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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | Yea, I finally hit the lotto on my belt adjustment. I took delivery of my 08 Vision last Sept. and have been fiddlin' with the rear alignment/belt tension almost weekly in attempt to eliminate the belt chirp most of us loath. I read all the posts on the subject and finally found one that worked for me. I used a thin measuring tape to determine the distance between the swing arm pivot bolt and the rear axle on both sides. Guess what, my following the belt alignment procedure frequently stated in this forum where you lift the rear and rotate the wheel forward and back to find belt center on the rear shieve had actual wheel alignment approx. 3/16 of an inch off. I adjusted the alignment using numerous careful measurements as stated above and set the belt tension to the new spec. and wha la, silent belt operation at all speeds and riding conditions regardless of how far I am from the driveway. I LOVE ME! And many thanks to all of the knowledgable posters on this subject. I have been a tad disgruntled about having a problem like this on a new bike particularly when two seperate dealers (to remain un named) failed to remedy the problem on multiple attempts. Their only solution was to replace the rear shieve with a newer version at my expense. Some Warranty program POLARIS! Paulhu |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 669
Peachtree City, GA | But I really did fix the belt chirp on one of my bikes years ago - I bought a Honda with a shaft drive.
Couldn't resist... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... You are certainly right, I currently have around 350mi. since the last belt adjustment and still absolutely silent. However, I have left two different dealers on several occasions with the thing howling like crazy after their "mechanic" "properly adjusted" the belt on my bike. Tha last time I had it in I was told it would require a new rear shieve and that no amount of adjustment would quiet the noise. I simply did not believe this and remained determined to exhaust every adjustment possibility before I did. If the noise returns after time (miles) I will promptly post my failure in detail for your reading pleasure and succum to the dealers remedy. In the meantime, I am in complete extasy while riding without that incessant chirp! Respectfully, paulhu |
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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... In addition, Arkainzeye, I respectfully discourage you from using quotations when reffering to somones post. Particularly if the quote you state does not exist in the original post. I see this as you putting words in my mouth which I will not tolerate in a public forum such as this. Your use of the quoted word "fixed" also came with a hint of malicious sarchasm, which I also will not tolerate. paulhu
Edited by paulhu 2010-06-20 10:41 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 1484
LaPorte,Tx. | Paulhu, I know your happiness. Had belt noise up to 30,000 miles adjusted on it dozens of times with no relief. I mean rolled around under that back fender alot to get it just right...still with noise. Replaced the belt at that time, no more noise, at 50,000 miles now.  I think there have been several folks here that got their belt pulleys replaced under warranty. I thnk my belt was out of adjustment when new, over tight, and ran hot for a while (5,000 miles) which may have caused some issues with it. Also, on the 08s there was a coating applied to the pulley, not sure about new bikes. The coating on mine came off, and it looked like the coating got impregenated into the belt. I think this happened when the belt was adjusted too tight. Now with the coating gone and the new belt adjusted right...no noise. Hope you have no belt noise in the future. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | When you say your belt got hot, did it smell like a top fuel burn out? Mine did after my 500mi. dealer service. That is when the chirping started. My rear shieve looks to have lost the coating where the belt rides, looks like shiny aluminum now, if it had it to begin with. Both dealers I have visited here in the Southwest have told me that any labor and parts associated with remedying the belt noise would be on me. Thanks for your encouragement. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | I fixed my belt chirp too. I finally got Polaris to replace the rear pulley after a year of constant aggrivation. IMO it took WAY too long to get them to address the problem after multiple mechanics could not get it to go away with alignment. When removed from the bike, the problem with the old pulley was obvious. The inward wall of the out turned belt guide was flawed. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | I didnt mean to upset you by saying "fixed". what i should have explained is, between this forum and all the others i have been on i lost count of how many times someone claimed to have "fixed" a belt noise by simply adjusting it or cleaning it or even Lubing it.. Then that same person that claimed it was fixed will post again in a month that it came back.. Nothing wrong with trying to fix something! if you do a Search on this forum you will find the only True fix is replacement parts..... if it was as simple as adjustment there probably wouldnt even be so many threads on this subject, and the dealers/people at home would have had it corrected right then and there.
