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[mrwilsn]

On my way home today I was at a stop sign and as I pulled away I gave a full twist, as I have a habit of doing, and I heard a banging noise coming from my rear tire.  I stopped and looked quickly and everything seemed fine and I was half way home so I kept going.  A couple stops later I heard it again after giving full twist.  I was almost home so I took it easy until I got to my block.  I tried to reproduce the problem by listening while giving full twist from a stop.  The first time nothing.  Second time and I hear it again and this time I can kind of feel a little jerk to the movement of the bike.  I get back in my garage and I give it a close inspection.

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So now tomorrow morning I need to call my dealer and order a new belt.  Ten teeth are missing all right in a row.  Obviously I popped a few extra off while trouble shooting the noise I was hearing    I'm sure it will take at least a day or two unless I get lucky and they have one in stock and could take longer I'm sure.  The question is....if I put the bike in Eco and I take it easy on the throttle....am I crazy to keep riding while I wait for a new belt?  The top speed limit on my commute is 45mph so obviously no highway or interstate and it's 21 miles round trip.  Worst case I give it throttle and it just spins or the belt actually snaps...right?

[DPsSRnSD]

I'm voting for crazy. If the belt snaps in front of a car you might decelerate too fast for the driver to react.

[Justin Andrews]

Am I Crazy to Keep Riding?

If you have to ask the question, you already know the answer...

[buutvrij for life]

This is a weird question.  Ever thought about damaging the motor because of the changing loads or belttension while the damaged part of the belt comes round???

[MrDude_1]

You wont get far...
I had something similar happen multiple times on a high powered electric goped I built... since the belt is trashed at that point and I was commuting with it, I pushed it anyway.
once its lost a tooth, you wont have far before you cant ride it at all.


As the belt comes around normally, multiple teeth are in the gear, and they share the load.

I found that once you strip off teeth, what happens is that you overstress the next tooth that the gear picks up.. so that tooth tears some.
this repeats as the belt goes around until that tooth tears off, then the next one does the same thing.. until a large gap forms.
if you stop with the motor on the gap, the bike wont even move.
if you push off so you get some teeth, the belt keeps stripping teeth faster and faster until you cant go anymore.

[avernon82]

yes, you are crazy for even thinking about it.

Sheesh!

[mrwilsn]

Am I Crazy to Keep Riding?

If you have to ask the question, you already know the answer...

Yeah 

You wont get far...

That sounds like a challenge 

I rode my bike to the dealer today.  I put the bike in Eco mode and also put my wrist in wimp mode.  Really gentle on starts...no sudden acceleration to get past cars etc.  Before I left I rolled the bike back and forth to make sure that no matter what position the bike stopped in there would be some teeth making contact with the motor gear.

It's only about a 5 mile ride and I was never going over 40mph.  It never felt dangerous.  I didn't hear any more noises and when I got to the dealer I checked and there weren't any new missing teeth.

Unfortunately, the dealer did not have a belt in stock.  In fact, yesterday they had a demo day event of some kind and they broke the belt on their SR!  So they needed to order a belt for their bike too.  They said shipping was going to be about a week.

So now I had an awkward decision to make....do I keep pushing my luck or do I give up and leave the bike with the dealer?

I decided to leave the bike there...BUT...the sad part is WHY...when I came in and told the girl working there I needed a new belt I asked if they offered a loaner bike while they were working on mine (I asked them about a warranty issue regarding bluetooth too) and she said no.  Then I asked if I could take a bike for an "extended" test ride and bring the bike back at 4pm and she said sure!  Since I had to wait until they opened at 10a I was anxious to get to work (OK...anxious is not the right word...I needed to get to work) so I jumped at the chance to take an FXS that was drained down to 30% from the demos the day before and I told the girl I would charge it while I was at work.

So basically, after they let me ride the FXS to work and back I was too ashamed to jump back on my bike and ride home so that I could use it until the new belt arrives.  If they hadn't let me take the demo bike there is a very high probability I would have taken my bike to ride until the belt comes in.

Totally different topic....I have test ridden an FXS before but using it for my commute for a day gave me a different perspective....so light...you have to be really careful or you can get yourself into trouble.  There are plenty of bikes that are faster but the power to weight ratio....the weight distribution/center of gravity....its really easy to get the rear tire to break loose, especially in a turn.  The demo bike had over 300 miles on it so the tires were pretty well broken in too.  So yeah...I want one 

Also, when I would come up to a light and try to slow roll/balance without putting my feet on the ground until the light changes I can really feel the difference in weight...especially on the front tire when I turn it side to side.  I could definitely understand how the SR would burn through a front tire much faster than the FXS even though its the same tire.

yes, you are crazy for even thinking about it.
Sheesh!

