Belt loss and sprocket options

Finally snapped the original belt on my 2008 XB12Ss and it fortunately occurred right around the corner from my office after a some very spirited riding through the canyons leading to it.

The service manual says that any missing coating over 0.25" is subject to sprocket replacement, but they're a bit like unicorns and pricey to boot. Any way to recondition the existing sprocket? I was thinking it might be cheaper to take it to a reputable coating specialist and have it refinished or something. Maybe even hard anodized. I looked at converting to chain drive, but not really sure I want to commit to that at this point.

Here's a couple of snaps of what my sprocket looks like with fairly typical coating chips missing, definitely longer than 0.25" in many cases. The belt loss was probably caused by some debris that has gouged the edge of the sprocket seen in the 2nd photo. That would probably need to be sanded down and smoothed out...

The front belt drive pulley is raw unfinished. The rear belt drive pulley is lightly baked enamel wrinkle finish. OEM drive belt is lightly coated with protective sirlin coating.

ALL SS...X...XT info below:
BELT---135T---PART # G0500.1AKF----MULTIPLES IN DEALER SYSTEM
FRONT PULLEY---27T---PART # 40288-95---OVER 100 IN DEALER SYSTEM--CROSSES TO XL
REAR PULLEY---65T---PART # G0400.1AA---MULTIPLES IN DEALER SYSTEM

Rear looks heavily worn and I'd replace it. Fronts seldom show any signs of wear. Good used 65T rear pulleys on Ebay.

Barrett said:

The front belt drive pulley is raw unfinished. The rear belt drive pulley is lightly baked enamel wrinkle finish. OEM drive belt is lightly coated with protective sirlin coating.

ALL SS...X...XT info below:
BELT---135T---PART # G0500.1AKF----MULTIPLES IN DEALER SYSTEM
FRONT PULLEY---27T---PART # 40288-95---OVER 100 IN DEALER SYSTEM--CROSSES TO XL
REAR PULLEY---65T---PART # G0400.1AA---MULTIPLES IN DEALER SYSTEM

Rear looks heavily worn and I'd replace it. Fronts seldom show any signs of wear. Good used 65T rear pulleys on Ebay.

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Thanks very much! I'll be making a trip to my local HD dealer this week.

Ordered from my local dealer - cheaper than online!

IMO, replace those rear wheel bearings*. Uly's especially like to kill bearings with a new belt replacement. The factory tension is just fine, bad installation procedures started that rumor. Axle torque procedure is critical, every time you R&R the rear wheel. Tighten axle to 25ft/lbs, spin the wheel, back off 4 turns, re-tighten to 50ft/lbs.

You may need some heat to loosen the old loc-tite on the pulley bolts, but careful on the wheel finish! I'll break those bolts loose with a breaker bar and torx socket while the wheel is still on the bike to use as an anchor. Torque to spec in a lug-nut pattern, an overtightened or a too loose pulley will ruin a thin Buell wheel

*With the bearings out, check that bearing spacer for damage on the ends. A wheel that has been over-torqued ONE TIME will crush that aluminum spacer, side load the roller bearings and kill them quickly from that point on, until its replaced.

Hope that helps!

I always use a calibrated torque wrench for everything since my job is working on aircraft, so I don't think I'd be dealing with an overtorque situation, but that pulley has been on for a long time. At one point, many years ago, I had a rear wheel bearing failure and replaced the entire wheel with a 2010 MY unit that has the 3 bearing setup. I've not replaced those bearings since that installation because they still seem to spin freely, but at this point, I will probably go for a new set. Does anyone know what the interchange is on those? I don't have the wheel in front of me... I think all 3 bearings are the same.

The rear wheel bearing interchange may be 6206-RS2. I picked up some Nachi bearings that say they're made in India, but the industrial supplier thinks they're good.

Mesozoic said:

I always use a calibrated torque wrench for everything since my job is working on aircraft, so I don't think I'd be dealing with an overtorque situation, but that pulley has been on for a long time. At one point, many years ago, I had a rear wheel bearing failure and replaced the entire wheel with a 2010 MY unit that has the 3 bearing setup. I've not replaced those bearings since that installation because they still seem to spin freely, but at this point, I will probably go for a new set. Does anyone know what the interchange is on those? I don't have the wheel in front of me... I think all 3 bearings are the same.

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YES Sir...ALL 3 of the rear wheel bearings the same. See attachment for OEM part numbers if needed. I know you're talented and very skilled but don't forget the left side spacer....part #1...during reassembly. And ALWAYS remove the brake caliper PRIOR to attempting to loosen rear axle. Always. The rear axle often tends to want to "grip" the wheel bearings during this procedure....pulling the wheel assembly over towards the belt side and bending the hell out of the rotor. Just FYI.

Barrett said:

YES Sir...ALL 3 of the rear wheel bearings the same. See attachment for OEM part numbers if needed. I know you're talented and very skilled but don't forget the left side spacer....part #1...during reassembly. And ALWAYS remove the brake caliper PRIOR to attempting to loosen rear axle. Always. The rear axle often tends to want to "grip" the wheel bearings during this procedure....pulling the wheel assembly over towards the belt side and bending the hell out of the rotor. Just FYI.

