notacop Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Ok, so how long can I ignore my alternator belt? My 2000 RTP just turned 100K and I have a spare belt under the seat. How long do these things last? Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 About 40K miles, some times less, obviously some times more... You better replace it unless you like to do it on the side of the road... Link to comment
smiller Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 It varies, some bikes can't seem to go 30k miles without breaking a belt while others go 100k with no problems. Looks like you have the latter, but I'd still say it's just about time to replace the belt in your bike since the BMW-specified replacement interval is 36k miles. Link to comment
keithb Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Wow! A 100K miles on a belt? Take that luck to Vegas my friend. We switched one out at the SoCal Tech day 6 weeks ago that had 42K miles on it. I would change it. You don't want to have to do it on the side of the road especially at night. That would be no fun at all. Happy wrenching! Link to comment
BUSTED Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I've never had one break and never changed one before 50,000+ miles. I always carry a new spare under the seat. Link to comment
Ron_B Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I used to change my RTs belt every spring. Overkill, but as easy and cheap as they were, why not have peace of mind. Most miles on one was 30,000, with no sign of impending failure. Link to comment
wolcott Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Wasn't it Jamie who was only getting 25k out west b/c he was driving across the desert a lot in the high heat? Link to comment
notacop Posted February 18, 2007 Author Share Posted February 18, 2007 Ok, So I'm long over due. Now I gotta finish taking off all the iron from the crash bar mounts to get at the stupid cover. Dang the bad luck! Thanks for the input. Seems BMW cars get factory service for free for the first 50K miles and the bikes get to replace stuff regularly on our dime. Even so I do get a lot of miles for the buck I spend. 3 bikes with over 100 each so far. Link to comment
AndyS Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I wonder if some of you guys are getting such low mileage between failures because the belt is set up too tight. If you adjust it as per BMW's instructions, they don’t slip but you can easily turn them thru 90 degrees. The belts are not doing any real work in comparison to a car system which may be driving an alternator, air con, power steering pump and camshafts and water pump. These belts should last a long, long, long, time. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Wasn't it Jamie who was only getting 25k out west b/c he was driving across the desert a lot in the high heat? I'd be glad to get 25K, I'm on my 7th one in 116K. I bought the BMW tool and used the torque wrench to set the tension, didn't make any difference. Link to comment
notacop Posted February 19, 2007 Author Share Posted February 19, 2007 You're right. The belts on the machines at work stop/start all night for hours on end, often with product jams and those belts last for a year or two. This belt is a low load application. I checked it today and it looks as good as the spare I carry to replace it. Phooey, I'll carry the spare and see how far the original can go. I can always have a tale of "WOE" for the campfire after the bugger leaves me stranded on some bleak back road. I can just turn off the lights,RT-P with light switch, and ekke out a few more miles. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 You're right. The belts on the machines at work stop/start all night for hours on end, often with product jams and those belts last for a year or two. This belt is a low load application. I checked it today and it looks as good as the spare I carry to replace it. Phooey, I'll carry the spare and see how far the original can go. I can always have a tale of "WOE" for the campfire after the bugger leaves me stranded on some bleak back road. I can just turn off the lights,RT-P with light switch, and ekke out a few more miles. Yeah! Thats the spirit!!! Think about how boring a road trip would be if you didn't have good stories to tell when you were done. Link to comment
tomk99r11 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Does that usage seem excessive to anyone but me? Are they breaking or are you just changing them because........ Link to comment
W8NONU Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I just changed my first belt at 53,300 miles. It looked great with no tears, frays, etc. I have been checking it periodically by just taking the cover off and sliding it to the side so I could see the belt. I did not see any problems, but on this last service since I had everything apart I thought I might as well change it. I will start looking at it again after 25,000 miles, but if it goes like the original belt I should be fine for a while. Link to comment
Brian PDQ Signs Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I looked at my belt and don't know if it's ever been changed since it was a RTP I suspect it has but at 65K I took the cover off and rubber bits were falling out from under the cover. I spaced on replacing it for some reason (typically not like me) and just replaced it a few weekends ago with 70K on the clock. More rubber fell out and it looked really bad with some frayed belts. I figure better safe than sorry since I'm heading to Vegas mid April. I also will put in a new fuel filter asap that I picked up the other day too! I think you should change them both at the same time and just be safe. I read about 25K for changes on the belts. Link to comment
AndyS Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 What do you mean"Change them both"??? Link to comment
E30TECH Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 What do you mean"Change them both"??? He must have a separate air conditioning belt Link to comment
ESokoloff Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 What do you mean"Change them both"??? Brian wrote... I also will put in a new fuel filter asap that I picked up the other day too! I think you should change them both at the same time and just be safe Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Does that usage seem excessive to anyone but me? Are they breaking or are you just changing them because........ It is definitely excessive, some of them have broken, some have just been in such bad shape they needed to be replaced. I obviously have some other problem causing this, possibly mis-aligned pulleys, I'm going to check that one of these times... Link to comment
Brian PDQ Signs Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 What do you mean"Change them both"??? Well Eric understood. Change out your fuel filter and alternator belt the same time. I'd pick 25K miles as it is just easier to remember than 24, 48, 72, etc. I didn't want you to know I had an air conditioner (& belt) on my bike because everyone would want one Link to comment
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