Front drive pulley replacement question

[Makriluc]

2005 R* 1700 here
I'm replacing my front pulley with a 33t that came from a 2001 R* (from a member here).
So far so good, but noticed the 33t being bigger, the sliders in front of the pulley are touching the belt. I don't think they were touching with the 32t.
So my question, remove them or this is not going to be working (33t on my 2005)?

Thanks for your input

[mlharper]

I installed 33 tooth pulleys on both my 1700 Road Stars and I removed the sliders but left the rods that the sliders were on.
Have not had any problems with either Road Star.

Ride safe

[Duke]

Are you talking about the plastic rollers? If they are touching, just remove them.
If your wanting the rollers to be there then measure your rollers and let me know. I'm thinking that the rollers for the 99 thru 03 are smaller diameter.
I'll send you a couple if you want to run them. Me, I don't run them.

[Makriluc]

That's what I thought.
Thanks guys for your insight.

[Makriluc]

Well, went for a small ride (20 miles), very noticable difference. I don't know the difference in RPM but I won't use the fifth before 65 mph now.
So far I like it a lot. Thanks Duke.

[Duke]

Glad it's working for you. I like the highway gears myself.

[Jclevesque]

What is the benefit? Lower rpm at highway or quicker off the line?

[Duke]

Lower RPMs at highway speeds.
These are cruising bikes.

[Ironman]

Does that translate to noticeable fuel economy improvement?

[Makriluc]

What Duke said

[Shores]

I did the same pulley. I had my neighbor use his lathe to turn the rollers down an 1/8” total diameter so they wouldn’t rub on the belt and make noise. They are there to keep the belt from wrecking the engine when it breaks. I suggest your retain them.

[scottw]

Along with a bit lower high speed/open road cruise rpm with 33T drive pulley you can also cruise at a bit higher speed in 4th gear (approx 4mph higher) without hitting shift time to 5th gear.

So you can comfortably cruise in 4th gear 55-60ish mph all day long without shifting into 5th gear and feeling your lugging it when riding 2up/bags loaded.

The negatives to a33t drive pulley are 1)it's a little sluggish taking off from a dead stop riding 2up & bags loaded,2) bikes overall perf is a little less spunky,3) when hitting a fairly long steep mountain grade cruising in 5th at lower rpm @ 68-70mph riding 2up/bags loaded with motor not up in rpm enough for max trq/pwr therefore not having enough umph to pull the grade in 5th having to down shift to 4th where it used to pull the same grade in 5th with bike loaded the same with the 32t pulley.

If i was cruising at 80+MPH in 5th w-33t pulley i'd likely not have down shift but with me pushing mid 60's age wise with wife on the back i doint don't cruise long term much over 70mph for safety sake,but once in a while i do hit 80-82mph for short distance to quickly pass semi's when on open road interstate which is where the 33t pulley really shines.

For me the 32t pulley on my 2012 R* was a real PIA when riding local where cruise speeds are most often 55-58-60ish mph with normal shift point from 4th to 5th being approx 57-60mph your feel like you cruising at a bit too high of rpm long term on top of feeling like your kinda lugging the motor (esp 2up/bags loaded) in 5th gear at 61-62mph resulting in a lot of 4th to 5th back to 4th gear shifting back & forth as traffic speeds up & down a few mph which doiesnt happen with 33t drive pulley at same speeds.

But w-33t pulley extending 4 to 5th gear change to 64-65 mph is great because it allows you to more comfortably cruise at a bit lower rpm from approx 53-54mph to 61-62mph which is most often the cruise speed i encounter on local out of town roads without the bike/motor feeling uncomfortable anymore because it's no longer at or a bit above a normal shift change rpm when on flat road with the 33t drive pulley.

Happy Motoring.

scott

[drumsonly2002]

I switched my 32 th to a 31th pulley on my 2006 several years ago. Revs a bit higher on the highway but not a deal breaker.

The 33 th on the 2003 is great for highway. Since it has the 108 Big Bore it is snappy more so than the 2006 as per bottom and top end. The 2003 is great to ride on the Highway as it has (had it is now broke ie: transmission), snappy passing cars also. But revs are lower and puts along at 65 mph. I prefer the 33th as I ride the highways a lot more.

Road Stars with a 1900 and 33 th would have been an ideal bike, but history is what it is.

[scottw]

I switched my 32 th to a 31th pulley on my 2006 several years ago. Revs a bit higher on the highway but not a deal breaker.

The 33 th on the 2003 is great for highway. Since it has the 108 Big Bore it is snappy more so than the 2006 as per bottom and top end. The 2003 is great to ride on the Highway as it has (had it is now broke ie: transmission), snappy passing cars also. But revs are lower and puts along at 65 mph. I prefer the 33th as I ride the highways a lot more.

Road Stars with a 1900 and 33 th would have been an ideal bike, but history is what it is.

======================================

I also tried a 31t pulley on the 06 R* i used to have and found it was the best pulley around town and or riding out in the countryside,but i didnt like the increased rpm on the open road cruising longer term above 68-70mph in 5th gear where the increased rpm was causing an additional buzz/vibration thru footboards that was annoying as heck,maybe rubber mounting footboards or doubling up on the rubber inserts on the footboards would reduce the buzz/vibes.

I will forgo little less perf off the line etc VS the comfort cruising with 33t pulley over a 31 or stock 32t pulley,even the 32t pulley has high enough cruise rpm at above 70mph that sends an annoying buzz vibration wise thru floorboards.

And the 33t pulley is also great for cruising locally at approx 51-52mph to 61-62mph without feeling you need to shift to 5th till you hit approx 65-66mph unlike 32t pulley thats right at shift point rpm or a bit higher rpm when cruising at 55-58mph + making you do more shifting back & forth between 4th & 5th gear which is a pia.

BTW, 1 tooth diff in drive pulley going from 32t to 33t only equates to roughly a 3-4mph increase in speed & 150-200rpm reduction @ cruise which doesnt seem like much at all,but after experiencing all 3 pulleys on my R*'s it is a noticeable diff,thats for sure.

Scott