You might consider buying a Clymer manual on Ebay. I got mine for around $10. I don't just read it before doing repairs or maintenance, I keep it in reach and read it when I'm lounging around.

The belt squeal/chirp will drive a person insane. The 90 degree tension testing method is just twisting the belt with your fingers. If you're able to twist it 90 degrees, your tension should be close to correct.

The squeal/chirp can be caused by a number of things, usually a mis-aligned rear wheel or incorrect belt tension. The Clymer has step-by-step guidance on how to adjust the tension/rear wheel. It's fairly straight-forward. When I did mine, I first removed the front pulley cover and noticed that the belt was hugging the outside of the pulley, but it was hugging the inside of the rear pulley. There was also a ton of crud in there which I cleaned out. Canned air is good to have around.

You need to loosen the rear axle nut, and adjust the tension using both nuts on either side of the rear wheel. I will allow the more experienced wrenchers to chime in with their approach to tension/alignment as my approach didn't work very well. The belt was still chirping away. What did get rid of it? I used a toothbrush and a container filled with warm water and dish soap. I scrubbed the inside of the belt and dried it with the canned air as I went along (found a tech tip online using this approach). Then I sprayed the inside of the belt with Suzuki brand dry silicone lube. I also shot just a bit of canned grease in the rear of the pulley, careful to not get it on the belt.

This approach goes against everything I've read, and the more experienced wrenchers will probably give me hell. But for the time being, my belt chirping is gone. Time will tell.

Oh, and watch those cover bolts, they snap easy if not torqued to spec. You'll feel like it needs "one more turn" to tighten, and that's when it'll snap on you. If you don't have a torque wrench, buy one. You're gonna need it.

I waas gonna tough it out, let the danged belt squeal. Since the last ride in the rain, tho, it has gotten unbearable, embarrassing even. I finally took a chink of Gulf canning wax & rubbed a bit on the belt edges & some on the cogs. No Mo Squealing.. be aware, it will sling the wax off, onto the wheel. I sprayed a bit of oil on the wheel, so the wax wont be able to stick. This lasts a long time, once the excess slings off,it stops making a mess & stops the squeek for a good while. Canning wax is available at the grocery store.

The couple times I got belt squeak, it was just plain dirty.  After decent cleaning with a high-pressure rinse, it went away.

Thank you all for the advise.  Picked up a Clymer manual the other day. I guess now the fun begins...

Excellent! I was going to search for a thread about this very issue and it was right in the top of the list of new threads.

I just bought a 2003 Savage, my first bike, and I was cruising around my neighborhood last night getting a feel for it.  I noticed the brakes squeal (not loudly, more like a dull whine).  They're very responsive -- more responsive than the brakes on the beat-up Rebel from my MSF course.  So, this sounds like my exact issue.

Is this a safety issue or an annoyance?  Can I still ride it with the squeal for a couple of weeks or should I get it fixed immediately?  I bought it from a dealer and they did a safety inspection prior to handing it over.  I assume that means it's safe to ride and just annoying to hear but wanted to make sure.

Thanks!

After the bike, helmet, jacket, etc. etc. I'm a little broke this month.  Next month I'll be buying the Clymer and tools -- but I'm glad to see I can put that off for a bit and not sink more money in this month!  Thanks again!

If the rear wheel is out of line the belt will try to ride up the side of the pully and it will squeel. I jacked up the bike with rear wheel off the ground and adjusted it rolling wheel forward until the belt tracked in center of the pully with a little space on each side. It cleared up the squeel and also the whine it had when decellerating in  5th gear. Mine was so bad I thought it had bearing trouble. I don't know if that will help, but it fixed mine.