justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/18/12 at 05:30:36:

 
The tire hits the license plate mount way before the swingarm is horizontal.

Ryan emailed me that the RYCA shocks are 13" extended, and 11" compressed.  He also mentioned ~11.2" is where there is a "soft stop."

So, now, here is what I will be using for belt adjustment:


RYCA CS-1 belt adjustment procedure

This procedure will adjust for the max tire/swingarm clearance without overtightening the belt, which is an important issue when the RYCA modified swingarms are used with larger diameter (4.00 - 18) tires.

1. Get the rear wheel into the air using a jack of some sort.
2. Undo the tops of the shocks, and tilt them out of the way.
3. Lower the bike carefully until the distance between the centers of the shock mounting points is 11 inches (or whatever the distance is for max compression of your shocks).
4. Loosen the axle just enough so you can move it fore and aft using the belt adjuster bolts.  If you loosen it too much, when retightened, the swingarm gets a tiny bit longer, making the belt tighter.
5.  Allow the axle to move forward a little (~ 1/16") to a loose belt position.  The final movement of the axle should be from a forward position moving aft using the belt adjuster bolts.
6. Adjust the axle so the belt is moderately tight.  
  -- The belt should be just tight enough to permit twisting it 45 degrees.
  -- Make sure the pulley is aligned with the belt by placing a straight-edge along side the pulley to verify it is parallel with the edge of the belt.
7. Tighten the axle back up and, with the shock mounting points still at 11 inches, recheck the belt tightness.  It should be fairly tight (45 degree twist), but not rigid.
8. Without turning the belt adjuster bolts, tighten the belt adjuster nuts.
9. Check the clearance of the tire and swingarm.  
10. Jack the bike up to where the distance between the shock mounting points is 13 inches (or whatever the distance is for max extension of your shocks).
11. Re-install the shocks.
12. Lower the bike and ride away.
13. After the first ride, recheck the adjustment to make sure nothing moved.

BuckRYCA wrote on 09/20/12 at 06:22:17:


I can twist it just past 90 degrees if I try pretty hard.  It does feel loose when parked, but whilst aboard and underway, I don't get much of a driveline snatch feel at all.  
                                                              (snatch feel?)

I'm pretty impressed with this belt drive thing.  I've always had chains or shafts.  Lightweight, quiet, no maintenance,.. good deal.

There are only two things I don't like about belts,..
1. Just about impossible to change final drive ratios.
2. The rear pulley is too honkin' big!!  It doesn't look tidy.  It has too much visual impact.

I wonder what a friction drive would be like?  http://www.barnettharley.com/component/k2/item/3444-cc-choppers%e2%80%99-wild...

No chain, no belt, no shaft.

HighME32 wrote on 11/19/14 at 11:02:32:


The belt on the RYCA  when on the kickstand needs to be looser than it is on a stock bike.  When you put your weight on the bike the swingarm becomes more level and as a result it pushes the rear wheel and pulley back a bit and tightens the belt.  On the stock bike the swing arm is nearly level when unloaded and changes the belt tension very little when you sit on the bike.

How much?  How do you describe that in written words?  I dunno.......just loosen it a bit and don't go too far so that the belt gets floppy.  You should easily be able to twist the belt 90 degrees, and the top of the belt if pulled up should not hit the belt guard.

So now you know why you have to replace the bearings.