[note: I will have to go through my records and receipts to figure out exact dates and mileage, but I did save everything.]

Back in about mid-2003 I purchased a belt drive conversion kit, manufactured by Quiet Power Drives and sold by NewSpeedmaster.com. If I recall correctly, I had approximately 8000-8500 miles on my bike at the time. The only thing I ever hated about my bike was the chain. I hated lubing it, I hated cleaning it, I hated adjusting it and I hated the mess it left. Even at $850 the belt drive kit, though a bitter monetary pill to swallow, was manna from heaven. Everything I heard lead me to believe that, unlike a chain, I could get 50-60,000 miles out of the belt. Ostensibly if I had the belt on my bike from day 1 I would still have a couple years left on the belt today. I never gave a thought to the life of the pulleys.

Installation was a pain in the ass. I had experience pulling the rear wheel before for a new tire, but it was the first time I pulled the swingarm. Not rocket surgery by any means but definitely involved. It was very difficult to wrap the belt around the tight radius of the front pulley, but I got it all buttoned up.

Oh Snap

Now either I didn’t get instructions on proper adjustment (I don’t recall seeing any) but apparently either the first belt I got was bad, or I kept it too loose. I was later told that they need to be kept tighter than a chain.

In any event it delaminated and failed (read: snapped) while in Missoula, MT, in late July ’05. The only warning I had was earlier that day, when pulling away from the highway off ramp stop, it felt like the belt jumped a cog. Later that day it failed, I was lucky it failed that day rather than the next day when I would’ve been in the middle of Nowhere, Idaho. The Triumph dealership in Missoula lent me a bike, a jack, a place to work outside the shop, a couple tools I didn’t carry. I picked up a replacement belt ($185) from the Harley dealership. I believe I had approximately 22,000 miles at that point. So the belt broke after about 13,500 miles.

I called the vendor about and he called the manufacturer who in turn called to scream at me on the phone. Apparently I defamed him somehow by implying that his belt failed (it’s not like he actually made the belt, just the pulleys). I still don’t know whose fault it was and at this point I don’t care. I got a replacement belt from the HD shop, but it took two trips to get right. Between that and wrenching in the 100 degree summer day it took me all day to get the belt replaced. The whole ordeal (plus a health issue detailed elsewhere) caused me to cancel the Idaho trip and go home.

The Squeak

The belt was trouble free until late 2007, about 37,000 miles on the bike, 28-29,000 on the pulleys, 15,000 on the second belt. The squeak started faintly at first, but quickly developed into a roar. For a little while I thought it was wind noise inside my helmet, but it was more noticeable on deceleration. I talked to various people and heard and tried various suggestions. Pressure wash it. Don’t pressure wash it. Keep it dry. Keep it wet. Spray silicone on it. Don’t spray silicone on it. I tried everything. Nothing worked. The belt itself looks fine otherwise, no signs of delamination or other wear. The rear pulley on the other hand looks horrible. The teeth are thicker than the ones in this picture (not my pulley) but the valleys look just as badly scored. Now people are telling me that my rear pulley is trashed.

Now what?

So I have 4 options:

  1. There is a slim chance it could be the belt. I picked up a new belt off ebay ($135) and I could install that and see if that cures the squeak. Better yet I could sell the belt to recoup some cost.
  2. Buy a replacement rear belt drive pulley from QPD/NewSpeedmaster.com ($550) and possibly face this problem again in a few years. By then the front pulley could be worn out (if it isn’t already) which would probably cost a couple hundred.
  3. Reinstall my stock chain and buy a Scottoiler ($175?). I should get a couple more years out of my original chain with the automatic oiler and mess would be kept to a minimum. New chain and sprocket kits are a couple hundred and would last at least a few years.
  4. Send my pulley to Supermax and hope Phil can fix it with one of his poly overlays ($400-600).

There’s a hybrid option, also of 3 and 4: reinstall my stock chain for this year and oil it manually and send my belt drive pulley to Phil for repair later when I have the cash. And if he can’t fix it, proceed with the rest of option 3 and live with the chain. All I know is I’m not buying another product from QPD; two failures + poor customer service = three strikes and you’re out. I like NewSpeedmaster.com and will continue to buy from them, but not this product. I can afford a new chain and sprocket set every 3-5 years at about $200 but a new rear pulley and/or belt drive for $550-740 every 3-5 years is just not worth it. And if I go back to chain, all of a sudden other final drive ratios are available to me. Lastly, if a chain breaks while traveling, it will be much easier to fix.

Sounds like I’ve just about got myself talked into it.