Somebody else just had this same problem. It was his wheel bearing.
Drive belt started squeaking
Right at the end of about a 40 mile ride. It’s just kind of like a chipmunk or something down there and I know it’s not every rotation of the belt because it’s not frequent enough. I’ll check the tension but I don’t think there’s anything else I can do right? I know I don’t want to put any type of belt dressing or anything on it. I don’t want to be worrying about this. If the belt tension is still okay (probably is), should I be concerned? Thanks
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Yeah I commented on that thread I’m pretty sure mine is not the wheel bearing because I had the wheel off about 1000 miles ago and for a new tire and I did a full inspection and I’m pretty sure the wheelbearings are OK. I did jack it up this morning and I’m thinking the tension might be a little tight. I’m gonna give it may be another few millimeters of slack. See how that works. I checked other forums like for Harleys and victories and everybody’s complaining about squeaking belts and there’s so many different do this don’t do that. I think the main thing is don’t put a bunch of crap on your belt lol
You are right that nothing should be put on drive belts. Adjust you belt to 8-10mm and see how it does. Has to be done with a belt tension tool to be accurate.
Yeah I’ve got the belt tension tool. To be honest, yesterday I decided to just takeoff the guards and inspect everything and clean it with water and a brush to get the dust off. It’s been a long wet winter here in the PNW. after that I just put the guards back on and said let me see how it behaves after a good cleaning. So I took a 30 mile ride and it didn’t start chirping again so I’ll just wait. If it does start to chirp I’ll back off on the tension a little.
A follow up. Sure enough the belt started squeaking again, I think because we’re finally getting some hot weather here in the PNW, so I backed off on the tension by about 2 mm and it shut up. So I guess a happy ending unless it starts squealing again.😊Yeah I’ve got the belt tension tool. To be honest, yesterday I decided to just takeoff the guards and inspect everything and clean it with water and a brush to get the dust off. It’s been a long wet winter here in the PNW. after that I just put the guards back on and said let me see how it behaves after a good cleaning. So I took a 30 mile ride and it didn’t start chirping again so I’ll just wait. If it does start to chirp I’ll back off on the tension a little.
Well, I’m reviving an older thread here, but my belt did start squealing, or maybe say chirping, and so I actually backed it off again. Now I have fully 10 mm of deflection, and it seems to be quiet again. I know this issue is more pronounced in hot weather, so maybe that’s the only thing going on. What say you?
Is yours a 04 or 05? If yes, verify that the single bearing in the rear pulley hub is in perfect condition. The only way to check it for sure is to take the rear wheel off from the bike, then the pulley and pulley hub from the rear wheel.
Mine is an 06. All these bad bearings in the output shaft, and in the rear wheel, would they shut up if you change the belt tension? I’m thinking they would do it no matter what, but mine quiets when I change my belt tension.Is yours a 04 or 05? If yes, verify that the single bearing in the rear pulley hub is in perfect condition. The only way to check it for sure is to take the rear wheel off from the bike, then the pulley and pulley hub from the rear wheel.
These are sealed bearings, not actively lubed. If a sealed bearing squeaks, you replace it immediately. There is no other acceptable alternative.Mine is an 06. All these bad bearings in the output shaft, and in the rear wheel, would they shut up if you change the belt tension? I’m thinking they would do it no matter what, but mine quiets when I change my belt tension.
Yeah, I know they’re sealed bearings and I don’t think they’re squeaking. My drive belt was until I adjusted it.These are sealed bearings, not actively lubed. If a sealed bearing squeaks, you replace it immediately. There is no other acceptable alternative.
I wonder at what point of looser causes a problem like accelerated belt cog and pulley wear as the looser belt moves more up and down on the pulley?
Or, trying to jump a cog or some type of shock load as it has to take up more "slack" between deceleration and acceleration?
I've read opinion on other forums that is a suspect cause where the belt snaps for no apparent reason.
Or, trying to jump a cog or some type of shock load as it has to take up more "slack" between deceleration and acceleration?
I've read opinion on other forums that is a suspect cause where the belt snaps for no apparent reason.
I just hope the thing stays quiet with the amount of tension it now has, cause the chirping drives me nuts. If it starts making noise with 10mm of deflection, not sure what I’ll do.
Check out this post from long ago…
Belt Chirp/Dead Horse/Belt Squeal
Belt squeal is a really common thang for our bikes, but I’d never go with 1” deflection.
Belt Chirp/Dead Horse/Belt Squeal
Belt squeal is a really common thang for our bikes, but I’d never go with 1” deflection.
As I read on some other post, Kawasaki translated from Japanese apparently means "makes lots of strange but harmless noises". 
No kidding! For those that don't know how to convert inches to mm, that is a 25.4 mm deflection. Factory is 3.0 - 4.5 mm and most of us that don't use that use 7 - 10 mm.Check out this post from long ago…
Belt Chirp/Dead Horse/Belt Squeal
Belt squeal is a really common thang for our bikes, but I’d never go with 1” deflection.
Reading that post, I don't think he really had any idea just how much deflection he had or how much he had backed off the adjusters, he was just throwing out questionable numbers from memory.
So true, but did you notice the posts after that, one guy had the dealer check everything— pulleys, bearings, everything — and said everything was fine and then they set belt tension back to the factory specs and it squealed like crazy. So what, you just have to live with it or else what? The chain drive conversion seems more appealing to me today😜No kidding! For those that don't know how to convert inches to mm, that is a 25.4 mm deflection. Factory is 3.0 - 4.5 mm and most of us that don't use that use 7 - 10 mm.
Reading that post, I don't think he really had any idea just how much deflection he had or how much he had backed off the adjusters, he was just throwing out questionable numbers from memory.
I think what I’ll do is jack up the bike, take off all of the guards and covers and completely clean the pulleys and belt with soapy water, wash everything off and inspect everything. Assuming everything looks good, I’m gonna try to scuff up the sides of the belt with some sandpaper (as someone suggested on the forum), because he was saying that belts tend to work harden. Then of course I’ll have to wash everything again, then I’ll set the belt tension to like 6 mm and see how it behaves. I’ll let you know what I learn.
It might be a long shot, but if the two adjusting bolts at the rear of the engine are not set correctly, could that change anything in the angle of the engine and make the belt noisy?
Yeah, while I’m in there, cleaning and inspecting and probably tightening up the tension I’ll make sure the alignment’s what it should be too.👍It might be a long shot, but if the two adjusting bolts at the rear of the engine are not set correctly, could that change anything in the angle of the engine and make the belt noisy?
funny thing though I just took a nice long ride on her and I was out on the freeway and I’ll admit I did hit 90 for a few seconds and boy was it a smooth ride and quiet😊
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