[Bill Crane]

Having an issue with a 2003 V92c belt rubbing on the bike
No matter how much we adjust the axle the belt moves left of the front pulley when riding. we finally moved the axle far enough that the belt wont bind up but it is still rubbing on the inside.
when we spin the tire backwards it moves almost and inch off the front pulley to the right (we started with it riding the outside edge)
when we spin the tire forwards it goes to the far left of the pulley just enough to touch the bolts on the case (the rear tire is cocked sideways now with the left side of the axle pushed almost all the way forward)

The bike rode fine until the clutch cable snapped and he had to ride the bike home clutchless but the old belt broke before he made it home.
We used a string to make sure the pulleys are lined up and they appear to be in line

Anyone have any ideas of what could be causing this issue? I don't see any adjustment in the motor mounts or the front pulley and after a few week of reading forums it seems we may just be incompetent?

 

[BBob]

Don't be too hard on yourself. It can be a pain in the butt to get it right.

For belt adjustment there's really only the right and left axle adjusters to get the belt to line up and even then it can take another time or two after the belt stretches; if it stretches. Belts are funny like that. Some will stretch and others won't; at least not enough to need more adjustment. Once they stretch though; that's it. No more stretching.

If you take a piece of string and run it from the back of the back pulley to the front of the front pulley; the string should touch both pulley's equally; front and back. That gives you a good starting point. Then it's a matter of adjusting tension and angle until it rides in the middle going forward and wants to go off to the left when you spin the wheel backward.

Remember the tension will change with the bike off the lift and when the back wheel compresses the shock. Check it cold and hot. You don't want it too tight or you'll burn up a front pulley bearing or break the new belt or both.

 

[WeekendRider]

You said you lined up the pulleys with a string so I doubt my suggestion is valid but is it possible you switched the wheel spacers?

 

[Bill Crane]

Thanks BBob! currently the belt moves right when spinning backwards so we may just be making the wrong adjustments? The problem we are having is the belt moves so far left when rolling forward it actually binds on the bike and when we first tried to adjust it seemed the only way we could go without more binding was to loosen the left adjuster. Might try to go tighter to see if maybe we just needed to go farther?

Thanks WeekendRider for the help. We tried putting the spacers on the opposite sides but they are such different sizes they just wont fit without causing other issues. We even tried putting them on rotated so the bearing side was on the frame but no change to alignment

 

[WeekendRider]

Again, just thinking out loud here but did you check the tread direction of the tire to make sure you put the wheel on in the correct direction? Just hoping it's something simple.

 

[Bill Crane]

Yea tire is on the rim the right way. Bike was working great before and the only new parts are the clutch cable and belt

 

[rojo154]

Having an issue with a 2003 V92c belt rubbing on the bike
No matter how much we adjust the axle the belt moves left of the front pulley when riding. we finally moved the axle far enough that the belt wont bind up but it is still rubbing on the inside.
when we spin the tire backwards it moves almost and inch off the front pulley to the right (we started with it riding the outside edge)
when we spin the tire forwards it goes to the far left of the pulley just enough to touch the bolts on the case (the rear tire is cocked sideways now with the left side of the axle pushed almost all the way forward)

The bike rode fine until the clutch cable snapped and he had to ride the bike home clutchless but the old belt broke before he made it home.
We used a string to make sure the pulleys are lined up and they appear to be in line

Anyone have any ideas of what could be causing this issue? I don't see any adjustment in the motor mounts or the front pulley and after a few week of reading forums it seems we may just be incompetent?

