Just bought a 1998 Wide Glide

The belt looks fine really, the bike only has 7609 miles on it, but its a 21 year old belt.

Thing is, I play in a rural area, and I worry about being stranded out in the sticks.

The belt is pricey, the job looks easy. But not like I wanna do it for fun, and I'd rather put the money elsewhere

Any opinions?

 

I have an 04 bike, that is my all time favorite. It's has over 200k on the drive belt. I have been meaning to change this belt for over 5 years. Never got to it. Still ride the bike several thousand miles per year.

It keeps on going..... like the energizer bunny

I personally think you are performing unrequired maintenance

But it's your bike, do as you please

 

Whats the recommended service/replacement interval? I never looked...

 

Well with only 7600 miles on the belt , it should be fine (in theory) But after 21 years its hard to say, belts do dry out and get brittle in time. Bottom line is if it breaks and your in the middle of no where ,its a long walk. People on here are going to say "run it" but if it were me , I like piece of mind when I travel.

 

It's your money, waste it any way you want to.

 

Well this FB has over 60,000 and is 23 years old tugged a sidecar for a fair amount of time also and the factory belt is still fine.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/VLjSe7]

 

Inspect it for cracks, missing lobes, cuts and holes. If none, have a nice ride.

 

True. And the only times I have suggested changing out a belt was when cracks were showing from a long history of a bike that was constantly stored outdoors without so much as a cover. The other one had rock damage near the edge of the belt. Center damage, just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't growing. My FXR belt has had a small rock damaged area in the center for about 10 years and thousands and thousands of miles. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

 

^^^this^^^...

 

I agree if you give it a close inspection and it looks good then it's probably ok, but, if you're the type that's going to worry about it and not be able to get it out of your mind then bite the bullet and change it.

May I also recommend AAA RV Plus. I just used mine Monday. Mine quit charging out on the road. Checked battery connections which were tight. Called AAA. Had a rollback there in 35 min. Brought me and the bike home and even helped me roll it into the garage. A few minutes with a multi meter showed the VR to be bad.

But having the AAA is pretty nice peace of mind. And they will tow it anywhere you ask.