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Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: Skidz on April 15, 2017, 03:52:37 PM
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Hey guys,
Yesterday, while driving home from work, my belt stripped. This is the second time this happens to me.
First time with 5900km on the odo, I was driving on the highway, making speed from 60km/h to 100km/h when the belt stripped about 15cm of teeth. Scared the hell out of me, stopped along the road to check the damage. Decided to drive home on backroads, which I made (20km). The next saturday I drove to the dealers (50km) but didn't make it, belt snapped at 30km's. The dealer picked me up (Great guys btw, MotoPort Amsterdam deserves kudo's on this one) and fixed the belt, inspecting the pulleys but didn't find anything irregular.
Second time (Yesterday) I was waiting at a traffic lights a km from home in Custom mode (100% everything). Light turns green, I take off at 75% throttle and strip another few teeth, this time about 10cm. Crap! Odo is at 9900km so only 3000km on this belt! I'm attempting another trip to the dealer in an hour, going in Custom with 40% torque and 80km/h speed limit on back roads.
Anybody else have this experience? I ride 200km/week commuting, check belt tension every saturday (Tension at 25kg all the time btw which is in between the recommended 20-30kg's), no off roading just backroad and about 10km of highway every day.
Cheers,
Ton.
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Are you checking the belt tension correctly?
How do you define "backroad"?
Does your country have a lot of speed bumps and do you have the throttle opened when going over them?
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Belt tension is checked with the Crickit tool. I measure about 5 times and take the average since the tool is inherently inacurate.
Backroads is everything paved but speed is max 80km/h. There are about a dozen speedbumps underway, but none really big and I don't go full power over them.
At the dealer's btw, made it ;)
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Feel the belt. If it has slop, then likely too little tension. The tightness I've noticed changes over time. I had mine on the '15 SR at similar 25kg-ish and it felt good. A few days later, it felt borderline too slack, but I was lazy to adjust. Dealer thought it was too loose too. Weeks later - it is back to normal by feel, having done nothing to it... I think that kind of behavior is why the belts might be overtightened a bit, so they never get too sloppy when the tension naturally fluctuates.
Look at the wear pattern too - could it be it runs out of the pulleys partially? Due to bad wheel or moto alignment?
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I broke the belt few times on my fx. Always by hitting the ground (even from very low height) with some open throttle.
Are you sure the rear tire was not airborn (bumper or something else)? Also, if the tire spin and than regain traction, that could explain it as well.
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That's different. He stripped them before they snapped.
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Same reasons for breaking and stripping it, more or less.
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I've seen belts that are broken but not stripped, and belts that are stripped but not broken. I thunk a jump can easily tear the belt, but much less likely to strip it. On the other hand, if it is stripped already for some reason, that creates an abrupt stress condition similar to jumping, whuch tears the belt.
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I haven't had this happen.
Your tension checking is more diligent than mine.
I have seen (at least i think i have on the internet) debris getting pressing into the drive pulley - effectively shallowing the grooves - which leads to belt stripping.
I'd inspect the drive pulley and make sure that the belt completely seats. Even if there is no debris pressed in there (it'll take a dental pick to get it out) there may be a manufacturing blemish.
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Once the belt is stripped (even two teeth), it will break sooner than later at that point.
A very loose belt is prone to stripping. Although it doesn't seem the case as the belt tension was checked.
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Guys, no airborne activity from my end... just easy commuting and the occasional traffic light sprint. That's why it's so annoying... apart from the 111 euro's they charge for the belt ofcourse.
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Can you snap a close-up photo of a good section of the belt? My '15 SR is at just over 3k miles (5.2k km) now. I'd be curious to compare. My belt looks like it is in great shape, very little wear is visible.
Guys, no airborne activity from my end... just easy commuting and the occasional traffic light sprint. That's why it's so annoying... apart from the 111 euro's they charge for the belt ofcourse.
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How rough are those back roads? I had teeth stripped off my belt at about 13k miles.
