Well, I think I've figured out how to post photos now. When I went to replace my drive belt, this is what I found:



I could only find about 8-10 inches of actual belt fragments and everything else was cotton candy. Those fibers were wrapped all around my pulleys.


Is that what the inside of a belt is composed of? I actually thought that the guy from before had used rope to secure the belt on, but another buddy told me that those "rope" fibers are what's inside the belt under the rubber exterior. Anybody know for sure?

Hammy,

I think the inside of the belts are made of a Kevlar, even the stock belts have a certain amount, if I remember correctly. So maybe that is what those fibers are, but can't say for sure. Did it make the SWing jerk or something when it gave out? I'm just wondering if you can tell us what it felt like when it gave out so those of us that have never experienced it will know what to expect.

I felt as if something snapped under me with a "thwunk", but the Swing didn't jolt or jerk or anything nor did I hear any weird sounds after that. I pretty much figured it was the belt when I hit the throttle and realized that the crankshaft would spin with the throttle but no power was going to the wheels at all -- that's when I realized it was the belt. So the closest thing is to experience a sudden and immediate loss of power to the wheels. There wasn't any 'braking' either but the bike basically just coasted since it was basically freewheeling, which was great, cos I was able to just coast all the way to the nearest overpass half a mile away.

Dang it Hammy, That's really a mess. How long did it take to clean that out. I lost the teeth off a primary belt on my old harley once. That felt strange. When I got the chance to open the cover there was belt teeth on the bottom. After that I went back to the old type primary chain drive setup.

Those rope fibers were really coiled around the clutch pulley, and the guy helping me had to coil them around a screwdriver and slowly yank them out. I wasn't able to do it by hand. It took about 5-10 minutes. There was a lot of black dust which I gather was the obliterated belt, and this stuff and the cotton candy.

I have to ask Hammy, how many miles did you have on you scoot or that belt?

MaxB (who just changed the belt on my friends Swing, her light started blinking)

I bought the Swing on June 12 with 5947 miles on it and the belt snapped at 11283 miles. And yes, that's quite a lot under what I would expect the lifespan of a belt to be...

How long have other folks' belts lasted?

I'm at 31700 and I will change mine at 32k, had it changed at 16k by Honda. The light will come on automatically at 16k intervals. Must have just been a bad belt, Sorry Hammy. My wife and I ride double all the time and for pretty good distances considering I bought it new last march. We, together are pushing the "prescribed load limit" also, lol. Better luck on your new belt.
Jim

I changed my belt at 20,000 miles, only because I already had it all apart adding the J.Costa, so I figured that it would be as good a time as any. Visually the belt still looked good, but I know that you need to actually measure it's width with a micrometer or whatever, so who knows.

Maybe the fact that I rode 6000 miles in 6 weeks, including 3000 miles in 7 days might have had something to do with my belt snapping at 11283 miles...

I actually rode 4800 miles in 9 days earlier this March on a 263cc SYM Citycom in crazy winter weather. And yep, I'm a happy sick and twisted member of the IBA.

OK , I remember you now, from MTF board. hahahaha

When I was your age i did the same mile eating kind of riding.
Now I still do a lot but not like back then.

MaxB

Nice to see a fellow MTF member here, Max! And yep, I'm that crazy fella who went riding in the ice and snow and rain...

Haha... you should meet my buddy Jerome, aka MungoJerry, also from the MTF board. HE'S my inspiration, and is about to embark on the Butt Lite 5000 in August. He rides a Yamaha Majesty 400.

Hammie I did see where someone put a Aux tank on a Swing I believe. I don't remember where. I remeber he put a different gas cap on and tapped it with a brass elbow and fed the aux tank in that way. Can't remeber the rest of the set up.

how many miles do you get to a tank now? How far do you want to go before fillup?

I was on the RAM fixture site and they make stuff for a lap top , I think it was under like maybe police stuff or something.

maxB ( who heart still thinks he can do those kinda miles but his back says no.)

UH I remember telling you to go to a Swng on that forum. Glad to see you made the switch.
I think you learned that it is necessary to keep a spare belt (the old one) while on those trips.

Boy my spelling is degraded today more than usual. Sorry.

maxB

Yep, that'd be one way to add an aux tank, but most commercial tanks would end up having to go on the rear rack whereas I'd like to rig one to be in the center, basically like a funnel into the tank.

Right now at interstate speed, I'm getting only about 110 miles (about 32-36mpg) before I start looking for a station. But that's probably cos my recent setup was with giant saddlebags and a very large Givi shield. I think without the saddlebags (maybe I'd use a duffel) and with a Givi AirFlow, I think I'll be able to hop up the mileage scale and maybe get into the 40s.

Get the power commander soon ,
Use the Euro map in it.
It increased my highway mileage a lot.
Before I got 130-140 miles before filling. That's at 65-80 speedo and sometimes 90 for short sputs on the interstate.
Now even with the JCosta I can go 160 and still had .7 gal left on that fillup.
Coulda went more but with no reserve handle and the light blinking for 30 miles, I chickened out and filled up. Now I know. I probalby could have gone 180 or so. But I refuse to temp fate and run out of gas.

I've run out of gas before 20 miles from the nearest station, thank goodness I carry a 1 gallon Rotopax. I usually travel 70-80mph indicated or 68-75mph actual on interstates. I just ordered lighter Dr. Pulley sliders at 26g versus 28g stock whatever-they-were in the variator. Is the power commander an easy install? I'm not sure I really understand what it does...

Your shredded belt is exactly like The one failure I have had in quite a bit of rubber band drive scooter experience---Helix

Mine was OEM and ground itself up just before change time. Mine was warranty as I recall. Carry spare is good idea.

If you ride a lot, belts are weakest link.

John Grinsel

John, is that what your belt looked like? Cos I can't figure out what those rope-like looking things are...

The power commander is a very easy install.
You hook it up to your PC first. and down load the different programs. pick the one you want (Euro map) and download to the power commander.
Then install on scooter. It takes about 15 minutes to install. 4 plugs (color coded) and a ground wire. Put the magic box where your tool kit is.
What it does is change the length of time your fuel injector is open, either making it longer (richer) or shorter (leaner).
The stock US map is rich throughout its range of RPMs.
The Euro map leans out (shortens) the fuel injector at cruise RPMS (4500-redline).
If you go to their site you can get the maps and install instructions.

MaxB (who gained about 4 mpgs with power commander)

Is there a way to change the map depending on how I ride? I do rides through back roads sometimes, max 55mph, but other times if I'm on the interstate, I'm usually 70-75mph...

Okay, that's good to know, cos I was freaking out and wondering if I had actually been riding on a rope the whole time!

Okay... I'm just wondering if riding 70-75mph nets the same gains in mpg on the Euro map as with stock (no power commander).

I have an 02 SW with 10.000miles. Recently I notice when accelerating quickly there seems to be slipping. The power does not seem to be going to the wheels. Could the belt be going at only 10K? Thanks dan