drive belt tension adjustment

[scotcher65]

Hello Brothers of the Road,
When i replaced my rear tire this summer i noticed that the marks for the axle ajusters did not match up, only 1/6 in the difference. Since the bike rode fine before new tire i did not chance it. Now i am about to adjust the drive belt, i'm wondering should both markings match up. What say you?

[roadiemort]

Phuck the marks, Use your dipstick Jimmy! Most accurate is measure from center swingarm axle to center rear wheel axle.I use Trammels.https://www.busybeetools.com/product...waAisMEALw_wcB

[roadiemort]

https://www.roadstarclinic.com/forum/technical-forum/maintenance-ab/122095-rear-tire-installation?pp=122634#post122643

[roadiemort]

https://www.roadstarclinic.com/forum/technical-forum/maintenance-ab/7716-belt-tracking-and-tension#post7730

[scotcher65]

ok, so you are saying , ignore the factory markings on the bike?

[Lug Nut]

Use a tension gauge and get 10 lbs at .51 in deflection while on kickstand

[scotcher65]

hey roadiemort can you do a video for that procedure ?

[roadiemort]

I don't do videos, I look for them online, checkout Youtube maybe you can find it. the trammel points are nice as you just mount them on a yardstick.

[Shores]

hey roadiemort can you do a video for that procedure ?

[scotcher65]

the issue we are dealing with here is this, common sense is telling me to make equal turns on the adjusters on both sides of the bike until correct tension is obtained, but i think i have some type of OCD where i get paranoid if the distance is not the same on the markings !

[Shores]

The markings are not necessarily accurate left to right. Make sure the distance between the center of the swingarm pivot and the center of the rear axle is the same on both sides. Then you can make equal amounts of turn on each adjuster to get the proper tension. Proper tension should be adjusted using a tension tool as lug nut mentioned. "Don't think too hard, you'll hurt the team!"

[Lug Nut]

totally and utterly disregard the little hash marks on the adjusters. You have to measure with a measuring tape and get exact on left and right side while maintaining 10 lb of resistance at .51 in of deflection

[scotcher65]

hey Shores, is that your grandson making fun of me, he's cute!

[Duke]

That was Shores when he was younger looking at motorcycles.

[scotcher65]

thanks guys, i got her done! I was surpised that it only took less than 1/4 of a turn on adjuster bolt to bring it into spec!
measured both sides from center of swing arm to center of axle, all good. Thanks again

[scotcher65]

also, i was torquing the axel nut to the spec in the Clymer manual 110 lbs, and i stopped because i thought if i torque it any more somethings going to break. So i checked the Forum and found Shores recommending 75 -80 , thank you sir.
that really bugs me that they can't get the specs right. I stripped out a bolt on my 2000 V-Star because the book had a misprint

[Shores]

thanks guys, i got her done! I was surpised that it only took less than 1/4 of a turn on adjuster bolt to bring it into spec!
measured both sides from center of swing arm to center of axle, all good. Thanks again

And you didn't make a video to share with us?

[Shores]

also, i was torquing the axel nut to the spec in the Clymer manual 110 lbs, and i stopped because i thought if i torque it any more somethings going to break. So i checked the Forum and found Shores recommending 75 -80 , thank you sir.
that really bugs me that they can't get the specs right. I stripped out a bolt on my 2000 V-Star because the book had a misprint

It was one of several typos in the manual.

[Lug Nut]

thanks guys, i got her done! I was surpised that it only took less than 1/4 of a turn on adjuster bolt to bring it into spec!
measured both sides from center of swing arm to center of axle, all good. Thanks again

But.....what about belt tension? Did you check that?

[scotcher65]

yes i checked the belt tension, it originally had 27 mm of play, and i reduced it to 15 mm