Same old bike—but a NEW adventure!

[8ntruck 6,991]

Having never gotten into the nitty gritty of belt design and failure causes, all I can do is to offer a guess as to the cause of failure.  The condition of the broken ends of the fibers/cables in the belt suggest to me an overload rather than a fatigue.

 

It could be that the torque variations of the cycle engine exceed what the belt was designed to handle.

 

 @pullstart you got the manufacturer and part number for that belt?  If we could find the specs for the belt, we will know more about its intended application and suitability for motorcycle application.

 

We too were hosting some out of state visitors this week.  Friends of ours from Missouri came up.  They had never seen Lake Michigan, so we drove over to Muskegon yesterday and spent some time on the beach.  Had to show them what a real lake looked like instead of those pounds that from behind dams they call lakes in Missouri.   

 

I baked a batch of pasties for them to make sure they would have some good Michigan eats while they were here. 

[Handy Don 12,151]

6 hours ago, lynnmor said:

 

Since this is actually a timing belt for an engine, my thought is that a camshaft only requires a couple of horsepower to spin it and you are putting way too much power thru the belt.  I would go back to chain drive or rework it to use a high horsepower belt. 

Partially agree.

On an automobile engine, that belt is traveling very fast so it can transfer substantial horsepower but only a little for each inch of travel

As the final drive on a motorcycle, it travels a lot slower so it's being asked to deliver a lot of power for each inch of travel. With a powerful cycle, two persons up, plus luggage it'll likely fail again.

Need a deep dive into the belt specs to know more, but agree this application needs a belt designed for low speed and high load.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Handy Don

[Pullstart 62,791]

@8ntruck @Handy Don it was a Gates 1800-8MGT-30 belt.  The new one is a continental brand, same number I believe.  Good thoughts... Josh mentioned this was a super popular kit from Scootworks for a very long time.

[8ntruck 6,991]

It would probably be worth a call to Skootworks to get their input.

[8ntruck 6,991]

The timing belt failure guides on the interweb say this type of failure happens when something takes a ride around the pulley under the belt, or the belt might have been damaged by using a screwdriver or similar to pry it onto the pulley.  The belt might have been twisted as well.

 

On a motorcycle drive application, it seems that getting debris under the belt is a possibility. 

[tom2p 2,394]

great read Peacemaker Jack !

 

have fun and be safe !

 

[tom2p 2,394]

not too familiar with chain life on a street bike - barely rode on the street 

 

but a quality O-ring chain ** on a dirt bike is a game changer - they go just about forever ... might need to change countershaft sprocket now and then 

when we were younger chain care was large part of bike maintenance and frequent adjustments and chain / sprocket replacement were required ... some had sophisticated lubes and chain oilers installed on their bikes 

 

but O-ring chain barely required maintenance  ... once in a while would use some chain lube ... ? ... adjust once or twice early in its life and you could just about forget about it 

and that includes a lot of riding in nasty conditions - like the thick mud / bogs that would keep your bike upright when you were stuck and dismounted 

** DID chain - for example 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by tom2p

[Handy Don 12,151]

Gave a few minutes to the Gates.com website for their industrial belts, but wasn't able to zero in on the tensile strength or power transmission limits for that series of belts. It'll take someone more familiar with specifying belts.

 

@8ntruck's suggestion of debris under the belt that perhaps compromised the belt's structure while forcing it into a longer travel makes good sense to me.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Regarding the belt: first off—when I purchased this bike, I really wanted a Harley but in the mid 90’s they were so popular that it was really hard to get your hands on a brand new one without paying top dollar which I couldn’t afford to do at the time.  In addition to the price, you typically had to wait about 18 months from order date to pick up.  When you are just 20 years old that length of time feels like about a decade!  So, I shopped the market and found this brand new Vulcan.  I would’ve bought the 1500cc variant but I liked the look of the 800cc much more.  This one looks enough like a Harley Softail that it often gets mistaken for one but those that really don’t know the Harley architecture well.  
 

I would’ve never guessed when I purchased my new bike that I’d still be riding it 23 years later.  I began to modify it shortly after I purchased it and ironically most of those mods where for over the road use.  The more I road tripped, the more I enjoyed it.  Back before I was so busy, I would regularly take it out for a 250 mile Saturday “jaunt”.  After 40,000 miles I had gone through two sets of chain and sprockets.  However, it is the constant lube and adjustments plus the noise that I really don’t care for.  
 

ScootWorks was a very popular company among the metric cruisers back in the late 90’s and the first decade of the 2000’s.  They made a variety of accessories and some really cool metric customs over the years but they were known for their belt drive kits.  They torture tested them on the Suzuki Hayabusa crotch rocket—and they held up.  They sold 1000’s of these kits for multiple chain driven bikes.  By the time I got to buying a kit, the owner was selling out remaining stock and closing the business.  Kawasaki replaced my bike with the 900 in 2007 and gave it a belt drive from the factory.  The marketplace for cruisers has changed drastically since the early 2000’s and ScootWorks has apparently closed.  I can’t even pull up their website anymore.  
 

If I have more trouble with the belt kit, I can change back to the chain, however—that is not likely to happen.  I really like the benefits of the belt.  I can say with surety, I will be looking seriously at a touring bike later this summer and the “banana bike” will be turned into a Bobber for town runs, local cruising, and teaching the kids to drive bike!

