Sob story...My friend was planning to demo a bike this weekend and hasn't ridden in a while so I offered my beloved '01 Savage (35k mi.)for a refresher.  After 2 laps around the block, he came back around and stopped in front of me and started having trouble getting the bike in gear.  Started moving forward and the grinding started in 1st gear. I took the bike and proceeded to grind up a few more teeth off and then decided to quit.  Local independent mechanic (been pretty honest and reliable so far so I trust his opinion) says drive shaft and front pulley teeth gone.  Also says my drive belt has worn prematurely, probably due to being covered in oil from my second plug leak, but unrelated to this repair.  Total bill for parts will be around $600 (incl $230 for belt)from Suzuki and bill for labor another 7 or $800 due to complete engine removal and cracking enginge case in two to do the repair.  Mech says this could have just happened and doesn't think my friend could have done such damage, not that it matters, I'm still stuck.  Bottom line, even without the belt, I'm looking at a a substantial repair bill on a bike that still would have lots more that could wear out.  Any opinions?  I'm so pissed, I didn't even have a chance to get my new windshield dirty and now I might be looking at scrapping my trusty steed.  (DIY is not an option at this time).  Boo hoo.  Any help would be appreciated.

FYI...I have a front pulley in good condition that I would send you for the cost of shipping it from Memphis TN if that would help.  I just did a chain conversion on my 2001...Just let me know.
Mike

I will try to speak gently ....

Bike mechanics do NOT know the Savage very well as they don't deal with them very often.   Think of them as "innocent/ignorant" and you will have a handle on dealing with them.

First, your drive belt likely isn't worn out and it wasn't damaged by the oil.  He is thinking "Harley belt" and "rubber belt" -- it isn't either one.  

Ours is a hard plastic and tire cord VERY HEAVY DUTY industrial belt that can show little cracks in the bottom of the top grooves after many miles and still be fine for another 100,000 miles.  The cord inside carries all the driving loads and the hard plastic teeth take forever just to wear in to seat on a set of aluminum pulleys.  

Oil has no effect on our belts, just wash them clean with soap and water and ride on.  

Our belts have proven to out last front pulleys 2 to one and it is the inside splines on the front pulleys that wear out first.   Mileage to wear out a pulley spline is generally what, 30,000+ miles?


You have been offered a front pulley for free -- take him up on it and install it and just use the same belt.



Used belts get offered up by bobber folks doing  chain conversions all the time, if you feel it is necessary pick one up later for a few bucks.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1301767867

If you do decide you need a new belt, here is one for $35.

"Local independent mechanic (been pretty honest and reliable so far so I trust his opinion)"

Even the most honest will stretch the truth in this dire time. The economy makes people do weird things!

Brings me back to when I first got my '87 and experienced belt chirp. My previous bikes being chain driven, I had no idea what the hey was going on. Stop at bike shop, mechanic says "Belt is shot, $300 for the new one installed." Sorry, not going to happen. Long story short, I found this forum and learned how to adjust the belt. No more chirp and $300 saved. That was around 13K miles ago.

Excellent advice and free parts offered to you here. Take it and enjoy the money saved.

Thanks to all for the great advice and speedy replies.  My new plan is to start w/ the new(er) pulley offered by mpnoffer and check out the shaft at the same time.  I will also take oldfeller's advice and clean up the old belt and then see where I stand.  If all goes well, you guys will have saved me a buttload of cash and at the same time possibly saved my trusty steed from being euthanized.  If I understand correctly, I won't need any other parts other than the pulley, since its not necessary to split the case or remove the engine. Any gasket sets, lockwashers, etc. needed? I might try to do this repair myself if all I need to do is replace the pulley....any special instructions for pulley replacement?  Would that be a good time to replace the belt if I do actually need one, or can I get away with not messing with the belt at all? If this is more than I want to tackle, I will still save plenty even if I have to pay for someone's labor.  Thanks again for all the help.  Jim

One way to check if the shaft is worn is to compare it to the locking tab washer. That washer doesn't really get and twisting load on it, so the spline notches should not be deformed. If it is snug on the shaft splines, then the shaft is fine. Slide it along the length of the shaft after removing the pulley.