Could I use a drive belt from a Harley on my Savage?

Didn't realize it when I bought it, but the drive belt is shot. Then I found out how much they are to replace! A friend of mine rides Harley's and he thought maybe we could just replace it with a Harley drive belt, at the right size of course.

Any thoughts? Advice?

Thanks!

These belts are not like HD belts.
it may show cracks and be perfectly fine
the fiber underneath does all the work.

I thought about that but I like the look of the belt drive. Plus I thought it would be more expensive, part-wise?

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Details on how to do this are here:

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1240899665

by the way these are pretty tough belts what makes the current belt shot?

If you are near any industrial centers there will be a vendor selling power transmission equipment.  I think the Dodge HT200 series ( I may be wrong on which series it is, but like chains these toothed belts have other uses and are standardized) has a belt that is metric, is the same width and pitch, and probably capable of handling more horsepower.  I think the standard one that is closest has two more teeth but I read about a Swedish guy using one (or something similar) and all he did was modifly his tensioner set-up a little to move the rear wheel back a little more so as to still have adjustment.  In Sweden he claimed he saved one half on the price.  Just be careful about what you order, there are different grade belts and make certain you can modify the tensioner, it requires a little welding if I remember correctly.

One other thing, industrial suppliers don't usually sell retail but if you are nice they can sell to you but then they have to mess with sales tax etc. and might arbitrarily jack the price up to cover the extra trouble.  If you work for a company that buys such things, even for maintenance, then buying through your company's purchasing department is the easiest way to go and the vendor is more inclined to do the research for you.

Reondad, just be patient and somebody on here will offer you one at a good deal. And post or look in the marketplace. They are often sold by people with parts bikes, because they last forever. (Usually) HTH

Here is a link to a belt catalog with technical specs, horsepower ratings etc.  This is just one of many manufacturers.  The Savage uses a Bando brand belt.  It has 133 teeth, is 40mm wide, with a 14m pitch.

http://pdf.directindustry.com/pdf/cross-morse/timing-belts/20096-124381.html

A standard with many companies is 135 teeth and 1890 long, so the standard size is 28mm longer, you would need to move the wheel back by about half that or about half an inch, that is quite a bit when you look at the adjuster.  Bando might have a standard of 133 teeth but as Routy said, it may be made for this bike only.  Belts are easily made to length for industrial users who buy in batch quantities.

With so many people converting to roller chains, there will be belts available as Boofer pointed out.  I saw one on Ebay about a month ago, I think it went for $60.  Two extra teeth doesn't sound like a lot but making that much extra length available at the end of the swing arm is a lot of work unless you are anxious to exercise your metal working skills.  One other thing, unless your belt has chipped out pieces or tears it may last for years.  A dealer told me they rarely sell a new belt.