Belt drive and gravel roads

[David792]

Harley said no

I'm back from the HD dealership. The service writer said belt damage is not covered by warranty. I tried to be friendly and maybe persuade him a little, but it's a no-go. He also said that he's seen many damaged belts go for thousands of miles before being replaced (for whatever reason). Also told me there is no recommended mileage to replace a belt. So.... I guess I'll ride it as is for a while and when it starts to bother me I'll do the work in my garage. Thought about buying a backup belt... just in case, but I could end up packing it around for a couple years before needing it. Botton line is that I have roadside assistance... and insurance so if I'm on a ride and it breaks I'll spend a couple days in a motel waiting on the fix.

As for the alignment. I'll check my manuals, but if the bike rolls straight, like Fuzzy says, I'll just leave it for a while.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"

 

[ultrafxr]

I'm back from the HD dealership. The service writer said belt damage is not covered by warranty. I tried to be friendly and maybe persuade him a little, but it's a no-go. He also said that he's seen many damaged belts go for thousands of miles before being replaced (for whatever reason). Also told me there is no recommended mileage to replace a belt. So.... I guess I'll ride it as is for a while and when it starts to bother me I'll do the work in my garage. Thought about buying a backup belt... just in case, but I could end up packing it around for a couple years before needing it. Botton line is that I have roadside assistance... and insurance so if I'm on a ride and it breaks I'll spend a couple days in a motel waiting on the fix.

As for the alignment. I'll check my manuals, but if the bike rolls straight, like Fuzzy says, I'll just leave it for a while.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"

David, since Fuzzy posted that HD did in fact cover his damaged belt it might be worth a call to HD customer service (is that an oxymoron, lol) and ask them. Nothing to lose and you might get lucky and at least get part of it covered.

Several years ago I bought a used FXR3. It was almost three years old and way out of the one year warranty HD offered at that time. Developed an oil leak which turned out to be a cracked inner primary. Asked service writer to call HD to see if they'd cover it. He said they would not since I was not the original owner and it was way out of warranty. But I did and HD agreed to repair it if I paid $100 deductible. Heck yeah I jumped on that. Made me suspect I was not the first to have this problem and it was a known issue so not quite the same as your damaged belt. But HD sometimes does come through for customer goodwill. Never know.

 

[hogcowboy]

HD must have changed as I had a belt where at 33k at 18 months the teeth on about every tooth had separated from one side on about half the belt and they refused to warranty it. And supposedly my dealer fought hard to get it warrantied. Unless you are there listening I don't know how you would prove that though. But yep, it was a wear item which I said BS to.

 

[kingfish108]

At 30306 miles and still under warranty, I had to get the belt that never breaks replaced. I was told that it is a wear item. Cost me $1125, two weeks of no motorcycle to ride and a motorcycle trip in the car. Cost Harley the sale of a 2020 TriGlide. Decided to upgrade my 2019 car instead and pocket the rest of the money.

 

[rhino 2]

I'm the last person to defend Harley.......But lets call a spade a spade the belt is a wear item , ...A very expensive one to replace at that... And no belt can last for ever....

 

[hogcowboy]

And if you ride on gravel a lot like I have to, replacing the belt is a very good idea as dust alone accelerates the amount of wear. It's an expensive wear item but it is a wear item none the less.