I had a similar issue. I tried adjusting that belt the exact way everyone said and never got it right. I finally took it to my indie guy. He said it was way too tight as adjusted with the tool. So, when I got it back I thought the belt felt downright sloppy. But, it sure rides better. It needs, from what I have seen, just a tad of absolute slack even if it's just a 1/8 of an inch. If you grab the belt in the middle and twist it you should get ab 1/4 twist before the real resistance kicks in. I probably run somwhere between 1/8 - 1/4 inch of slop on my belt before it starts to pushing on the measurement tool.

When following the instructions in the book I always end up with a tight belt. My indie guy says tight belts are a constant issue on the EVO Harleys. He says that it's bad for the whole drive train, pullies, bearings, etc.. I do know that a tight belt will wear out a rear pulley in short order and squeek the whole time.

With that said, if you like to really ride hard tighter is better than loose.

 

One more thought. Need to be careful that you follow the correct way to tension. Softails say laden..I just lay across seat to check tension. Big cruisers and Dana's say unloaded for some years. Not sure how it affects it but depending on how you set a Softail can be one end of the tolerance or the other. You need to find out what service manual says for yours. Running it loose will not hurt it as long as you drive old school (?HA) Running it loose for most Harley owners is like getting the wheel spinning in the gravel and then hitting the rough concrete. Some people do manage to break them. I ran on grooved concrete interstate and it was always fine dust fling for three years. It cut the hard chrome off my rear pulley off. However that was 10K ago and the aluminum and belt looks like orange peel but still round like a cog drive so far.

 

Mine is a rigid frame so, laden or unloaded won't make a difference. I loosened it up a bit last night but, rain all day today so, won't be able to check it out until later this week.

 

Check the pulley side walls. I suspect you will find wear spots. They are chromed and when chrome wears through, belt will squeak and squeal. Had an 03 RK with same problem and new pulley fixed- only had 4k on bike.

 

So like a Softail, you should align the rear to the engine and not the wheel to the frame stops. Then of course, you realign the rear tire with the handlebars going down the road. Of course before someone flames me, within reason..you do it that way. If everything is way off, you need to shim engine to get within reason (looks) and then do what I said.

 

My belt does not squeak, until it gets wet then it is so loud that can hear it over the exhaust

 

check to make sure that the top of the belt in not contacting your belt guard. I had a squeaker once and that was the cause. I could here the squeal upon initial acceleration but not afterwards because of increased noise and my horrendous auditory deficiencies.

 

I adjust the belt in the center of the pulley going forward. No problems for 27,000 miles anyway. I do the 1/4 belt twist for tension adjust.

 

Seems I have a bent/warped pulley on the rear wheel. I'll be removing to check for sure and replace if necessary. Grrrrrrrr More money....