I myself had belt noise,NOT on this bike but on my kawasucki. no matter what the dealer did, i did in terms of adjustment and even the lubes i used. it ALWAYS came back... UNTIL.... i got a aftermarket set of wheels that came with a new pulley and NEW belt.. then all the sudden the belt noise was gone and NEVER EVER came back... like others have said on here, as soon as victory warrantied the replacement of their drive line parts, pulley and belt all was good.. So im sorry if you got upset over my ("fixed") comment, i just wish i had $5 for everytime i heard that... I wish i didnt waste all the time i did in the past trying to fix it by adjustments and lubes and sanding parts etc.... replacement parts was the REAL fix
Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... ????? In addition, Arkainzeye, I?respectfully?discourage you?from using quotations when reffering to somones post. Particularly if the quote you state does not exist in the original post. I see this as you putting words in my mouth which I will not tolerate in a public forum such as this. Your use of the quoted word "fixed" also came with a hint of malicious?sarchasm, which I also will not tolerate. ???????? paulhu |
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Visionary
Posts: 2026
Brighton, TN | Somebody seems to be a little stove up over typed words, but that's just me. So much to be read into words on a screen, so little time!~ |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 612
| paulhu - 2010-06-20 10:29 AM
Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... ????? In addition, Arkainzeye, I?respectfully?discourage you?from using quotations when reffering to somones post. Particularly if the quote you state does not exist in the original post. I see this as you putting words in my mouth which I will not tolerate in a public forum such as this. Your use of the quoted word "fixed" also came with a hint of malicious?sarchasm, which I also will not tolerate. ???????? paulhu
Wow, lighten up Francis! The quotation marks were clearly meant for emphasis, not to denote a direct reference to something you said! His use was grammatically correct, and non offensive. You need to adjust your "tolerance" and "perspective" filter. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | Turk - 2010-06-21 8:17 AM paulhu - 2010-06-20 10:29 AM Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... ????? In addition, Arkainzeye, I?respectfully?discourage you?from using quotations when reffering to somones post. Particularly if the quote you state does not exist in the original post. I see this as you putting words in my mouth which I will not tolerate in a public forum such as this. Your use of the quoted word "fixed" also came with a hint of malicious?sarchasm, which I also will not tolerate. ???????? paulhu Wow, lighten up Francis! The quotation marks were clearly meant for emphasis, not to denote a direct reference to something you said! His use was grammatically correct, and non offensive. You need to adjust your "tolerance" and "perspective" filter. Wow! nice first post Turk. Is this the first thread you have read also? Amazing insite in my view. Arkainzeye, I wish to retract my reply and apologise for it's pointedness. I was just a little offended that you found it impossible that a new result may have been discovered on an ongoing problem.(Got my feelers hurt) As far as I am concerned, no harm done. (we shake hands) It will be interesting to see if my belt noise returns over time. I sure hope it dosen't. But like they say "You can hope in one hand and $h!t in the other and see which one fills up first". If it turns out that replacement parts is the only remedy, I will certainly follow your advice and put this annoyance behind me once and for all. Appreciate your input, paulhu
Edited by paulhu 2010-06-21 9:51 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | No worries Bro!! honestly i truely hope you kick that belt noise in the rear end!! i do!! i just remember all my frustration and wasted time and $$$ on (tricks and home made fixes).. and honestly i discovered (my) fix by accident. It was when i decided to get New wheels and pulley & belt that all the sudden i noticed, HEY!! listen... do you hear that? NOPE? EXACTLY!!!!!!! lol so after years and trying to kill the noise it was the replacement of parts that truely did it.. it was embarrassing on a trip. i would ride in the back and people would say at the stop light.. whats that noise, who is that? reminded me of gym shoes on the gym floor.. So if you killed the noise Congrats.. but if it does come back (and i hope it doesnt!) you know why..