Ok here is what I got. Start with adjusting belt tension and not too tight as the belt gets tighter as it heats up. You don't want it like a piano string.keep axle even using alignment marks on each side of axle, nothing critical. Start belt alignment by spinning the wheel backwards, you want the belt to drift to right side of pulley. Use the left side adjuster ONLY.Tighten the nut to slide the axle back. I use 1/4 turns, and spin wheel backwards again. Spin the belt 4 or 5 revolutions as you look for belt drift. keep repeating this until belt starts to drift to the right and just touches the right side of pulley. Now spin the wheel FORWARD and make adjustments backing off the adjuster nut 1/4 turns or less. Tap on axle nut with a dead blow to move axle forward to seat adjuster rod will not wiggle. spinning wheel forward check for belt beginning to drift left. Keep making adjustments,tapping the axle forward each time, until the belt just moves off the right side of pulley and STOP. Don't try to center it.IMPORTANT part. As you tighten the axle nut try to wiggle the left adjuster as the axle tends to move back. again tap axle forward. keep repeating until finished tightening. Your done.
Damn, I should have just told you to download the shop manual from Bbob.

 

[rojo154]

I forgot the final step, daah .. tighten adjuster nuts on both sides to 8 inch lbs. (or put the bike outside and wait for a strong breeze to blow against the wrench) Just tighten slowly and you will feel the nut definitely bottom then literally a hair more.
You did not say what broke the belt,... just wear, or was that belt rubbing too? ... I know you stated there was no problem before things went to s***, but maybe check for bad wheel bearings or shaft bearing of front pulley or loose pulley. Probably unlikely but easy enough to check. Check pulleys for unusual wear.

 

[ObiSteve]

Having an issue with a 2003 V92c belt rubbing on the bike
No matter how much we adjust the axle the belt moves left of the front pulley when riding. we finally moved the axle far enough that the belt wont bind up but it is still rubbing on the inside.
when we spin the tire backwards it moves almost and inch off the front pulley to the right (we started with it riding the outside edge)
when we spin the tire forwards it goes to the far left of the pulley just enough to touch the bolts on the case (the rear tire is cocked sideways now with the left side of the axle pushed almost all the way forward)

The bike rode fine until the clutch cable snapped and he had to ride the bike home clutchless but the old belt broke before he made it home.
We used a string to make sure the pulleys are lined up and they appear to be in line

Anyone have any ideas of what could be causing this issue? I don't see any adjustment in the motor mounts or the front pulley and after a few week of reading forums it seems we may just be incompetent?

Hi Bill, is that a pulley tooth with the inner end broken off it? The one 3rd from top in pic, with wiring connector? behind it. Are any others broken off on the inside?
Cheers, Steve.

 

[BP6666VR]

Hi Bill, is that a pulley tooth with the inner end broken off it? The one 3rd from top in pic, with wiring connector? behind it. Are any others broken off on the inside?

Cheers, Steve.

Good eyes, here i zoomed in ...

Andre using TaPaTaLk

 

[visionjohnny]

keep in mind spinning wheel forward the Rear pulley steers the belt.
Spinning wheel backward the Front pulley steers the belt.
With tire in ground you want about a 1/2 inch un and down play in belt.
If you have to much play it will screw up your alignment.
Belt will tighten up when you drive it

 

[rojo154]

Good eyes, here i zoomed in ... View attachment 243869

Andre using TaPaTaLk

That belt ain't looking too good either. Thinking you might want someone else to look the bike over.

 

[half_crazy]

When you say "They appear to be in line" that does not sound confident.
There are swing-arm marks to get you close... you can measure the difference in the adjuster length... you can use the string technique...
https://www.victoryforums.com/2557737-post3.html

Bottom line? Either it's aligned or it isn't.
I agree that you may have switched the wheel spacers from side to side (wrong one on each side).

 

[visionjohnny]

all so with wheel off ground stit of floor and spin the wheel. Look at the belt it should be in a straight line. If you see a slight curve in the belt its not right.

