photojoe FSO
Serious Thumper Alliance Member
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I did warn you to brace yourself
Posts: 1379
New Jersey
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Sorry to bring up this tired topic up again. I've done a ton of research regarding the drive Belt squeak/chirp/squeal and have tried everything I found on this site and others.
I'm riding an 1987 Savage with 15,000 miles on it and the chirping is starting to drive me insane. Seems to make the most noise while cruising at slow speeds. Probably can't hear it when riding faster due to the noise of the Trapp. The belt is starting to show very "slight" signs of wear on the inside so I thought that maybe I need to realign the rear wheel. The marks seem to be even, so I tried the twist method and got good results. The pulley teeth looked fine also, although there is some oxidation on the pulley nuts/bolts when you look inside of the tranny cover. I would really like to squirt some lube in there, but am concerned about it spreading to the pulley teeth.
I decided to stop at a couple of local shops today to get a diagnosis. One shop is well respected in the riding community so I stopped there first. They said "it's the original belt and needs to be replaced. It should run about $300-350, do you want us to order the belt?" Ok, I could deal with that but don't order it just yet. Since the bike is 21 years old, they may have a valid point.
Rode over to shop #2. They took a look, and confirmed that the alignment is spot on. They looked at the belt, checked the tension which they said was fine, and thought that it would run for many more miles, "with" the squeak of course. They suggested buying some belt dressing from an auto parts store since they didn't have any on the shelf. They didn't seem to think that I needed a new belt, which was a relief.
My two previous bikes (both old Iron Head Sportsters) were chain driven so the belt drive is new to me. Seems like there are so many do's and don'ts. Do use dry lube, don't use "any" lube. Use soap, use belt dressing, don't use anything, etc.
I could probably buy the belt and do it myself with the Clymer, a bit of sweat and a few choice words. I would be doing it on the street outside of my third floor apartment. My neighbors hate me anyway due to the oil changes, noise from the Trapp and the oil spots from my old Audi which are now a permanent part of the street.
Any suggestions on belt dressing, or anything else that may help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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