(http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w410/TheMrwilsn/IMG_2259_zpsv6mgsptt.jpg) (http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/TheMrwilsn/media/IMG_2259_zpsv6mgsptt.jpg.html)
About a month before it broke I started taking a new route to work that includes about 400 yards on a road that is in some serious need of TLC and I think it contributed to the belt failure....if its not the cause....it's real bumpy and there is some miscellaneous gravel and sand. Even hearing other stories about broken belts (@MostlyBonkers and @benswing to name a few) I thought it was unlikely I would have a problem with my Zero S which is only ridden on paved roads (albeit some are in desperate need of repair). I thought the belt issues were mostly for the DS/DSR and FX/FXS owners and that Ben's issue was just an anomaly...lesson learned.
I ended up buying two belts so that I would have a backup in case I have any issues again. However, I stopped taking that road. I really don't think it's a coincidence that I went so long without any issues and then just a month after I start going that way it breaks. Hopefully the new wider belt with bigger teeth won't be as prone to this problem.
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=6010.0 (http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=6010.0)
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I used the term 'Backroad' (Achteraf weggetjes in Dutch) which was kind of a wrong translation I guess. I think the right term is Secundary road...
The worst part is a part paved with stone instead of asphalt, quite bumpy but the speed limit is 50 there but you can seldom ride that there, more like 30-40km/h...
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Belt tension is checked with the Crickit tool. I measure about 5 times and take the average since the tool is inherently inacurate.
Backroads is everything paved but speed is max 80km/h. There are about a dozen speedbumps underway, but none really big and I don't go full power over them.
At the dealer's btw, made it ;)
Id rather have the 20-30kg's measurment as a minimum. I don't think you should allow it below 20 at all- and do measure both sides at the belt each time, as they do tend to be slightly different.
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Sorry to hear about your belts. I'd definitely check out inside the teeth of the front sprocket. Maybe there's an alignment issue? I've got 13,900 miles on my original belt. I've never checked the tension, even when I put a new tire on myself. I just aligned the rear axle marks from the factory and tightened it down. I've also done some off roading, a couple of burnouts, and it even got run over by a little old lady in a parking lot. Still the original belt soldiers on.
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Just to add to the numbers... My belt stripped at about 13 thousand miles, not very long after tire replacement at a non-Zero service shop. I replaced the belt myself, and when I was taking the old one off, I've noticed the tension was very high. I suspect the guys who were doing my tires didn't know what they were doing in terms of the belt drive, and overtightened it.
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I hope this doesn't come across too harsh, but it's really your job to check the belt tension after a tyre change. You can't expect the average guy in a tyre shop to have the equipment or knowledge to correctly tension the belt on a Zero. The best you can expect is maybe for them to leave it where it was when taking the wheel out.
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On a different note, you might have a faulty belt tension gauge or (very unlikely) 2 dodgy belts. Thats if you can't find any of the above mentioned things wrong first.
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I hope this doesn't come across too harsh, but it's really your job to check the belt tension after a tyre change. You can't expect the average guy in a tyre shop to have the equipment or knowledge to correctly tension the belt on a Zero. The best you can expect is maybe for them to leave it where it was when taking the wheel out.
I can't agree with you. After all, if Zero maintained such position about owner's responsibility, they would include the tension gauge with the bike.
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From my years of riding belt-driven Buells I've gotten pretty good at knowing when a belt feels too loose (too tight is another matter unfortunately). Whenever I thought the belt on the Zero felt too loose, a quick check with the Krikit showed I was right. Running the belt too loose is DEFINITELY a good way to strip teeth and eventually snap the belt (Running too tight is a good way to wear out your wheel and motor bearings prematurely).
On the other hand, this is another good use for that $30 track stand I bought from Harbor Freight. Once the rear wheel is up off the ground I can freely spin it and check the condition of the belt. So far, it doesn't seem to have periodontal disease (missing teeth).
From what I've been reading in here, a weekly examination of the belt doesn't seem out of the question. If you follow the MSF's recommended T-CLOCS inspection, you would actually be doing this before every ride but (as a former RiderCoach) I think that's a little on the "Obsessive" side...