Hd drive belt adjustment stupid
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 585
Likes: 59
From: Near St. Louis, Mo.
thanks guys
Like I said everyone has a different method. My point was way doesn't Hd come up with a little easier medthod. The book also says it's not correct to use the hand method. Says you need to use the gage. But to each his own. Thanks for the replies.
Club Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 21,679
Likes: 22,680
From: North Carolina
I watched the mechanic at the dealership adjust mine during the 1000 mile service and he removed the muffler on the right side(both bags were already off) and he loosened up the axle nut and tensioned it entirely by feel. He did not use any tool to measure tension.
For what it is worth I was a Gates Industrial Distributor for 17 years. Gates Rubber developed this belt for Harley and I got to meet two of the key players involved in this project several years back. This same belt is used today in industrial applications and it's called a Poly Chain Belt. It is on it's third generation and works great. The only word of caution I can give you is that it is better to error on the side of too tight than too loose. If this belt is too loose to a point that the teeth do not properly mesh with the sprocket it will actually cause/allow the belt to climb the sprocket and the belt will snap clean across instantly like you had cut it with a knife from side to side. This was the biggest problem we encountered from new users of the Poly Chain product.
If you have an extra $800.00 laying around you can buy a Gates "Sonic Tension Meter" and you simply hold it up close to the belt and flick the belt with your finger and it will tell you if it is tensioned correctly according to the two sprocket diameters, the center distance and pitch of the belt which you program in.
Don't make it too difficult because it really isn't.
For what it is worth I was a Gates Industrial Distributor for 17 years. Gates Rubber developed this belt for Harley and I got to meet two of the key players involved in this project several years back. This same belt is used today in industrial applications and it's called a Poly Chain Belt. It is on it's third generation and works great. The only word of caution I can give you is that it is better to error on the side of too tight than too loose. If this belt is too loose to a point that the teeth do not properly mesh with the sprocket it will actually cause/allow the belt to climb the sprocket and the belt will snap clean across instantly like you had cut it with a knife from side to side. This was the biggest problem we encountered from new users of the Poly Chain product.
If you have an extra $800.00 laying around you can buy a Gates "Sonic Tension Meter" and you simply hold it up close to the belt and flick the belt with your finger and it will tell you if it is tensioned correctly according to the two sprocket diameters, the center distance and pitch of the belt which you program in.
Don't make it too difficult because it really isn't.
I don't think it is that exact either. I felt mine was loose compared to the HD specs. I went to my local dealership and felt belts on new RKCs. One was tight and another was not as tight as mine. Both had about 5 miles on them.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,036
Likes: 65
From: Earth
Here's my comment: That gauge is a piece of ****!
Last edited by SpiderPig; Jan 15, 2012 at 05:38 PM.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,897
From: Bedford UK
I've never used another person when checking belt tension and I have been doing that for over twenty years now. Don't get wound up about it FFS, just check it while on the jiffy and make sure you don't leave it tight. The tension device is a great tool for those of us who don't do this check for a living. It does help when using it if you are cross-eyed, but that isn't essential!
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