Serowbot wrote on 01/19/14 at 01:09:02:


Gee.....that sounds like it would make it easier to slip off  

OK, I did the loosen axle and tightened the side the belt was "rubbing" against, and backed off the same number on the opposite side, tightened all down, and spun the wheel. After moving 10 rotations in, and 10 out on the other side, I still can't get it centered, tho I do have gaps now on both sides, BUT....I am one complete notch off of the big notch (optimal center I guess) one forward of, the other side one behind....
Is this ok? Do I have a bad wheel, or? I have never dropped the bike or hit anything, could my spokes me amiss, not true?
Seems to ride fine, the squeak is all gone....perhaps I need to quit reading Bot's paranoid post, as now I am freaking over...well hell, I don't even know, I guess I'm just a freak!

just as long as it's a even number mark you're fine.  

It is possible that the rear hub has too much wobble....and the pulley is not lned up with the rear wheel.  I am not sure why the bearing and hub setup allow so much wobble.  My bike is pretty low mileage, and I found that the rear hub had too much wobble.

Grab your rear pulley and see if you can wobble it very much forward and back.  If it moves a tiny bit....it is OK.  If it has a lot of wobble, try cutting some shims to take up the extra play.  I used some left over rubber floor mat that I bought at Lowe's.  I put a small dab of RTV on the back of each one to hold it in place when it is being installed.  Don't use something too thick, the hub still needs to be able to compress at the axle so that the bearings are all held tightly.

old_rider wrote on 01/20/14 at 06:21:58:


old_rider:

If you saw the blades on the pully hub....the photo would not be confusing.  The rubber pieces I cut span the space between the pulley hub blades......and the new piece sits on top of one half the original cushion and extends over to the adjoining cushion.  If you look a the pieces at the direct bottom and bottom right in the photo....that is where the new pieces sit when installed.  I left the other ones kind of random so people could see what was underneath them.

& I tightened up the rubbers with strips of inner tube, too. What Dave is doing fills an important gap, I took out play in the rotation. I wish I had done what he did AND what I did.

Dave wrote on 01/20/14 at 10:39:06:

This is the reason I don't bother with the "belt alignment"...  It's gonna' move...
I just align the wheel...  ...

Centering worked best for me with the rear tire off the ground, adjust, start engine, put it in first and watch the belt. Fine tune as needed then tighten it all up.

Is there any benefit to taking the belt off and soaking it overnight in some type of solution to add lubricity to the belt?  Not sure what just wondering.