Yeah 

See above 

[Electric Terry]

I rode back from LA with a bunch of teeth missing.  I did the same thing, Eco mode, wrist in "wimp" mode, low top speed, and turn off all regen completely.  It's amazing how many teeth can be missing and still ride.  Around 15000 miles I hit a bump while accelerating hard and when I landed a whole bunch of teeth stripped in a row on the already worn belt.  I was about 400 miles from home and changed my riding style and settings in the app and it worked just fine! But just as easily the belt perhaps could have snapped.  Best to replace the belt as suggested before you hit 15,000 miles is that right?  That seems to be exactly where mine had its issue.

Good luck getting that replaced.  I can't believe the dealer doesn't have a belt in stock!  How silly!!  There should be just a few mandatory items that all dealers carry in stock and the belt IMO would be the #1 item!!

Let us know when you are safe again.  Gonna be checking this thread a few times a day from habit now...

[MajorMajor]

You're calling it silly, I'd call it almost criminally poor customer service.
Sure, don't ride your bike for a week because we don't have belts in stock.
Of course we don't have loaner bikes...

[mrwilsn]

Best to replace the belt as suggested before you hit 15,000 miles is that right?  That seems to be exactly where mine had its issue.

Good luck getting that replaced.  I can't believe the dealer doesn't have a belt in stock!  How silly!!  There should be just a few mandatory items that all dealers carry in stock and the belt IMO would be the #1 item!!

Let us know when you are safe again.  Gonna be checking this thread a few times a day from habit now...

Thanks Terry!

Pretty close...I'm actually just over 13K miles right now.  About a month ago I started taking a new route to work that includes about 400 yards on a road that is in some serious need of TLC and I think it contributed to the belt failure....if its not the cause....it's real bumpy and there is some miscelanous gravel and sand.  Even hearing other stories about broken belts (@MostlyBonkers and @benswing to name a few) I thought it was unlikely I would have a problem with my Zero S which is only ridden on paved roads (albeit some are in desperate need of repair).  I thought the belt issues were mostly for the DS/DSR and FX/FXS owners and that Ben's issue was just an anomaly...lesson learned.

I actually ordered two belts.  I figure this way I have one on hand and won't be relying on a dealer to have one in stock if something happens.  Since I don't have a car, keeping downtime on my Zero to a minimum is critical.  After all the stories I had actually already been considering ordering a belt just in case and was planning to do that when I went in for new tires....the belt beat me to the punch    I remember reading that some FX owner put the belt around the swing arm and zip tied it out of the way so that it can be installed in the case of a break without removing the swing arm....not a bad idea....especially since I want to do some touring myself it might be a good idea to make it easier to do the repair myself by the side of the road.

You're calling it silly, I'd call it almost criminally poor customer service.
Sure, don't ride your bike for a week because we don't have belts in stock.
Of course we don't have loaner bikes...

That might be a little harsh....when I went in I was actually thinking how they would have totally been my heroes if they had one in stock and were able to replace it the same day.  I was optimistic because @benswing just had an issue on his tour recently and was able to get it fixed right away.  I am giving my dealer a pass because they have only been selling Zero's since April.  Considering they had the belt on their demo SR break the day before I came in I am guessing they will keep some belts on hand going forward.

As far as a loaner bike....while it kinda sucks for guys like me that depend on their bike for daily transportation I get why most dealers don't offer loaners.  People expect a car to be depended on for transportation so when a repair is needed a loaner is offered....mostly to give you a reason to go to one repair shop instead of another...in other words its not really out of the kindness of their hearts its a business decision.  People expect that a bike is just for fun or that even if its relied on for transportation that you have a car for backup.  I doubt this situation will change in the US anytime soon and any motorcycle dealer that offers a loaner will be the exception and not the rule.  For most dealers its just not worth the expense for the low number of people that really need it and raises the price they have to charge for repairs in order to compensate for the loaner costs.

[Lecram]

I'm voting for crazy. If the belt snaps in front of a car you might decelerate too fast for the driver to react.

You barely decelerate when the belt snaps. I have had a broken belt and the bike decelerated slowly as there is barely resistance.
I would give it a try, drive carefully and slow.

