What do you make of this? Slightly worried

[Alien]

I noticed a squeak at parking lot speeds and it sounded like it was coming from under my right footpeg.

I got home and noticed this discoloration on my drive belt.

I grasped the tensioner pulley and was able to turn it even though the belt is pressing on it. When I turned it, the friction against the belt created the squeak I believe I heard while riding.

While having a rear tire installed last week, I inspected the belt and it looked fine. The tensioner was not tampered with during the tire change.

The tensioner pulley is very polished & shiny with similar pattern of markings as the belt, so it seems the tensioner isn't rotating as freely as it should.

What's proper maintenance for the tensioner?
Does it have bearings?
Should I just disassemble & grease it?
Have there been reports of tensioner failures?

So, what's with these symptoms?

 

[thrstrmech]

that's the coating from the idler pulley...

replaced mine due to the bearings also worn...but got creative with it

 

[Alien]

How important is that coating? Can I resurface the pulley?

Can I just install new bearings & not worry about the coating? Wtf with bearings already...

Ok, so a new idler pulley from ASB is $100. But bearings are under $20.

So it really comes down to the importance of the coating.

Anyone??

 

[crawfo]

The bearings do go bad. I would have that pulley checked to make sure you didn't take off more than the finish before re-using it. It should be easy to check to see if it went out of round.

 

[konarider94]

ive replaced just the bearings before. keep track of the spacers if you change the bearings. one of the spacers is thicker than the other.

http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Buell-Parts-Guy-Questions-and-Answers/tensioner-pulley

 

[thrstrmech]

bought a used pulley from a forum member for 50 bucks, yes you can replace the bearings...had to replace mine cause the surface was very uneven and didn't want to take a chance reusing it

 

[Theycallmecrash]

I do believe that the tensioner and belt are suggested to be replaced as a pair, possibly said in manual. Bearings wear so do pulleys, see tons of cars at work come through just because of friction over an idler pulley. Take 300 sand paper to the pulley see if that helps

 

[Alien]

I was about to just order a new pulley from ASB and they say first time orders MUST be sent to billing address. I'm currently 1400 miles from home. Wtf. I have a trip to the Keys planned in less than a week. This is pissing me off.

 

[konarider94]

just go buy a couple bearings and a tube of bearing and sleeve retainer. problem solved. bearings are so cheap

 

[JOEL9]

If you do go the new pulley route, keep in mind that the long frame buells (ss,stt,ulys) use a different pulley than the regular (short) frame xb's.

 

[thrstrmech]

the manual only states to replace the idler pulley as an assembly...the wheel and bracket together, your belt should be fine unless it meets the conditions illustrated in the manual in chapter one, under drive belt wear patterns and wear analysis, '03 models have a different size pulley than the newer models which I have, Uly's were probably a concept drawing when mine was manufactured...regardless, clean your belt as prescribe by the manual with mild soap and water spray solution, do not immerse into solution...dry thoroughly, I use my air compressor and blow dry the entire bike after getting a bath, doesn't leave any standing water to cause rust, just my 2 cents

 

[konarider94]

the manual only states to replace the idler pulley as an assembly...the wheel and bracket together

You really think that's necessary?

 

[Alien]

I swapped out the bearings today. Very straight forward procedure. Thanks for all the input!

My old bearings were in sad shape with 22k miles on them. I could barely turn them by hand after I got them out of the pully. The new ones are silky smooth.

If your bike has 20k+ miles, swap them out asap. If I hopped on the bike for a trip today not realizing they were bad it would've ended badly.

 

[konarider94]

[up]

 

[Zeroflat24]

Where would one go to buy just ball bearings?

 

[konarider94]

any industrial supply like fastenal or grainger or local bearing supplier. allballsracing.com has them. on their homepage it says order by part number. the bearings are 6203-2RS. A whopping $3.25 each.

 

[Alien]

Autozone, etc likely has them too, but they have trouble matching the 6203 number.

 

[konarider94]

oh wow how about that. its a timken too, they make good bearings. watch them freak when you tell them you are putting an "alternator bearing" on your motorcycle tensioner pulley.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/_/N-9riip?itemIdentifier=630257_0_0_

 

[SlyFox]

If your bike has 20k+ miles, swap them out asap

Oh hell! I've got 23,000 mis....but no squeaks yet.

 

[Alien]

The squeek is from the belt sliding over the pully. That means the bearings are already seizing enough to not spin freely with the belt motion. Take a look at the running surface of your pully; if the finish is polished off by the belt, you know you have a potential problem, even if you don't hear the squeak.

If you hear the squeak, it's time for immediate attention imho.

I'm leaving in a few days for a trip to Key West. If thise bearings totally seized halfway down Aligator Alley it would've cooked my belt (of which I'm currently not carrying a spare (donations welcome!)) and I'd be screwed.

Like wheel bearings, these are cheap and swappable in your garage. Do it, I say.