Blew another belt

[blue er]

I blew a belt approx 700 km ago the belt had aproxx 2000 km on it, I put it down to overheating the clutches and delaminating the belt (oem belt) put the dayco hpx belt on just to see how it performs, well it lasted about 300 km and blew apart exactly the same way, do i have bad luck or is there something I should really be taking a close look at.

this is the oem belt failure and the dayco looks the same

 

[bdm]

When I had my stock skid on my mnt I had to crank the track crazy-tight to prevent ratcheting. With the track that tight I would grenade belts. Make sure that your track tension is properly adjusted.

 

[LazyBastard]

Under what conditions are the belts blowing? High speed? Low speed? Have you checked clutch alignment and that all the clutch parts move freely through the entire motion? Have you checked that your jackshaft bearing isn't bad? You sure that your primary sheave isn't cracked?

My observations; The OEM belt is too hard and bits tend to CRACK off of it. Dayco belts are just CRAP and blow for no apparent reason. Years ago I tried a couple of dayco belts in my Exciter, blew them stupidly fast. The OEM 8DN belts never lasted me more than about 3-400 miles before they'd start shooting out chunks. I'm having really good luck with a Gates belt that I bought 3 years ago, haven't kept track of the mileage on it, but it is FAR higher than any other belt I've ever run on anything.

 

[blue er]

both belts blew off low speed running then getting on the throttle, i checked clutches for crackes and movement seem fine, havn't checked alignment, but i also recently started losing track clips should all tie in somewhere.
checked jackshaft bearing, and axle bearings seem ok
LB can you give me the prt# for the gates (i assume the rx1 and apex are the same)
be checking the track before riding, be replacing clips and checking for an over tension problem.
thanks everyone

 

[Jigger]

Maybe it's a myth but I've been told to break in my belts for the first 40-50 km. Never pin the sled from a stop and don't hit high-end rpm's. It's hard to do.

 

[Yummy]

Strange!

I just changed to a new OEM belt at 13k miles and that is my thrid belt, so I average 6500 miles per belt. And let me tell you, I ain't doing tourism riding.

So you must have something wrong. Are your clutches stock?

 

[LazyBastard]

both belts blew off low speed running then getting on the throttle, i checked clutches for crackes and movement seem fine, havn't checked alignment, but i also recently started losing track clips should all tie in somewhere.
checked jackshaft bearing, and axle bearings seem ok
LB can you give me the prt# for the gates (i assume the rx1 and apex are the same)
be checking the track before riding, be replacing clips and checking for an over tension problem.
thanks everyone

It should be a 38X4420 for ANY sled calling for an 8DN belt. http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?broch ... on_id=5109

 

[Len Todd]

Clutching can shorten belt life (e.g. higher engagement = shorter life). But then, so can a lot of stop signs.

Time to check offset, belt height in secondary and center-to-center. Are your RPMs correct?

Do you do a lot of idling for long periods? Have you possibly fried it once by leaving on the E-brake. All these things can impact belt life.

OEM belt typically gives me 2-3K miles.

And, ... it is recommended to break them in for ~ 50 miles before WOT. Many folks break in the new belt and then put it back in storage. That way it is broke in if you need to run it hard right off the bat.

 

[blue er]

clutching is completly stock, engages right at 3500 rpm shift out is 10500 rpm, height in secondary is in spec.
Both belts were broke in properly and both belts were washed and dryed before use, need to check c2c and off set.
This year have been running more deep snow and ditches maybe thats what's burning up the belts

 

[chadman]

I have run a gates exteme max racing belt on my srx for 4 years or more and it is just now starting to wear to the point I should just replace it. I can't say that I have had problems with oem belts either.

 

[Len Todd]

When running in the deep snow, could it be that's you are getting snow on the belt? That could cause it to slip and heat up. You seriously overheat the belt once, and it will ultimately fail prematurly.

When it happens to me, usually a chunk comes out of the backside and I can still get a lot of miles out it, if I had to. Never had one totally come apart.

 

[black john]

blown belts

what year is your rx 1 ?

 

[03griz]

I had that problem for 2 years. I finally took it in and the dealer put all new bushings in the secondary and primary, along with rollers. I think the real problem was the bushings in the secondary and while they were there they replaced anything that was worn. I would start by changing bushings in the secondary.......

 

[blue er]

I had that problem for 2 years. I finally took it in and the dealer put all new bushings in the secondary and primary, along with rollers. I think the real problem was the bushings in the secondary and while they were there they replaced anything that was worn. I would start by changing bushings in the secondary.......

Bingo, secondary bushings were worn, couldn't feel any play untill I took the spring pressure off.
Thanks everyone for the input put 300 km on this sunday after putting in new bushings working perfect now

 

[rxrider]

Maybe it's a myth but I've been told to break in my belts for the first 40-50 km. Never pin the sled from a stop and don't hit high-end rpm's. It's hard to do.

It's no myth
Why you will do it? When brand new the belt is very slippery. If you put a heavy load on it from brand new chances are high that the belt will slip and wear spots in it. If this happens the belt is useless. It has to wear down a tiny bit to get the sides of the belt smoothened out so that it will grab the clutch sheaves. When broken in many racers wash the belt in mild soapy water and let it dry completely before putting it to use. A broken in belt performs way better than a brand new one.