Drive Belt Damage

[Nuke Rider]

I bought a 2019 Voyager in February of this year. I drove it 600 miles and took it to the dealer for the first oil change and to have them check over the bike for any issues. This included a drive belt inspection and tension check. I was told everything was good. When I hit 7,000 miles this month I decided it's time to change the oil & put in Amsoil that I run in all my vehicles and change out the tires (back tire's bald in the middle). When I went to pull the back tire off I saw that the drive belt is hard against the outer flange and it has several sections where the belt is chewed away and the teeth are all chewed up. This is only on the outside of the belt. Inside edge of the belt is perfect. After a lot of haggling with the dealer, he finally agreed to cover the cost of a new belt ($524) if I would pay the labor to replace it. I figured this was about the best option I would get from him. He said he couldn't find any reason for the damage. Before I took the bike in, I checked the tension and it seemed loose by Kawasaki specs. I measured about .4" deflection. But, this is my first belt drive and I'm new at this.
Anyone have any idea what could cause this damage? I can't afford to go through drive belts every 7K miles.
I know the next question. I live in a rural farming area, so "yes" every road I drive has loose gravel & dirt on it somewhere. However this doesn't look like any of the pictures that I've seen of gravel damage.
Any help would be appreciated.

[Chuck A.]

Couple of things come to mind here. Is the back tire/wheel centered? Very important that its centered. Also the factory belt tension specs are way to tight. Check with the rear tire off the ground (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) and make sure it has 10mm deflection at 10 pound force at the view window.. Also is the rear pully outer edge rusting. Rust is abrasive and will eat away on the belt.

Partzilla.com has the deflection test tool.

[BrokeAss]

Unfortunately, bikes are subject to dealer assembly/prep, usually a disgruntled, overworked 22yo. My MeanStreak came to me with the handlebars on crooked. Also, the hash marks on the swingarm for tensioning the belt are a lowsy way to center the wheel, you need to turn the rear wheel by hand and center the belt on the pulley. Depending how bad your hashmarks reflect reality, your belt could have been rubbing hard against the pulley's outer guide since new. Install it with correct tension (looser than the manual suggests) and proper alignment on the pulley and you're good to go for tens of thousands of miles.

[redjay]

Originally Posted by BrokeAss

Unfortunately, bikes are subject to dealer assembly/prep, usually a disgruntled, overworked 22yo. My MeanStreak came to me with the handlebars on crooked. Also, the hash marks on the swingarm for tensioning the belt are a lowsy way to center the wheel, you need to turn the rear wheel by hand and center the belt on the pulley. Depending how bad your hashmarks reflect reality, your belt could have been rubbing hard against the pulley's outer guide since new. Install it with correct tension (looser than the manual suggests) and proper alignment on the pulley and you're good to go for tens of thousands of miles.

I doubt the rear wheel was assembled into the bike during the dealer assembly/prep.

If the rear wheel is misaligned it probably came that way from the factory, which is doubtful.

I would take the cover off the front pulley and see if there is an issue there that is causing the belt to get damaged. The amount of wear you have on the belt is not normal for a bike with only 7,000 miles.

[redjay]

Nuke Rider, take a look at this thread.

http://www.vulcanbagger.com/forums/s...ve+belt+issues

Use the Search feature on the forum and type in drive belt issues.

[BrokeAss]

Originally Posted by redjay

I doubt the rear wheel was assembled into the bike during the dealer assembly/prep.

If the rear wheel is misaligned it probably came that way from the factory, which is doubtful.

1) I have several friends who prep bikes at a dealership near me, and the shenanigans that go on over there would make you sick. Yes, bikes come crated with their wheels on, but stuff happens...

2) A buddy of mine bought a brand new Vulcan 900 Classic and his belt squeaked and squawked and, upon inspection, it was tighter than a guitar string and tracking against the outer guide. Whether it left Japan this way or got messed up at the dealer, it was a 0-mile bike with a major assembly error.

[redjay]

I have heard of dealers fixing someone's bike with parts from a brand new bike just to get them back on the road on a road trip. I was wondering if this could be the case with the bike in question and it was sold with a defective belt from someone else's bike ?

The pulley in the photos is rusty at the edge, mine was not rusty even after 4 years.

[BrokeAss]

Originally Posted by redjay

The pulley in the photos is rusty at the edge, mine was not rusty even after 4 years.

