I replaced both wheels and the final drive pulley with a custom 21" front and 18" rear setup.

Problem 1: When I removed the stock wheels and pulley to install the new wheels I noticed that the stock pulley had more wear than I would have anticipated. I didn’t think much about it at the time and the belt had not been squeaking. I went forward with the replacement of the wheels and pulley.

Problem 2: Some time after replacing the stock wheels and pulley I developed chirping sound coming from the rear pulley. I removed the rear wheel and I noticed that the pulley was worn pretty badly. I assumed that the problem was being caused by the belt because both pulleys showed signs of more than normal wear.

Problem 3: I replaced the belt with a Gates belt because I assumed that the Falcon belt was causing the wear on the pulleys. I also replaced the transmission pulley and the custom final drive pulley at the same time. Now the belt is chirping again and from what I can tell without taking the wheel off the new pulley seems to be wearing badly like the other two pulleys.

The issues don't appear to be caused by a rear wheel misalignment because I have checked and re-checked the rear wheel alignment using the swingarm pivot point method several times.

What could be causing this? Is it possible that when the bike was wrecked the transmission got out of alignment with the rear wheel? If so, is there any way to check the alignment of the two pulleys without removing the primary again? Any advice is appreciated.

 

2 pulleys and 2 belts, something is out of alignment. If you measured from the swingarm pin to the center of the axel and its the same, your pulley is not spaced correctly. I am by no means an expert but what you explain does not pass the common sense test. You said that when you removed the stock wheels the original pulley had damage, that should of been a red flag right there. You said you didn't ride it much, I would of took it straight to the dealer and asked them to fix it because something is still tweaked from the wreck, they didnt put it back together correctly. All of the replacement parts you have thrown at your bike could be incorrect parts, not installed correctly, alot of things. The dealer option is a long shot now since its been so long and you have already torn in to your bike. Now that I am done guessing, I am sure more experience will chime in shortly. Sorry I couldnt help you more. Good luck gettin her going.

 

The engine/trans/swingarm assembly is rubber mounted into the frame. I suggest visiting a different dealer or indy and getting them to check vehicle alignment, by which I mean of that assembly plus the rear wheel in the swingarm. There are a lot of things we can suggest you check, but that is the quickest way to discovering what is wrong.