** Belt Noise **

[sakirider]

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. Here is what the stealership did to my bike.

The belt was rubbing against the corner of the rear pulley. The mechanic added a spacer which moved the belt toward the middle. That got rid of a lot of the noise.

I rode the bike for a week and the some of the noise came back. I was advised to bring the bike in again and this past Saturday, the mechanic rechecked his work. The service manager told me that Ma Kawi told them that it probably was gear noise as the gears were redesigned. The mechanic sprayed the belt with a penetrating silicon base fluid and and there was very little to no difference in the noise.

The noise is mostly at the speeds between 30 and 50 MPH. When I pull in the clutch, the noise continues. The worked on the bike a little more and it is much better now. The noise is still there but not as loud. I think the fixed the annoying noise and I believe that was belt noise. I honestly believe that the noise I now hear is gear noise, and I do not believe that there is anything the mechanic can do about that unless he redesigns the gear. I hope the gear will "wear in" and be ever so faint, if that! For sure it is much better and quite at highway speeds but for the sound from the pipes. For now the current situation is fine, it will be rechecked at the next service. :bowdn:

Again, thank you everyone. Ride with Pride.

[drno]

Looked at my mounts today. Lh side has a bit of space as you describe. rh side is bulged a bit as you describe. Havent looked at the pully yet, both edges of my belt are fine with no apparent rubbing. Ill have a look at the pully a bit late when it warms up again.

[drno]

Originally Posted by gv550

drno, I'm glad that loosening the belt and adjusting the axle eliminated your belt noise.
In the interest of science, could you check 2 things on your bike?
First, look at the left front motor mount, see if there is a gap between the rubber puck and the steel mount, then look at the right side and see if there is no gap and the puck is bulged.
Second, with the bike on the side stand, crawl under the right side and look forward with a flash light and see where the belt is running on the front pulley. The teeth will be shiny where the belt runs, and also see if the outer flange is shiny.
I did experiment with belt tension and axle adjustments and was able to reduce the noise at first, but as the miles rolled on the noise returned. Now that I have the belt running in the centre of my front pulley, I can set the tension to 3.5 mm and there is no noise.
I am not predicting any gloom for your bike, I'd just like to know if all 1700s are the same or maybe mine is just "special" :)

Garry

I looked at a few new 2009's and 2010's and all 1700's I looked at, 5 in total 1, Classic LT, 3 Nomads, 1 Voyager, had the same small gap on lh side and a bit of a bulge on the other. Looks like a normal occurance.

[Jinx]

I have a question unrelated to the noise.
My 1700 2011 Voyager is the fist bike I have owned with belt drive.
I live on a rural acreage with about 6 k of gravel.
Is there a concern that loose gravel kicking up from the front tire can do any damage to the belt drive?

TX

Jinx from a wintery Manitoba

[buckey1313]

Yes it can happen but no more than a rock kicking up and damaging a chain drive also which could happen. They have allot of tolerance to them and are very durable really and this has caused very few problems by a small rock being kicked up by what I have read on other forums. It can happen but not very likely.

[blowndodge]

I saw Norm jogging one day and his belt was making tons of noise!

[Jinx]

Thanks much for that. Puts my mind at ease.

[redjay]

I have a 2010 Voyager. The only time I hear any noise from the belt is when it is too tight.

[R_W_B]

Originally Posted by gv550

. . . . . . . . . .
Now that I have the belt running in the centre of my front pulley, I can set the tension to 3.5 mm and there is no noise.
. . . . . . .

Wow that's amazing, if my calcs are correct that's only bout 1/8". I could never understand why Kawa manuals give such a tight spec on their belts. These belts are made out of the same stuff (and probably come from the same source) as the belts on other bikes that have manual specs of 1/2" tension.

I adjust mine the same as I did my previous Harley, which is close to 5/8" with a tension gauge pressure. And it still feels plenty snug when you grab it with your hand. It's not slapping around loose by any means. I was told by a belt tech years ago that it was better to err too loose than too tight.

Originally Posted by redjay

I have a 2010 Voyager. The only time I hear any noise from the belt is when it is too tight.

I don't notice any undue noise on mine either since I loosened it (about 3 days after I bought it). But admittedly some bikes have special issues and motor mounts do sometimes come mucked up on all brands. Thankfully mine did not have the issues that gv550 or sakirider had.

[Top Cat]

I like my SHAFT DRIVE 2008 Nomad more every time I read threads like this.
Even if the thread was started years ago

[redjay]

Shaft drive has its problems too. Bevel gear failure, universal joint failure and pinion seal leaks.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by redjay

Shaft drive has its problems too. Bevel gear failure, universal joint failure and pinion seal leaks.

Really? My 2007 that I bought new and sold this spring with 89,000 miles on it never had a problem.
The only thing done as far as maintenance on the drive line was grease the swing arm at 35,000 miles.
Seems pretty reliable and quiet to me.

[cnc]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

I saw Norm jogging one day and his belt was making tons of noise!

You got good eye sight Brad. That's what 3000 + miles?

[redjay]

TC. The issues with the shaft drive on the Nomads are well documented. Even though you have not had issues with them quite a few have. Not everyone has had issues with the belt drive on the 1700's.

[Kevinhyland]

I had this issue on my 11 Vaquero, it just turned out to be belt tension, after being set to factory specs, no noise, maybe try having them reset the belt tension 1 more time.