That's from the poor belt tracking and subsequent rubbing. I powder coat for a living and can tell you first hand, the paint applied to parts like that is paper thin at best, it sand blasts off like cheap rattle can paint. Wouldn't take long to rub the metal bare, then just one ride in the rain would give you the rust his has.

[redjay]

Take a close look at photo #5. There is rust on the inside of the ring that keeps the belt on the pulley, nowhere near the actual belt ? I think that part is bare metal, not painted, but I could be wrong.

Part number 43058 on the parts diagram.

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/...ar-wheel-chain

[BrokeAss]

Originally Posted by redjay

Take a close look at photo #5. There is rust on the inside of the ring that keeps the belt on the pulley, nowhere near the actual belt ? I think that part is bare metal, not painted, but I could be wrong.

Part number 43058 on the parts diagram.

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/...ar-wheel-chain

Yeah, that's what I was referring to. The belt, if tracking improperly on the pulley, will rub against that lightly painted steel ring (rest of the pulley is aluminum). In a former life I used to work on Swiss mail-processing equipment that used dozens of timing belts similar to our drive belt. Timing belts must be aligned to the center of the pulley or it will wear exactly the way his did. When I reinstall my rear wheel, I use the swingarm hashmarks to get close to centered/tight, but then rotate the wheel by hand and watch where the belt is tracking on the pulley and fine tune the left/right tensioners from there. I even taught this to my tech friends at the dealership and they said they'd never heard of such a thing, they just eyeballed those marks and went about their business. But anyone with a grasp of geometry knows a little bit of misalignment at the axle will be multiplied at the pulley's circumference.

[DragonLady58]

The belt should run center of the pulley, with a equal distance on each side of the belt to inner edge of pulley.
The sides of belt flaking off is caused by the belt being way past its lifespan. Its not hitting hard, or belt would be fraying.....
Need to use a long straight edge, put it against the tires and rims....and readjust....
Just from looking at the belt, 1 flat back on the left hand adjuster would do it....
Check your rear pulley, make sure the pulley is on tight, and no slack in rear wheel bearings.
Install new belt, with rear of bike raised, with trans in neutral, start spinning the rear wheel. Now, adjust belt so it tracks center of the pulley, with same gap on each side....
Take a short ride, look at belt, should still be centered.....all should be good....
Sometimes, it takes me a hour of adjusting to get everything just so-so.....

[Nuke Rider]

Well, I think I figured out what the problem is. I pulled the rear wheel yesterday to get a new tire put on. When I took it to a local bike shop (not the one I bought the bike from) to get the tire mounted, I noticed something on the rear pulley as I rolled the tire. On closer examination, I saw that the pulley ring on the outside of the pulley was bent flat in a couple of places. The flat areas are on opposite sides of the pulley & it looks like something was pressed against it or it was dropped on a bar. It makes me wonder if this happened during shipping because the outside of the ring is chewed up a little in these 2 spots. If the belt kept rubbing on these spots, it makes sense to me that the strips of the belt would be torn off the way they were.
Anyway I just ordered a new ring from Partzilla. Should be here in a week or so. I'm not putting the wheel back on until I replace the ring. It's hard to believe the mechanic missed this when he had the bike apart. I'm sure they would tell me it wasn't like that when they looked at it. I'll be checking the belt a lot more often now and I'll make sure it's riding in the middle of the pulley.
Thanks for all the input.

[DragonLady58]

They don't have mechanics anymore....they are parts changers....I hate it when one of those kids just starts throwing parts at the bikes, hoping the problem will go away....
They hook the bike up to a computer and it tells them what to change....all other crap is just hit and miss, unless they have a good service manager with alot of experience....

[BrokeAss]

Those look like dents from the rear wheel falling over after it was removed, or carelessly laid on the pulley side after removal. I've powder coated pulleys, including those rings, and they're thin and easy to bend. Hard to say at this point if those dents caused the belt failure or occurred while it was being troubleshot.

[BrokeAss]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

They don't have mechanics anymore....they are parts changers....I hate it when one of those kids just starts throwing parts at the bikes, hoping the problem will go away....
They hook the bike up to a computer and it tells them what to change....all other crap is just hit and miss, unless they have a good service manager with alot of experience....

It's not 100% the "mechanics", it's also how they're paid which affects how long the good ones stick around. My local dealership pays their techs by the job, and they can be waiting days and days for parts. All the best ones leave as soon as they're good or slide over to Sales and make 4x the money. They've created a revolving door and it's the customers who suffer.