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[DonTom]

What is the life expectancy  of the drive belt on my two Zero bikes (listed below)?  And how much trouble are they to change, what's involved?  Should I carry a spare belt?

-Don-  Cottonwood, AZ (on a RV trip with the Zero DS ZF 6.5 carried on the RV hitch).

[Starpower]

Life is a wild card. One Little Rock pop up between the belt and sprocket and it will likely break. Mine snapped one mile from home the day I got it. 2 weeks later i got to ride my new bike

[NEW2elec]

Mine is the factory belt 25k and going strong, not a tooth out of place.
You can carry a spare but you have to remove the swing arm to change the belt. 
There was a guy on here who was making emergency belts that were more rubbery and tucked up by the motor but you still had to remove the swing arm when you first got it to slip it over the motor gear.

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=6597.msg52264#msg52264

The rear wheel catching air seems to be the quickest way to snap one with rocks or other junk getting between the belt and sprocket being a close second.

[DonTom]

Mine is the factory belt 25k and going strong, not a tooth out of place.
You can carry a spare but you have to remove the swing arm to change the belt. 
There was a guy on here who was making emergency belts that were more rubbery and tucked up by the motor but you still had to remove the swing arm when you first got it to slip it over the motor gear.

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=6597.msg52264#msg52264

The rear wheel catching air seems to be the quickest way to snap one with rocks or other junk getting between the belt and sprocket being a close second.

Thanks for the info. Exactly the info. I wanted. How much hassle is it to remove the swing arm?  I wonder if this is a repair that can be done on the side of the road. Doesn't sound like it. But it sounds like you're saying that the new belt can be set up in advance, in case the stock belt breaks.  Can that also be done with the stock belt?

I am on unpaved  & gravel roads a lot with my DS Zero. Sometimes even in deep sand, such as in Lone Rock Park in Utah, right on the beach of Lake Powell that I was in last week.  Also in Cindy Hills near Flagstaff, AZ  a couple of weeks ago. Would it be best for me to try to avoid such?  I just wonder how common it is for something to break the belt.

When you say the real wheel catching air, do you mean from too much slack in the belt?

Too bad somebody cannot design an emergency belt with a removable link!

BTW, the Zero DS ZF 6.5 is a great bike for these RV trips. It rides itself slowly right up the ramp on my RV hitch. And if not in an RV park, I can use the gas generator to keep the bike charged. But kinda inefficient to use gas to charge an electric bike!

-Don-  Cottonwood, AZ

[DonTom]

Life is a wild card. One Little Rock pop up between the belt and sprocket and it will likely break. Mine snapped one mile from home the day I got it. 2 weeks later i got to ride my new bike

Is your bike a 2017 or newer? The reason I asked is because I think they improved the belt in 2017.

-Don-  Cottonwood, AZ

[Shadow]

Swingarm removal is easy, but the proper tools are large and would be cumbersome to carry around. I carry a spare belt because lead times to obtain a belt vary between overnight and two months. The tools are easier to find at a friendly service shop than a belt. I've snapped one 2016 S/DS belt in 33,000mi.

[KrazyEd]

I saw the belt changed a few years ago at Laguna Seca on one of the race bikes. Took a surprisingly short period of time.
Swing arm was not removed, just loosened on drive side and belt fed through. Rider chose wrong gearing so they switched
rear sprocket and belt. I imagine that swing arm had been removed previously to allow for the modified swap.
So, it CAN be done, possibly just not by us " Mere Mortals "

[NEW2elec]

DonTom glad it shed some light for you.  As to your follow up.
The emergency belt was from the post I linked, he had some made up and i don't know if he has anymore but you could PM him and ask.  It was stretchy so you could pull it over the rear sprocket and not have to loosen the rear wheel. 
A clever idea but again it was meant to get you off the side of the road not travel for 60 more miles or anything like that.  The stock belt would need to have the rear wheel axle removed to loop it over the sprocket.

