hey guys. Anyone have any input on what might be the cause of going through 3 drive belts with 14k miles on the odometer. Putting on the 4th belt right now. I have a 2010 fatboy lo I just bought in February. I don't know what happened to the first belt but the second belt was a falcon and it flat out snapped in one spot. It had no abnormal wear or anything visible that caught my eye. The third belt has a few flat spots on it and some teeth are rolled over 1/3 of the belt is destroyed . The flat spots appear to be the size of the front sprocket but I haven't completely compared it to the sprocket. There is also a groove in the teeth of this belt that goes all the way around the belt makes me think something is rubbing on the belt. I called the mechanic working on it right now and he says it could be a rock that caused the wear line but I'm not sure he's right on that. When I bought the bike it was already on it's third belt. I have not done any burnout or anything however the previous owner did say he has done rolling burnouts but he only had the bike for two months because he wanted to upgrade to a bagger. My Original back tire is getting changed now too so I feel like There couldn't have been to many burnouts. 14000 out of a back tire is good right???

 

Groove on whole belt
Rolled teeth
Teeth rolled and missing on one side of the groove
Flat spot
Rolled and half gone on one side of groove
Groove cut and rolled teeth
Problem area
Here are some pics of the third belt.

 

looks like wrong belt and or pulleys totally wasted there are numerous sizes and belt pitches for bikes are pulleys after market check both frt. and rear for tooth count and spacing. That premature wear is from mis matched belt to pulleys.
Also is the replacement belt an 1-1/8 wide on an 1-1/2 pulley that will tear up belts also hope this gets you some where.
Wild Bill

 

I am not sure if the new rear sprocket is factory or aftermarket but I do know it is the same tooth count as the old (I'm guessing stock) sprocket that came extra with the bike. The stock fatboy belt is a 20mm belt. That is just smaller than 3/4 of an inch.

 

Check the front pulley.

 

Did you check both sprockets for chipped teeth or missing teeth? Something is chewing up your belts.

 

There are only three items driving the rear wheel, the belt, front pulley and rear pulley. My first comment is don't buy cheap belts, get the real thing. However the damage still doesn't make sense, so check both pulleys very closely. The rear one is a soft alloy, but the front one is steel or iron, so more robust. If either show any signs of damage then replace both of them. And talk to your mechanic, as obviously he can see these parts, which we can't. See what he suggests. Best of luck.