home on a tow truck

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

brxpb

Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
176
Country flag
I had the pleasure of my first ride home on the recovery truck with the commando tonight, I'd finished work and was taking, lets say, not the shortest route home :D , I gave it the gas on a straight when suddenly the clutch slipped, I had next to no traction and just crawled along to a garage forecourt before stopping. I popped the primary cover off to find that my belt didn't have a single tooth left on it, they were all piled up in the bottm of the chain case, or on the floor by this point. Game over.
It is one of Tony Haywards whitish belts, couldn't spot that the gearbox had loosened and come forward, nothing appears seized, all gears engage, has anyone had this happen, think they all went in one go because there was no intermittent drive or snatch/slip beforehand. This belt has been on for a good while now, slack enough that I could just get it on and off without slackening the gearbox but with a bit of a struggle.
Is Tony Hayward still going, he lives not too far from me, but haven't heard anything about him for a few years, I could pop down for one but you have to be in the mood for a chat with Tony!!!
I'll investigate a bit more in the week.
Paul.
 
A good while, but how many miles?
Hate to be a head mistress but spare belt is
small and light and inexpensive enough to
be carried along.
 
brxpb said:
but you have to be in the mood for a chat with Tony!!!
Click to expand...

If you're toothless, he probably won't want to talk to you !

Cam belts have a strictly prescribed service life, wonder if primary belts are in the same category. ?
 
Onder said:
A good while, but how many miles?
Hate to be a head mistress but spare belt is
small and light and inexpensive enough to
be carried along.
Click to expand...

Deifinately no more than 6000 miles, trouble free till today.
Yes, a spare under the seat would have got me home, if I were going touring I would but locally, I can't carry for every eventuallity, that said if I'd had a spare at home the wife could have brought it out to me, hindsight is a wonderfull thing!!
 
Acknowledging that Rohan is probably right, if it was loose enough to remove & refit without adjusting tension I think it's likely that it was too loose,
My Bob Newby set up came with instructions to tension the belt to the point where I can just twist the belt to vertical (i.e. - through 90 degrees) with my fingers in the middle of the top run (halfway between crank & clutch)
When tensioned this way there is no way I could remove or refit the belt without adjusting the gearbox forward.
What is your tensioning method? Maybe Hayward method is different???
Cheers
Rob
 
Rob, if my memory serves me right, when I fitted it I had a few gear selection problems, the main consensus on here was that the belt was too tight, after slackening to more the correct margins, it just happened that I could, with a struggle mind you, get it on and off without slackening the gearbox, I've done this several times, once to change the final drive sprocket and once to fit a clutch nut seal are two that readily come to mind, it has never so much as slipped on the kick starter or showed any sign of trouble, I think the box might have shoved forward when I gave it the beans but it's still tight enough that I couldn't move it by hand at the roadside, I need to do an autopsy :x
 
robs ss said:
Acknowledging that Rohan is probably right, if it was loose enough to remove & refit without adjusting tension I think it's likely that it was too loose,
My Bob Newby set up came with instructions to tension the belt to the point where I can just twist the belt to vertical (i.e. - through 90 degrees) with my fingers in the middle of the top run (halfway between crank & clutch)
When tensioned this way there is no way I could remove or refit the belt without adjusting the gearbox forward.
What is your tensioning method? Maybe Hayward method is different???
Cheers
Rob
Click to expand...

Likely all different, my Maney belt adjusted to the free play range indicated allows me to slide the belt on and off the clutch basked with no fuss or untensioning
 
When a belt fails it's usually because it was too tight. If the trans adjusters are not set to hold the transmission forward then the rear drive will pull the trans back and make the primary belt too tight.

I can easily remove and replace my belt without loosening the trans. Jim
 
Haven't had a problem with any of my primary chains, and my 850 might be the most traveled in NZ right now.

Dereck
 
kerinorton said:
Haven't had a problem with any of my primary chains, and my 850 might be the most traveled in NZ right now.

Dereck
Click to expand...

I haven't had chain problems either. But I have had problems with oil leaks from the primary and oil fouled clutch plates in the past. My last primary belt lasted over 70,000 miles. Jim
 
Rohan said:
comnoz said:
My last primary belt lasted over 70,000 miles.
Click to expand...

Did you replace it, or did it fail/show signs of failing ?
Click to expand...

