Primary belt installation

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louypan
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Primary belt installation

#1

Post by louypan »

Hello, My name is Louy. I live in Melbourne Australia. I am a newcomer to your Website. I own a custom 53 Panhead. I recently snapped my primary belt and I have bought a new one. I am hoping someone out there may be able to give me some advice/tips on installing the new one. My Pan is in a standard 1975 drop saddle frame, kickstart, stock 4 speed tranny. Belt is an enclosed 1.5 inch, 8mm belt.
King
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Re: Primary belt installation

#2

Post by King »

Good day Louy

I'm assuming that you have the tin primary and a stock mounting on the tranny. First thing is to be sure you have the tranny as far forward as it will go. This requires loosening the 4, 5/8" nuts that hold the tranny to its mounting plate and removing the 9/16" bolt that holds it to the frame on the right side. Then with the tranny loose (it should have some up-down play), move it as far forward as possible using the adjuster mounted on the back right of the tranny case. You may find, as I did, that you have to remove the adjuster to get that last 1/16" of forward movement. Next remove the engine drive shaft nut and the belt retainer flange.
Slip the belt over the clutch basket and If all goes well it should fit over the engine pulley with a bit of stretching. If not, remove the pulley (gentle tapping with a hammer and a block of wood usually does the trick), put the belt on it , and work the pulley back on the shaft.
Note: Getting the drive shaft nut on and off can be a bear. I use a jam bar from Primo that fits between the drive pully and the belt. But with your situation (no belt) you may have to use an air impact wrench to "break" the nut on the drive shaft. When reinstalling the nut with the impact hammer tighten to around 80 ft lbs.
Then chinch down the tranny nuts a bit and adjust the belt so it has about 1½" up/down play. Then tighten everything back up.
Turn the motor over with the kicker and be sure the belt is running true and not “cocked". I have been fortunate that mine has been straight as a die but if your's is not, post another question and we can tell you how to straighten it out. Also, be sure your crankcase breather has been properly vented to the outside of the primary case and that there is enough ventilation to prevent the belt from over heating. Have you determined why the old belt snapped?
While you are at it I would recommend taking the clutch apart to clean up the plates if you haven't done it for a while.

Good luck

King
louypan
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Re: Primary belt installation

#3

Post by louypan »

Thanks King, I will have a go at it in the next few days and let you know how I go.( I will have to get hold of a impact wrench first) No I dont know why my belt snapped, it had only done 9000mls. I am guessing that it got too hot. I only have two half inch ventilation holes on my inner tin primary. Do you think I should drill a few extra? Clutch has also only done 9000 mls. I have heard the belt tightens when it gets warm, can you confirm this? One other thing, I cant find the adjuster bolt on the back right hand side of the tranny case, What does it look like? I have found a hole with a thread in it on a flat section of the box at the back with a threaded hole in it which is a bit over a quarter of an inch.
panhead
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Re: Primary belt installation

#4

Post by panhead »

Here's a picture of the transmission with the adjuster bolt:
Image

Maybe your belt snapped because it was too tight. How much play did it have (before it snapped?
louypan
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Re: Primary belt installation

#5

Post by louypan »

Not sure how much play it had before it snapped. I am definently missing the adjusting screw. I will track one of them down before I go any further.
Thanks again.
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Re: Primary belt installation

#6

Post by fourthgear »

I think someone said in another thread that about 10,000 miles is where you should be changing you belt for maintenance reasons , but why it broke prematurely you may never know . Checking the belt may give some clues and over heating may be it. With the adj. missing , it makes it harder to get the adj. right. I got lucky with mine , its straight and true with just using the adj., thats not always the case though , some tweaking of the trans. has to be done on some set ups. Good luck
panhead
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Re: Primary belt installation

#7

Post by panhead »

My first belt snapped after 19 years. Changing a belt after 10.000 mls seems a bit early to me.
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Re: Primary belt installation

#8

Post by King »

Loey

Not to worry about the adjustor. I have done without one for 30 years. Either with belts or chains I'm able to get the adjustment I want using a section of broom handle. I just tighten the tranny down a bit and wedge the handle between the seat post and tranny and reef her back.
Getting 9k miles out of a belt is a bit on the low side of normal as Panhead noted. The four things that determine belt life are 1. tightness, 2. ventilation, 3. alignment, and 4 oil. If you keep an eye on those factors you should get more life out of your new belt. Whether running a belt or a chain, I like to take the tin off a couple of times a year and have a look with the motor running. Also, you might add a few more vent holes in the inner primary. Some blokes put spacers between the inner and outer tins which does the job but looks a bit off.
Your clutch plates should last a lot longer than 9k under normal operation. As I said, I would disassemble the clutch and clean-up the plates while you have the tin off. I used to just rub the fiber plates on the sidewalk to de-glaze them but have gotten a bit more sophisticated using a sheet of plate glass and coarse sand paper or emery cloth to ensure they are good and flat. Also, you should check the steel plates for warping with a straight edge and rough them up a bit too. I give the whole package a good spray off with brake cleaner before assembly.
If you don't have a source of compressed air at your shop for the impact wrench, your local tire store is the place to go. You might be able to get the shaft nut off by placing a block of wood between the pulley and the inner primary tin as a jam.
When you get it all back together remember that you have to adjust the rear chain, rear wheel alignment, the shifter, and the rear brake. I forgot (old age) the latter a few months ago and got a rude shock going down hill with no rear brake!

Good luck and I hope you are soon out in the wind enjoying that fall weather.

King
fourthgear
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Re: Primary belt installation

#9

Post by fourthgear »

I think that mileage was what a manufacturer said to some one here and they relayed it to us and we know they want to make more money off of us any time they can. This is the first HD , that I have owned ,that has a belt primary drive and I know you can get a lot of years out of them but not as much as chain drive . I guess it how you do your inspections and how often ya check them . My self , for fifty bucks , I'm going to change it at regular intervals just for piece of mind , getting a lot of years or miles and trusting the belt to stand up is hoping for luck of the draw. But man do I like how smooth it runs.
mbskeam
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Re: Primary belt installation

#10

Post by mbskeam »

STOP........
you don't have to take off the front pulley, just take out the clutch disks, and pull off the basket.
put new belt in place on the front pulley, and slide the basket on, then slide in the bearings, put it back togethor.....
oh so simple ;)
while you have the basket off check the alignment of the hub to the front pulley. things may have moved ya never know.

mbskeam

and all the other posts have very good points, so get out there and get greasy
Panhead Joey
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Re: Primary belt installation

#11

Post by Panhead Joey »

Nothing in the manual about Primary adjustment on my 1959 FL. After reading though the following posts I have a general idea how to go about it. Is it best to the adjustments while the wheels of the bike are touching the ground or best on a motorcycle jack? After primary adjustment should you follow with adjusting the rear chain as well?

Thanks

Panhead joey
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Re: Primary belt installation

#12

Post by panhead »

Here are the instructions from the 1958-1959 Manual: Chain adjustment

and the 1959-1969 Manual: Front chain adjustment
Kryzstov
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Re: Primary belt installation

#13

Post by Kryzstov »

King wrote:Loey
Not to worry about the adjustor. I have done without one for 30 years. Either with belts or chains I'm able to get the adjustment I want using a section of broom handle. I just tighten the tranny down a bit and wedge the handle between the seat post and tranny and reef her back.
King
OMG Thank you!! Just came across your post in attempt to tighten my primary with my adjustment screw missing. The broomstick worked perfectly!
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