The "catching air" means the rear wheel comes off the ground hopping over a rock or tree trunk or whatever.  The more off roading FX models have this happen more often.  People would have the throttle open and when it hits the ground it puts too much stress on the belt and snaps it.
Speaking of which I know the FX had a chain adapter that would replace the belt set up but I can't say for sure if they ever made one for the "S" bikes.

I had high hopes for the thicker, wider 17+ belts but I have seen people posting them ripping pretty quick with low miles.  It may just be a few cases but I have seen it done.

[DonTom]

Swingarm removal is easy, but the proper tools are large and would be cumbersome to carry around. I carry a spare belt because lead times to obtain a belt vary between overnight and two months. The tools are easier to find at a friendly service shop than a belt. I've snapped one 2016 S/DS belt in 33,000mi.

Yeah, I took a slightly closer look today and see a rubber plug that looks like it's covering the swingarm bolt. But I didn't remove the plug. Perhaps I will do that when I get back to Auburn, just to see what tools I will need.

BTW, I am going from Reno to Auburn via AZ!  The DS ZF 6.5 has been very handy on this trip.

I will order a couple of belts the next time I am in Elk Grove. Perhaps that will be next week.  I hit the road in the morning and will slowly start heading to Auburn.  I hope most of the smoke has cleared by now.

-Don-  Cottonwood, AZ

[dennis-NL]

They break more because of stones between pully and belt.

The 'air':  jumping and bike comes down while you have gaslever open:  snap, loose some tooth on belt or it breaks.
We in the Netherlands have a lot of speed slowering bumps and it can also happen likewise.

My belt is 34000km tho without any wear so far (tooth all there and no cuts or whatever if you move the belt with hands.

I will let it be replaced at 50000km if it still holds.

[madcow]

I just happened to snap a belt on a beautiful hill over Bologna (Italy) while on a tour. Luckily, I brought a spare belt and had a very experienced ICE riding buddy with me. He organised some tools in the valley with the specs I have him. We then did it as a roadside repair weithin the hour (just for the tinkering part, getting tools from a mechanic took longer). Without any lift you can hold the rear lifted when you pull the bike over the stand and front wheel. It was definitely an experience I don't want to have again but it can be done. The Wiki outlines a procedure that is too complicated imho. There are several unecessary steps and you basically only need to remove the swing arm on each side. Neither the wheel nor the brake lever needs to be removed (but makes it easier if you have the time and tools). Anyway, the Wiki propably saved me since it was the best starting point to get an idea about the belt swap.

[Scotchman]

Zero sells a chain kit.  If I were planning to ride predominantly offroad like you describe, I'd seriously consider it.

https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_6&products_id=192&zenid=d947b52nkhvtqludbhri270rg5

Shoot that's only for the FX.  Get an FX?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Obligatory wiki reference on belt replacement:
https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Belt_Replacement_Procedure

And the belt in general which lists risk factors:
https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Belt

Personally, my 2016 DSR belt lasted 30k miles and broke going over a sharp pothole. I changed it roadside but brought a center lift to do it. My 2013 DS belt lasted 25k miles at least.

A chain will work better off-road, and the 2017+ models all have a chain kit OEM part entry now.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Zero sells a chain kit.  If I were planning to ride predominantly offroad like you describe, I'd seriously consider it.

https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_6&products_id=192&zenid=d947b52nkhvtqludbhri270rg5

Shoot that's only for the FX.  Get an FX?

Zero’s website doesn’t list it but all 2017+ models have a chain kit option. Check with a dealer’s parts lookup.

[DonTom]

Zero’s website doesn’t list it but all 2017+ models have a chain kit option. Check with a dealer’s parts lookup.

That's nice to know since both of my ebikes are 2017.

Do these chains have a master link? Are there any disadvantages to the chain?  I need to decide if I should make the change to the chain before I buy spare belts.

-Don-   Auburn, CA