Turk - 2010-06-21 8:17 AM paulhu - 2010-06-20 10:29 AM Arkainzeye - 2010-06-19 8:33 PM how many miles have you put on it since you "fixed" the belt noise.. i say this because when i owned another brand of motorcycle everyone and i mean EVERYONE claimed to have a new FIX and with in a few hundred miles every single one of those belts started to chirp again... Im not saying i dont believe you and i truely hope you got rid of that noise but i have heard this 1000 times... only mileage will tell.. in the past it took around 400-600 miles before the noises came back... ????? In addition, Arkainzeye, I?respectfully?discourage you?from using quotations when reffering to somones post. Particularly if the quote you state does not exist in the original post. I see this as you putting words in my mouth which I will not tolerate in a public forum such as this. Your use of the quoted word "fixed" also came with a hint of malicious?sarchasm, which I also will not tolerate. ???????? paulhu Wow, lighten up Francis! The quotation marks were clearly meant for emphasis, not to denote a direct reference to something you said! His use was grammatically correct, and non offensive. You need to adjust your "tolerance" and "perspective" filter.????? Wow! nice first post Turk. Is this the first thread you have read also? Amazing insite in my view. ?Arkainzeye, I wish to retract my reply and apologise for it's pointedness. I was just a little offended that you found it impossible that a new result may have been discovered on an ongoing problem.(Got my feelers hurt)?As far as I am concerned, no harm done. (we shake hands) It will be interesting to see if my belt noise returns over time. I sure hope it dosen't. But like they say "You can hope in one hand and $h!t in the other and see which one fills up first". ?If it turns out that replacement parts is the only remedy, I will certainly follow your advice and put this annoyance behind me once and for all. ????? Appreciate your input,??? paulhu |
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Tourer
Posts: 466
Grand Cane, LA | Arkainzeye, I too found that the rear alignment is off. I adjusted mine before I had even put 500 miles on the bike after reading some of the post on here about it. I ended up with the drive side about an 1/8 of an inch "slacker" than the other according to the guides on the axle. Belt rides in the middle of both the rear sheave and the drive pulley and have found no unusual tire wear as of yet (10,000 miles). The reason you probably ended up with it rubbing all the time from the dealership is they only try to align it by the marks. They are taught to always line up the marks for straight alignment even though the marks can be off from the factory. Found this many times on some of my dirt bikes I used to own. They have these new laser alignment tools I've been thinking of getting. They look like they might be worth the money. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | atvtinker - 2010-06-21 3:07 PM
Arkainzeye, I too found that the rear alignment is off. I adjusted mine before I had even put 500 miles on the bike after reading some of the post on here about it. I ended up with the drive side about an 1/8 of an inch "slacker" than the other according to the guides on the axle. Belt rides in the middle of both the rear sheave and the drive pulley and have found no unusual tire wear as of yet (10,000 miles). The reason you probably ended up with it rubbing all the time from the dealership is they only try to align it by the marks. They are taught to always line up the marks for straight alignment even though the marks can be off from the factory. Found this many times on some of my dirt bikes I used to own. They have these new laser alignment tools I've been thinking of getting. They look like they might be worth the money.
No when my kawasaki made belt noise, it was adjusted by the dealer, then by me, then by friends, then i started to purchase products. like Pulley Shims to get the pulley away from the belt, then came the lubes, then we even adjusted the belt NOT by the marks on the swing arm but by actually measuring the distances.. this was over a period of years. soooo many people on the forum had this issues and from what i understand still do.. kawaski would never replace parts.. they said it was alinement issues. the dealers would tell them that alignment (back then) wasnt it.. now i see when some of these visions has this problem victory fix was to REplace the belt and or pulleys.. now you would think if it was something as simple as alignment victory wouldnt send out all them Part$ and then eat the dealers labor on top of that.. to replace a belt on a vision requires some labor $$$$... i believe align can surely cause a problem.. No doubt. but if you have a bike where it keeps coming back. its more than likely the belt and pulley(s). it was for me... |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 9
BHC AZ | Lava hand soap, rub it on the belt once a week no noise, cheap, no rolling around on the hard floor!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 50
Huntsville On Canada | paulhu - 2010-06-19 4:50 PM
I adjusted the alignment using?numerous careful?measurements as stated above and set the belt tension to the new spec.?????? Paulhu
So just exactly what is the new spec & where might I find this info?? 
Thanks Tom |
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Cruiser
Posts: 228
| WOW!!! These "belt alignment" threads are getting almost as good "oil threads" |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Now you better use a puns or something and makes some marks that you can come back to. With the rear wheel of the ground I all ways make sure the belt is in a straight like. When in straight line acel adjusters seam to fall in place.
It feels good when problems are solver. |
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Tourer
Posts: 432
Gettysburg, 2008 Tour Premium | Now guys, lets live and let live and leave the bravado for THE VMC. My belt chirps when it rains sometimes. If it did it all the time I would not be a happy camper. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 273
Midlothian, Va. | My '09 Vision bought in late March starting chirping last month. Dealer adjusted it ($35) and it came back after a 1000 miles. Took it back adjusted again and was squalling before I got out of the driveway. Ordered a new pulley (warranty) and installed today and was quiet as a mouse on the 35 mile trip home. He said the coating was bad on a lot of '08's and some '09's. We will see how it goes after a few miles. BTW, my dealer is closing the doors next month. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 101
Cold Lake Alberta Canada | My 08 started chirping and afetr three different dealer visits with no change, my local dealer put a new rear pulley and belt on under warranty. No noise after that. I'm lucky I guess, there was no issue with it being warranty at 10 thousand miles. |
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Belt chirp finally gone!
