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I have removed and reinstalled the rear wheel on my 06 RK. I marked the adjuster pieces (slim piece of metal on each side of the axle used to move the wheel forward and backward that I can't remember name of) with a sharpie so I could reinstall in the same position. Of course everything is greasy and my marks no longer exist. According to the service manual I should have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4 to ?3/8? Inch of play in the belt under a ten pound pressure test with the wheel off the ground. (Whatever the correct range was I installed inside the range)
I adjusted the belt to those specs using a slim metal ruler and by guessing the pressure. Then I bought the harley tool that tells you what ten pounds is and I guess I'm a pretty decent guess.
Anyway, and despite following the service manual, I can't help but wonder if it's too tight. The belt didn't feel that tight prior to removal. And nearly every YouTube video describing this process has the belt being raised to just about halfway up the built in measuring marks on the bike. Mine only reaches between the start of the integrated marks and the halfway point under ten pounds of pressure.
I'll attach a pic.
As Mike suggests, refer and defer to your service manual. I use the factory belt guage, the only H-D tool I own and have done since 1990. Buy once and take away all guesswork! There are times when the internet gets in the way of doing a very simple thing.....
As Mike suggests, refer and defer to your service manual. I use the factory belt guage, the only H-D tool I own and have done since 1990. Buy once and take away all guesswork! There are times when the internet gets in the way of doing a very simple thing.....
I've done my 07 RK many times (currently at 48K miles, and rear tire lasts 5K for me) with bike on jack (per service manual, wheel off the ground), using the H-D tool.
Your photo and description look EXACTLY like the amount of deflection I see after I've pissed around with it to make it exactly right. Bike runs properly, feels right, belt still looks good.
Better a little loose than too tight. Remember, once the pulleys get hot they grow and make the belt tighter. Be sure to find the tightest spot and adjust that to the spec.
I've done my 07 RK many times (currently at 48K miles, and rear tire lasts 5K for me) with bike on jack (per service manual, wheel off the ground), using the H-D tool.
Your photo and description look EXACTLY like the amount of deflection I see after I've pissed around with it to make it exactly right. Bike runs properly, feels right, belt still looks good.
I say you're just fine.
Wow, that's kind of crazy. So you change your rear tire at every oil change?
That's what mine looks like when I calibrate my hand on the bathroom scale.
Thats exactly how I tested myself to make sure I was getting accurate results. But it was awfully difficult trying to keep my hand on the base while moving the little counter weights back and forth
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Belt tension