 

[Speedblue]

alignment

I have to agree with somebody else on here, that front pulley does not look good. Also here is another old school way to check out the alignment. Had a Triumph years ago a 1978 year Bonneville. The swing arm on that bike did NOT have marks to line up the axle. The actual Triumph shop manual said to get two straight(very straight, not warped) 2x4 boards, longer than the wheel base of the bike. Set a board on each side of the rear tyre butted up against the side wall of the tyre(tire) on each side. Have the bike sitting up with the front wheel straight, it may take two people. Then see how much clearance you measure on each side of the front tire to the side of each board. If you have more on one side than the other while holding the bars straight you have your rear wheel spacers on the wrong sides. In other words you are checking that the front and rear tire centers are lined up. If that is too much work you could also run the bike in a straight line through some soft dirt. Go back and look at the tire imprints or tire tracks in the dirt.

 

[Bill Crane]

Hi Bill, is that a pulley tooth with the inner end broken off it? The one 3rd from top in pic, with wiring connector? behind it. Are any others broken off on the inside?
Cheers, Steve.

Sorry I was busy this weekend so i have not been able to check on his progress but I have asked him to take a closer look at the pulley. It does appear to be missing a tooth but that could just be the angle.

The belt broke in a spot that appeared to have damage from a rock. The clutch cable broke when his father in law was riding it and he tried to ride it back without a clutch which I assumed the added strain to the belt caused the failure

We used the manual to get the specs and followed the direction to get it set but it seems to want to pull left no matter what adjustment we make.

The wheel bearing were replaced last year and they seem tight and smooth . The belt was not rubbing before (at least no uneven wear on the broken belt)

The spacers wont fit on the opposite sides without throwing everything out of alignment (way to far to the right).

 

[ObiSteve]

Sorry I was busy this weekend so i have not been able to check on his progress but I have asked him to take a closer look at the pulley. It does appear to be missing a tooth but that could just be the angle.

The belt broke in a spot that appeared to have damage from a rock. The clutch cable broke when his father in law was riding it and he tried to ride it back without a clutch which I assumed the added strain to the belt caused the failure

We used the manual to get the specs and followed the direction to get it set but it seems to want to pull left no matter what adjustment we make.

The wheel bearing were replaced last year and they seem tight and smooth . The belt was not rubbing before (at least no uneven wear on the broken belt)

The spacers wont fit on the opposite sides without throwing everything out of alignment (way to far to the right).

Hi Bill, it would take something like rock damage to break off the end of a pulley tooth; if the apparent rock damage to the belt appears to be on the inside, I would think that would be a good match of symptoms. Rock damage in the middle of the belt has much less effect; I have had one fully embedded in the middle of the belt for tens of thousands of kilometres now.

I also think that the broken end of a tooth would affect the straight running of the belt too, and would not consider installing a new belt on that badly damaged a pulley. I reckon both belt and pulley need replacement.
The rear pulley in the photo has done 108,000 kms, estimated 20,000 of them on dirt roads and tracks. I have a spare belt in stock but am not going to install it on that pulley. While no teeth are broken, you can see where it has worn through the hard anodising, with the abrasive effects of dirt, sand, rocks and mud.

 

[Bill Crane]

Checked the pulley and there are no missing teeth (Just looks like it in the picture) He will be taking it to a local shop to see if they can figure it out. His rear pulley has some flaking paint but everything looks to be smooth and it doesn't wobble when spinning. He also noticed the belt tracks strait under power but moves to the left under deceleration.

 

[ObiSteve]

Checked the pulley and there are no missing teeth (Just looks like it in the picture) He will be taking it to a local shop to see if they can figure it out. His rear pulley has some flaking paint but everything looks to be smooth and it doesn't wobble when spinning. He also noticed the belt tracks strait under power but moves to the left under deceleration.

Hey, thats good news, pulleys aren't cheap.

 

[Bill Crane]

He spent a few weeks messing with the alignment and finally got it to not rub. it is not centered and seems to move around a bit but He is now able to ride. Thanks everyone for the help.
It really does seem like it just needs to be in the exact right spot.
He will be taking it to a shop and I will update the thread if they find anything irregular.