I started my bike in the garage and while I was getting ready to leave I heard a rapping noise from the chaincase area. I pulled the cover for a look and found a 3/4 wide by 1 inch strip was loose from the top layer of cords and hitting the inside of the chest. That delayed my departure by a half hour.

I always carry a spare with me just in case. Same with the rear drive belt. Jim

Here is my belt failure. That was a lot further back than I thought. Time flies.

home on a tow truck
 
Just having fun Jim.
The only time I had problems with oil leaks from my primary was when the rear main seal started leaking. The correct amount of automotive silicon round the rubber ring stopped the leaks. never had problems with even the 20-50 oil i used in the primary, but now I use ATF in both primary and g.box.
Dereck
PS sorry to be off track. Gotta have fun.
 
kerinorton said:
Haven't had a problem with any of my primary chains, and my 850 might be the most traveled in NZ right now.

Dereck
Click to expand...

I don't understand.

On each of my 4 British bikes, the oil-bath primary chain is the most reliable, maintenance free part of the design.

They seem to last forever, need adjustment seldom, and never fail. I don't have to remove the electric starter to use it, and the oil that helps the chain last also does its job with the clutch and alternator.

From what I can tell, reading about broken belts, stripped teeth, having to remove starters, overheating alternators, etc .... if someone offered to install a belt for me on my MkIII for FREE, parts and labor, I would turn them down, because I can't see at all how it is an upgrade.

Only belt I've ever had was the rear drive belt on my new 1984 HD ElectraGlide. It was OK I suppose but had to be adjusted just like a chain, AND I know that folks would lose the belt if a rock were kicked into it - the big chain on HDs never breaks.

So what am I missing that many other people seem to know?

Lannis
 
Lannis said:
kerinorton said:
Haven't had a problem with any of my primary chains, and my 850 might be the most traveled in NZ right now.

Dereck
Click to expand...

I don't understand.

On each of my 4 British bikes, the oil-bath primary chain is the most reliable, maintenance free part of the design.

They seem to last forever, need adjustment seldom, and never fail. I don't have to remove the electric starter to use it, and the oil that helps the chain last also does its job with the clutch and alternator.

From what I can tell, reading about broken belts, stripped teeth, having to remove starters, overheating alternators, etc .... if someone offered to install a belt for me on my MkIII for FREE, parts and labor, I would turn them down, because I can't see at all how it is an upgrade.

Only belt I've ever had was the rear drive belt on my new 1984 HD ElectraGlide. It was OK I suppose but had to be adjusted just like a chain, AND I know that folks would lose the belt if a rock were kicked into it - the big chain on HDs never breaks.

So what am I missing that many other people seem to know?

Lannis
Click to expand...

Amen.
Seen dozens of them failed (industrial) with no reason/explaination apparent. :?:
 
The HD drive belts are now very very different than they were over 30 years ago. I just sold my 2001 Harley Road King with 99,890 miles on the clock. It still had the original belt. They require a couple of initial adjustments but seem to set in after about 6,000 miles. Clean, quiet, and mostly trouble free. The newer ones resist breaking even with a few rock holes in them. I think that it's a great commentary that HD still uses a chain in their primary just like Norton for the same reasons as quoted.
 
[/quote]

My right knee works fine.

The e-start is long gone.[/quote]

A-ha! My knees are heading towards eventual replacement. I often will kick it when I'm sure it will start on one; otherwise I push the button.
 
Remember that the belt gets a LOT tighter when the bike warms up. I was amazed how much tighter.

I tend to agree about the chain being the long term way to go. But most of us succumb to the 'make-it-better'
syndrome. Belts are lighter, a lot lighter, need no oil.
So my Norton got one. My Enfield Interceptor got one because you cannot source all the clutch bits. My
Trident stays with the chain because of lube issues with the standard clutch.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Interbak
The things you find on a road trip
Replies
4
Views
420
drp
D
ashman
Seems a lot on here have different ways of doing thing on their Norton's
2
Replies
36
Views
2,334
Jonez69
Jonez69
ashman
Seems to be a debate on use of clutch when stopped
2 3 4 5 6 7
Replies
134
Views
5,730
ashman
ashman
Head
revs hanging when changing gears on a triumph triple 900
Replies
5
Views
617
concours
concours
markaust18
Commando 750 clutch set up on a N15CS - bad clutch slip
Replies
7
Views
530
kommando
kommando
Back
Top