View attachment 16893

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Good point, will remember to remove the brake before loosening the axle. Regardless of talent and skill, still been known to blow things up from time to time! Thanks again for all the detailed information. Looks like I'll be able to continue riding my XB12Ss, after all.

Got ma sprocket in for $208, planning to install it this weekend. I'm going to see if I can refinish the old one as well, not sure what it will take yet, but I guess it would require stripping down and then refinishing to make sure all the teeth were properly coated in enamel.

Barrett said:

Chrysler 426 Hemi low-gloss black wrinkle finish spray paint the closest I've ever found for rear pulley.
VHT....Mopar....Eastwood....PJ1...probably a few others all have it in spray bombs. Follow directions and lots of light coats to get the wrinkle finish just right.

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Thanks! I also have some black textured (crinkle) powdercoat, but not sure what to do about the teeth.

Powdercoat is a much better option IMO. Easily done with a hobby Eastwood kit in a toaster sized oven.

The epoxy should last a lot longer in that high wear area. I'd high temp mask off the teeth though. Wouldn't want it to chip off the fancy part
Just did some gloss parts and some flat/wrinkle parts for this old Softail. Turned out great!
Blacked out the rocker boxes, pushrod bases/covers, trans covers, primary, derby, fork lowers/covers, headlight ring, wheel/tire swap, and a bunch of other things.




I think it turned out sweet!

Alright, so here's a question for the group. I have the new sprocket from Harley Davidson and comparing it to the old one, I'm not sure the new one is finished as well as the old one. I'm not sure if the sprocket comparison image will come through with enough resolution, but there appears to be the textured paint overspray into the belt tooth groove area, to the point where there's buildup and you can scrape it with a fingernail and remove bits. My concern would be that the textured paint might abrade the new belt?

I'd run it. Opinions will vary.

Borrow the wife’s sonic care toothbrush use a little rubbing compound and take off the overspray. I have used my wife’s toothbrush and it works great for those tight spots!


Just buy her a new head for it and “loose” the old one before she gets home.

AND never tell her how well it works…. That was a mistake

That’s an excellent idea, cvc!

Mesozoic said:

Alright, so here's a question for the group. I have the new sprocket from Harley Davidson and comparing it to the old one, I'm not sure the new one is finished as well as the old one. I'm not sure if the sprocket comparison image will come through with enough resolution, but there appears to be the textured paint overspray into the belt tooth groove area, to the point where there's buildup and you can scrape it with a fingernail and remove bits. My concern would be that the textured paint might abrade the new belt?

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The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/c...parts-with-an-air-nozzle-weight-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

34nineteen said:

The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/c...parts-with-an-air-nozzle-weight-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

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LOL yeah, something like that!

I brought the sprocket into our lab today and showed it to a friend of mine who's also a rider and a composite specialist. He agreed that it's looking pretty rough and even suggested returning it... not sure I would go that far, though. The issue is that the overspray isn't from a smooth paint, it's from the textured black paint that goes on the main visible part of the sprocket. It's really rough and you can tell it's going to chew up the belt (at least a little bit) if it were to go on as is. I'm not sure how many others have had to replace their rear sprockets before, but I'm curious if the finish quality was better or something a while back? It may seem like I'm being anal and paranoid, but with a new belt, sprocket, and bearings it's getting close to $1K and I want to ensure that my installation has some longevity to it, like the original setup did.

34nineteen said:

The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/c...parts-with-an-air-nozzle-weight-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

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You're a nozzle.

Mesozoic said:

LOL yeah, something like that!

I brought the sprocket into our lab today and showed it to a friend of mine who's also a rider and a composite specialist. He agreed that it's looking pretty rough and even suggested returning it... not sure I would go that far, though. The issue is that the overspray isn't from a smooth paint, it's from the textured black paint that goes on the main visible part of the sprocket. It's really rough and you can tell it's going to chew up the belt (at least a little bit) if it were to go on as is. I'm not sure how many others have had to replace their rear sprockets before, but I'm curious if the finish quality was better or something a while back? It may seem like I'm being anal and paranoid, but with a new belt, sprocket, and bearings it's getting close to $1K and I want to ensure that my installation has some longevity to it, like the original setup did.

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You could return it, but can you guarantee what you will get back will be any better? Whoever you ordered it from likely got it as a special order from Harley, so unless you can get Harley to go through their existing stock (if there is any) and cherry pick the best one for you, you may just get back what you already have.

The other reality is that Harley may not see this as being a problem. It may truly not be a problem, and it may not be a problem because its not going on their bike.

The other thing to consider is that you are going to have a bunch of sand, grit, etc running through that interface just through the normal course of riding the bike that the paint overspray should not be an issue.

Myself, I would just run it, and let the belt abrade off the overspray. If I felt it was too much overspray, I may get my dremel and try to "polish" out the overspray with a fine abrasive (or just roll up some emery cloth and give each groove a couple swipes to clean them up). I get it that its $1K of your money, and I'm not knocking you for being (overly?) cautious. Also, remember when you install the $1000 of parts and run them for a few miles, you will have burned off about $800 of that.

Years ago, on my 1125CR, I bought new tires from Cycle Gear. Something happened when the rear was being mounted and the rear pulley took a little bit of damage. I went home, cleaned up a few of the grooves on the pulley with a fine file and some emery cloth and I'm sure the bike is still running around on that same belt and pulley without a care in the world.

My $0.02