 

Thank you everyone for your input.  I can’t say why that belt broke but we have already logged 650 miles on the new one👍🏻🙌🏻

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

DAY FOUR: Claudia is one tough young lady!

One of the places that we both really wanted to visit on this trip was the Henry Ford museum. However, with the trip not going the way that we had planned, we weren’t sure that we would be able to make it work.  Rain was forecast for much of the day on Thursday and at supper Wednesday night, I explained to Claudia that we would end up doing a lot of highway driving if we went to the museum.  She still said, “We didn’t come all this way to stop now! I think we should go and enjoy it.”  We woke up to steady falling rain but still enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the hotel.  As we packed up the bike and put on our rain gear, I was praying for the best.  The trip to Dearborn was fairly uneventful other than periods of rain and one 15 minute stop and go traffic jam.  It always makes you nervous when you are driving a bike and you see the large caution sign which states “STANDING WATER ON ROADWAY”.  Thankfully that receded by the time we got there.  

The Henry Ford museum is well worth the price of admission.  There was so much to see and do that our 6 hours there went by in a flash.

 

claudia loves to play the violin and Ford had a collection of very rare and ancient violins purchased in his latter years.  Most of those in the case were more than 300 years old!

Great agricultural exhibit with lots of milestone tractors and implements.

Several times throughout the museum we talked about the importance of advertising and marketing your product to the masses.  You may have the best idea in the world but if the world doesn’t know about it, your business won’t grow.  

Claudia was amazed at this early TV in comparison to her phone that has a screen nearly the same size with much better resolution.

And it doubles as a telephone😂

I of course loved the racing exhibit and could have spent all day there. It was fun to see cars like this 1967 Lemans winner and compare it to the new Lemans GT…

Very informative and interesting exhibits.

Claudia also really enjoyed this exhibit and found all the hands on displays fascinating.  
 

Before we knew it, we had to hit the road because our hotel was in Mackinaw City way up in the north.  As we rolled out of Detroit, it was about 80 degrees but by the time we reached Flint it was in the high 60’s.  The temps continued to drop as we rolled along the highway and we kept adding layers at fuel stops.

 Claudia didn’t complain but soldiered on as we logged mile after mile.  Nearly 300 miles later we reached our destination.  It was about 58 degrees with a gorgeous sunset as we finally saw the bridge on the horizon.  

425 miles in the saddle and lots of memories to relive in upcoming years…

Edited July 9, 2021 by PeacemakerJack

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

DAY FIVE: A gorgeous close to an eventful trip!

After breakfast at the hotel, we decided to meander around downtown Mackinaw City before heading north over the bridge.  There were lots of little shops still closed at 9:00am but enough were open for us to do some souvenir shopping.  It is a neat place but definitely geared for tourists and the week of July 4 is a tourist week for sure as we noticed everywhere we went.  About 10:30, we fueled up and made the trek across the Mackinac Bridge.  It was the third time I had been across it on a motorcycle and it never disappoints.  It was cool and clear and the panoramic view went on for miles.  Claudia was overwhelmed with the whole experience and just plain excited that she has this opportunity.  
 

Per Uncle Jim’s @WHX24 recommendation we stopped at a UP store and had them make us up a hot Pasty for lunch and enjoyed the feel of a small country store.  

The miles of US 2 that wrap around Lake Michigan make for some tremendous motorcycle riding and we couldn’t have asked for a better day.  

 

Claudia has never had the opportunity to walk in the water of a large body of water and so we found a good spot next to the lake and she got to fulfill that dream.  We walked along the beach for about an hour just talking and soaking in the whole experience.  That is what these trips are really about—connecting with my “baby” girl before she officially becomes an adult. Finding a way to do that so that it interests them is the challenge.  Thankfully, she enjoys motorcycling and loves these adventures.  

The remainder of our trip was uneventful and picturesque.  We did make one stop on the way home—at a motorcycle dealership just south of Green Bay.  We spent a little time looking at touring bikes, they had some Indians, Beemers, Ultras, but my favorite—a victory Cross Country Tour.  It had just been traded in that morning on a new Indian and wasn’t even hauled back inside.  It had all the touring extras on it. Claudia said, “That’s it, call mom and tell her we are bringing home a new bike for the first time in 23 years!”  

well said Claud but I don’t think it works quite that way🧐😉

Thank you friends of Red Square for taking this little journey with us.  Special thanks to @pullstart for making it a reality after our first day mishap.  We logged a total of about 1600 miles and made lots of memories.  

Claudia said, “If you get a touring bike, can we go west next year—maybe the black hills?” 
 

Sounds like a plan to me👍🏻

[Pullstart 62,791]

Here’s a video.  I believe the drive belt was just barely rubbing the tire, chaffing the edge and creating a tear like duct tape rips apart.  We trimmed the edge of the tire a bit to see if I was correct in my assumption.

 

  

[19richie66 17,500]

1 hour ago, pullstart said:We trimmed the edge of the tire a bit 

So now the tire will blow out  

[8ntruck 6,991]

Looks like you two had a great trip. 

 

The Henry Ford Museum is one of my favorite places.  Been a long time since I was there.  In the late '90s, we hosted an exchange student from Finland.  He was a big Ferrari fan.  One of the trips we made with him was to the Henry Ford Museum.  We got to that red GT 40 and I gleefully pointed out that it was a Ferrari killer when he asked what it was.