Was washing the whitewalls on my Road King Classic the other day and noticed on the drive belt side some black scuffs. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the drive belt is maybe a 1/16 of an inch from the rear tire. I'm assuming on the larger potholes and stuff that the tire must rub against the drive belt. This kinda worries me. []

Is this serious? Do I need the drive train aligned or do I need a shim somewhere? As always, your help is appreciated.

 

Well did you go to a wider rear tire some time in the past?
Are the axle spacing shims in the right places?

what do the edges of the belt look like?
an ocassional rub probably wouldn't hurt but it's not good either.
does your bike have individual tensioning and alignment screws on back of swing arm?
If so it could be out of alignment a little.
How does it track?

 

Watch out posting threads with 'rub' in them. Will get you hammered on this forum.

 

If you have upsized your rear tire ( or it may just be an alignment thing), when the wheel is rotated backwards, the belt will track to the inside of the pulley. With a larger tire it will cause some contact. If you have a lift, put it in the air and rotate it backwards and watch the belt/pulley tracking. I have a '98 Fatboy with a 140 Avon and it is real close to the belt. When I back up the belt will make "slight" contact. Maybe that is what you are seeing on the whitewall. Good luck. Oh yea, I do not have an explanation for the "tracking" to the inside, perhaps another forum member can explain it. Be sure your tire is properly inflated, not trying to be a smart a--, but worth checking.

 

I'm putting wider wheels (18x4.5) on my SG, and the guys said I may have to take off the plastic belt cover/guard or trim it. He said most just remove it. So maybe that's you issue.

 

My RK has a little guard (a rubber flap) between the tire and the belt. It is within 1/16 of the tire. MT 90 Dunlop. I think the tire may rub on the flap sometimes, but not on the belt.

 

Gordy 66 I think you got it right. After reading your post, I got down on the ground and I see what you mean, the flap is right against the tire. That's probably the issue, the belt seems ok.

My tire is a Dunlop D402 size MU85B16 M/C 77H. Since it says Harley on it I assume it's the stock size.The white wallsticks out about a 1/4 inchfrom the rest of the tire which seems to make it a tighter fit.

 

yeah come to think of it could be the flap.
On the 01flhrpi I had, went to a 130 wide, and had to cut a notch in the flap to stop the rubbing.