Had to replace the rear wheel on my 08 street bob. Replacement is a wheel from a 2016 I believe bob. Before removing the wheel I backed the adjusters and carefully marked their positions and counted the exact number of turns (precisely). After installing the new wheel, I repositionned the adjusters to their previous spot, but now my belt was way too tight. What could have caused that and should I be concerned? I can't think of anything else that would have changed...

Thanks!

 

Did you use the pulley from your original wheel or was there one on the new wheel? Different year bikes have different size pulleys.

 

Thats what I thought at first. I used the one that was on the new wheel. I took the time to measure it with a tape and they seemed the same but i guess a better thing to look at would be to measure the teeth. Whats the worst if I run a bigfer pulley

 

They are the same pulley, 66t

 

Simply re-adjust your belt tension per your OM. Just move the adjusters evenly, and you should be good.

I re-adjust the belt from when the dealership has the bike. (New and warranty work.) They have it way too taught. It reduces the wheel bearing life too. Don't make it sloppy, but it doesn't need to be like a guitar string either.

 

You have just discovered why the MoCo makes and sells us a belt tension tool! Well worth buying and takes all the guess-work out of doing the job you just did.

 

Of course

Actually sorry my title may be misleading, I don't have issues (I think ) with alignment or belt tension, I think it's a fine tool for the price.

I was simply wondering why the system became suddenly tighter by swapping a wheel and pulley that have the same parameters as the old one... kind of a sanity check that I didn't mess up something else lol

 

I've never tried what you describe. I would have simply removed the wheel, refitted it and tensioned the belt - and had no stray thoughts of what may be wrong! I suggest you take a ride and confirm all is well, then reward yourself a beer or two......

 

Likely the next course of events

Probably just my OCD kicking in hahaha

Thanks

 

How many miles were on the old pulley, how worn was It? If it was high mileage or the belt had been a bit snug prior it is likely at least a little worn. The new pulley is likely not worn at all, so even though they are the same size pulley, the new one could be bigger. Either that or the belt is slightly crooked on the trans sprocket giving a false impression of being too tight. You can check that by simply rotating the wheel several revolutions and it should align itself.