Hi, i have a 2010 883 iron and i bought it with 24,000 miles on the clock and have got it up to nearly 30,000 in another few months as i ride to and from work everyday which is 2 hours eachway. i ride through torrential rain and sunshine(this is the uk,lol), and i find that after a good 60 miles my belt will start squeaking when im on the throttle gentle at lower revs.the noise also goes when i pull in the clutch, i have used a silicon spray on the belt and then the noise stops, but after another 60 miles or so it will start again? i have check wheel alienment and thats fine,clutch too and also the belt has been checked for unusual wear and tightness and that all seems fine too? i was wondering if anyone else has heard of this problem or have any ideas on what i can do apart from keep on spraying my belt every single ride i go on. thanks for your time

 

Any kind of lubricant spray is not a good idea for these rubber belts. I had the same annoying squeak and finally found the root cause to be wheel alignment. It doesn't take much misalignment for the belt to track to one side and rub on the rim of the rear driven hub. My rear axle was offset only 3mm and that was enough for an annoying squeal in the dry Arizona heat. I ended up making the simple special tools (2011 FSM, p.1-44) to get equal distance from swing arm center to axle center both sides. Voila, squeal gone. I'd start by carefully checking your alignment again. Cheers, RR

 

and from the screws at the back the left side from back looks about 3-4mm longer. i also notice that on the outside of the belt the side of the teeth is stratched, the inside is clean as a whistle. so from that im guessing its rubbing one side thus making the squeaking noise? and the spray is just hiding that until the spray wears off. im seeing a machanic after work who is having a look at it for me.

 

Yep, sounds like your squeal is from the belt tracking off center. I just measured the protruding length of the axle adjuster bolts on my 883 with known good alignment: 23mm left side and 26mm right side. Point is, equalizing the extension of these bolts is not a reliable indicator of alignment. Center-to-center from swing-arm pivot bolt to rear axle is the measurement you need. By the way, be sure belt tension is correct too before locking everything down. Harley belts run very tight (compared to chains) and at first I thought that was causing the squeal. Cheers, RR

 

+1. Sounds like wheel alignment. Also sounds like time for a new belt. It's not fun when those break. If it's damaged on one side, it will have a short life.

 

he was baffled as wheel alienment was not even out by 0.5 of a mm!! he said it was nigh on perfect! the belt is pretty tight, whn i move it it only moevsd just to bend it upright position cant turn no further. one thing i have noticed is the squeaking comes when its hot? and now when the bike is off and i roll it forward it will let out a little squeak at a certain point then stop then again but not exact same squeak. but once the bike has cooled down the squeak goes when i push the bike when off? plus i guess the squeak does com back on the belt once as i said rode for like 60 miles at 70mph! so the belt and engine is hot its hottest i guess? oh and the squeak when i push it forward when engine is off doesnt squeak when i roll it backwards? argh its a mystery lol

 

Mine has only 7000 and it kinda squeks when you roll it turned off.
more of a creak
not loud or anything. i just always though mine was normal.

 

Also mine does it , not real loud, but my wheel has never ever been off the bike eather.
Just went in for 7500 service yesterday. bike checked ok. Ia m gonna service my on after next yr. i always have and dont know why i didnt this one.

 

7500 mile service??? There's no such thing unless your dealer ripped you off by telling you it needed service every 2,500 miles.
The service schedule is listed in the back of the Owners Manual. After the 1K service, the interval is 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, etc.

 

Yeah 7500 mile service, there is a such thing at the dealership. i didnt do it every 2500 because they told me too , i do this because this is how i run my vehicles. they all get serviced everyt 2500 miles this is why none of my enegine ever use oil and they are all clean as a pin when they are tore down. I got the service plan because i wanted them to see my bike as much as possible in the first 2 yrs. i know a lot of knowledge on bikes and my dealers opinion has nothing to do with when i service my $10,000 investment. Im not being ugly i just get irritated when people act like everybody listens to there dealer. you cant over service a air cooled v twin engine it is impossible!