Belt Drives ltd - Alignment for Rear Belts

HANDLING & CARE OF REAR BELTS

When installing a rear drive belt, alignment and proper tension is very critical, the installer must be sure that the rear wheel is accurately centered so that the belt will track properly on both the rear pulley and transmission pulley. When installing a new belt on old or new pulleys particularly on an aftermarket motorcycle with a lowering kit or lowered shocks, then particular care must be taken on setting the free play (tension) of the belt. It may be a good idea to have someone sitting on the bike while the free play is being adjusted. If the free play is too loose then the belt may have a tendency to jump a tooth on the pulley which may cause the belt to break and or strip teeth off of the belt. After the initial installation of the belt it is very important that the free play be checked at the 50 mile, 100 mile and 200 mile point because a new belt under load may seat itself into the pulleys thus causing the belt to get loose. Belt failure is mostly attributed to improper alignment, improper tension and failure to monitor the tension of the belt. THERE IS NO WARRANTY ON BELTS.
	Belt Handling For Poly Chain® Gates Poly Chain® Belts are extremely durable and give long life in a properly designed drive. However, improper handling of the belt before or during installation can result in dramatically shortened service life. The belt's tensile cords are designed to carry large loads in tension but not compression. Compression causes damage to the tensile cords of the belt and can also lead to adhesion problems. Handling situations that can cause compression in tensile cord include aggressive bending and twisting. Examples of this are:
Crimping the Belt Crimping of the belt occurs when enough bending pressure is put on the belt in a small radius so that a permanent "set" is formed in the belt. The belt will often take on the outline of a fish head. Crimping damages the tensile cords and will result in premature failure. Do not crimp Poly Chain® Belts. Forward Bending the Belt When handling Poly Chain®, forward bends (bends that cause the teeth to come together) should be limited to the following minimum diameter for the given belt pitch.
Belt Pitch 8mm 11mm (motorcycle applications only) 14mm	Diameter (in.) 3" 4" 5"
Do not forward bend Poly Chain® Belts tighter than the diameters shown above. Back Bending the Belt When handling Poly Chain®, back bends (bends that spread the teeth apart) should be limited to the following minimum diameter for the given belt pitch.
Belt Pitch 8mm 11mm (motorcycle applications only) 14mm	Diameter (in.) 5" 8" 10"
Do not back bend Poly Chain® Belts tighter than the diameters shown above.
	Twisting the Belt Do not twist the belt as shown in the picture. This includes coiling the belt to make it smaller for packaging.
	Belt Installation Do not use tools to pry the belt onto the application. Sprocket centers should be adjusted so that the belt can be easily put on by hand.