[mrwilsn]

Well...yesterday I finally got my bike back.  It took Zero over a week to get the belt to the dealer.  On Thursday after the dealer told me they still didn't have the belt I sent an email to Zero asking for a tracking number.  In the email I explained how anxious I was to get the belt since I was having to rent a car while my Zero was out of commission.  About an hour after the dealer contacted me to let me know my bike was ready to pick up I got an email response from Zero saying the belt should have been delivered that day and that in the future they can expedite shipments if they are notified of the urgency...good to know for future reference but it seems like they should be shipping replacement parts to dealers as fast as possible without needing to request it.  I told the dealer multiple times that I was going to be renting a car...the dealer has only been selling Zero's for 3 months now and I think a more experienced dealer would have known they could call Zero to have the part shipped faster.  I think it was a learning experience for them though and I expect they will keep belts in stock going forward...especially since the belt on their demo SR broke the day before I came in to have my belt replaced.

They didn't charge me for the belt or installation.  They didn't say it but I assume that means Zero decided to cover the replacement under warranty.  Pretty cool of them since it falls in the same category as brakes and tires in my view...unless you have it break right after you get the bike...a situation like @MostlyBonkers.  But I have 13K miles on the bike and the two year anniversary since my purchase date is 1 August (i.e. the end of warranty for non power train parts) so I was very happy to have it covered.  I bought an extra belt to eliminate the chance that I would have to wait for a belt to be shipped if I have another belt break (well worth the $93 after tax in my opinion).  Plus I plan to bring it with me when I do any touring...I wouldn't try to replace the belt myself on the side of the road (the bike needs a center stand for that) but if I have a problem and I have a spare belt any motorcycle shop can do the replacement and I won't have to try to hunt for a Zero dealer and take the chance they won't have a belt....@benswing knows what I'm talking about! Blaze that trail Ben!



I had also asked them to checkout the Bluetooth connection on my bike.  I haven't been able to connect (or even get the Bluetooth symbol to show up on the display) for months.  Apparently they haven't gotten their troubleshooting software totally working yet.  They told me Zero did the initial setup on the PC but I think my bike is the first they tried to use it.  Fixing the Bluetooth isn't stopping me from ridding so I took the bike and they are supposed to call me once they have the software working so that I can make an appointment to come back in.  It's on record that I came in before 1 August so I don't expect to have any issues with Zero covering the repair under warranty even if I can't get the bike back in the shop until after 1 August...especially since they have been so cool about warranty thus far.

On the ride home I immediately noticed that my bike didn't feel right and I could hear the belt making a squeak sound.  I could tell that acceleration felt dull and suspected the tension was set too tight.  Talk about understatement...when I got home and checked the tension it wasn't even registering!  Spec is 20-30Kg and the tool maxes out at 70Kg so it was more than twice spec!

I went back today and had them adjust the tension.  The mechanic told me he checked it when he did the install and it was in spec using the gauge provided by Zero.  I had brought my gauge and showed him it wasn't even registering.  After he adjusted the tension he told me when he checked it today it wasn't registering with his gauge too.  It seems kind of suspicious that it would be in spec yesterday when he did the install and be out of spec by the time I rode home that same day....HOWEVER...he also told me that Zero sent out a bulletin to all dealers telling them to check the tension on all bikes when they uncrate on delivery.  Apparently, tension can increase during shipping due to environmental factors.  It's hot as balls in STL right now and super humid so I suppose it's possible that the belt swelled causing the tension to increase after installation.

Bottom line...crazy or not I'm back on the road! 

[E-Luke]

My belt actually snapped at 2200 miles on my DSR... When I inspected it, there were a few teeth missing too. I know belt is under the wear & tear category, but anyone know whether there's any warranty ability there? They hollywood electrics guys were awesome - as always - and got me on the road super quickly.

I've actually got them putting on a 28t sprocket on it for some more torque too;) New belt will be pushed only when there's no potholes around! I don't wanna go to chain but if it happens again - I'd think warranty will be chased. 2200 miles ain't enough for wear & tear to happen. I'm sure there's a more durable belt Zero can look at making standard?! There seems to be a bunch of stories of belts snapping. Not really something you'd imagine to be a yearly maintenance thing. They ain't super cheap.

[KrazyEd]

I worked for a few Japanese brands years back one of them ( Suzuki I think ) would order parts M.O.O.S.E.
Motorcycle Out Of Service Expedite.