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[Floki]

Hi all. Just settling into FXE ownership. It’s my first electric motorbike. I’m loving it. But a bit puzzled about belt tension. Gates app consistently reads 60-70 Hz. Gates Krikit clicks before moving the arm at all, as if off the scale too tight. Which one do you trust?

[Fred]

I have never managed to get a consistent result from the Gates app, so rely on the Krikit. Why not adjust it so that the Krikit gives a good result and see how that looks. If they're so far apart maybe you're using one of them incorrectly? If that's the case it would be good to work out which one.

[Richard230]

The Krikit is all that I use. It seems to work well enough. I try to set the belt tension in the middle of the recommended range.

[DonTom]

All I use is my hand. I can figure if the belt is too loose or too tight on my own. I don't need anything else to measure it.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Because the Gates app was often troublesome ( too much noise next to my garage from several air conditioning compressors ) I resorted to using mostly the Kricket. It seemed to give a reasonably repeatable result. However.... I ordered a second one and tried it and the two gave different readings... off by 15 lbs or more. Cant remember exactly.

This lead me to wonder which of these methods were trustworthy. I made a sine wave in audacity and tried measuring it with the Gates app and it was dead accurate. So from then on, I use the app exclusively.

The precision the app provides was enough to determine that there was a 7Hz variance on two points of the wheel rotation, 180 degrees apart. I was able to solve that by removing the rear sprocket and rotating it two bolt holes clockwise and reattaching.

[prbpci0]

The precision the app provides was enough to determine that there was a 7Hz variance on two points of the wheel rotation, 180 degrees apart. I was able to solve that by removing the rear sprocket and rotating it two bolt holes clockwise and reattaching.


Well, that's interesting.  I still have some vibration coming from the back wheel on my SR/S that I can't seem to find the source of.  I might try this and see if rotating the sprocket reduces that vibration.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

In my case this manifested as a noise. A change in the pitch of the whine noise.  Take off from a stop and it goes Waaaaaa waaaaa waaaa waa wa wa wawawawawwa until at about 30mph it became a steady pitch. There is a thread here somewhere about this sort of thing, and one fellow who is skilled with machining made a little jig to correct his alignment with high precision. In my case I just found the noise annoying.
 

[EVFX]

I've used the gates app with varying degrees of repeat-ability, probably due to ambient noise.
I also used a spectrum analyzer app which yielded the same results, but I could at least see the peak that was likely from the belt.
After getting a Krikit I found that it was very repeatable and easier/quicker to use, so that's normally my go-to.
I still keep the apps on my phone though.

[mdjak1]

One thing I noticed when I first started using the Krikit is that the bottom face that touches the belt actually has a positioning tab.   At first, I had that tab against the face of the belt and was getting inconsistent readings.   But once I figured out that the positioning tab is supposed to be at the edge of the belt, and I would check the readings at the center of the belt (not too close to the motor or rear sprocket), then I got consistent readings.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Interesting.
I have two of
Kriket II - Belt Tension Gauge
91132
Neither of them have that ridge. Just checked.
Who knows maybe I bought counterfeits. One was from ebay and one from Amazon.

[Richard230]

I just took a look at my old Gates Kritit 1 V - Belt Tension Gauge, part No. 91107 that I bought off of Amazon, probably about 8 years ago. It also has that ridge. 

[mdjak1]

Interesting.
I have two of
Kriket II - Belt Tension Gauge
91132
Neither of them have that ridge. Just checked.
Who knows maybe I bought counterfeits. One was from ebay and one from Amazon.

I was looking at videos on how to use Krikets and I saw a couple of videos of them without the ridge.  The point of my post was that if you have one WITH the ridge, make sure the ridge is positioned on the side of the belt, not the face of the belt.   Otherwise, you will not get proper readings leading you to either have too much or too little belt tension.

[hein]

Do we have some sample desirable frequency ranges for a 2013 S?

I just installed the Gates app and tried it with the bike on its side stand.
Should it be? Could it be? Should it be suspended or upright loaded with driver?
My User Manual page 5.15 - 5.16 does not specify.
It does specify 20 - 30 kg using an otherwise unspecified  'Tension Tester'
In the manual it does NOT look like the $17 Krikit but more like the $65 https://www.amazon.com/Gates-Carbon-Drive-Tools-Tension/dp/B003UP6AH4

I don't have enough space to rotate right now.
In a silent garage the Gates app showed 121 Hz and and sometimes 60/61 as if showing a base harmonic.

I also used the "audiotool" app (V8.2) which I use to check music venue loudness.
It showed a consistent 123 Hz plucking the belt.

It 'feels' tense to my fingers but I suppose it's been like this for thousands of miles
 (8000? since last rear tire replace, 16000 total).

I do have a low speed ( < 25 mph ) low volume star-trek whine which I wish was not there.

As I'm having my rear-tire replace soon, and if the shop is willing to play the game,
what would be a good target frequency for my Zero 2013S?

Thanks for any and all inputs.
Hein.

[DerKrawallkeks]

I have a 2013 S. I use the kricket to set it to 20-30 like specified.
I also have a pretty significant star-trek going on around 20 mph (not much below or above).

I tried the gates app but it does not seem to work well for me. If you don't have a kricket, I think it's reasonable to just set it to where you can rotate the belt 90° in the center between the sprockets with a moderate amount of force. Turning it 180° should be almost impossible/require very high force.

[Specter]

Buy a 30 dollar Kraco Distortionmatic 1000 watt amplifier.
Plug it into your USB to power it.
Turn it on.
The crackling of the under powered over driven clipping class A amp will drown out any noises your bike might make.

problem Solved.

Speaking of noise.
Have a bad cough???

Drink a bottle of laxative.

Wont help your throat much, but you'll be too afraid to cough...

problem Solved.

lemme know if you need help with other stuff..

Aaron