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[domingo3]

A picture is worth a thousand words here.  Any concerns?

I noticed the outside of the surface on my belt has lost some "mini teeth" - not sure what they're called or if they serve a purpose. There are a few other points with the same kind of loss  The actual teeth that drive the bike are all intact.

[JaimeC]

I had that EXACT same thing happen to me!!  The outside rubber was all dried out and cracking off.  We discovered it when we were replacing my tires.  I considered it a warranty issue but Zero disagreed so I had to get a new belt out of my own pocket.  I've NEVER had to replace a belt on a motorcycle before.  Mine had less than 10,000 miles on it and that's just WRONG.  I posted a similar photo here when it happened.

For reference, I've owned four bikes previously with belt drives and when I got rid of them they all had their original belts in EXCELLENT condition:
2000 Buell M2 Cyclone:  38,345
2006 Buell XB12Ss:  25,876
2009 Buell 1125R:  18.884
2016 Zero S:  17,897

You'll note that last bike was a Zero, and it had the thinner belt that was replaced with the supposedly BETTER one that failed on me in a little more than half the mileage I had on the older design.

[valnar]

Zero FXS 2020:  375 miles 

[DPsSRnSD]

Replace it when convenient so you don't have to do it when it's inconvenient. Certainly change it when you need a new rear tire. You can get a replacement and a spare from your local dealer, or one that's online like AF1 Racing. Any motorcycle mechanic should be able to make the swap.

[KrazyEd]

If you replace it now, you will have a spare for emergencies in the future while you wait for a new one if dealer doesn't have in stock

[staples]

Maybe it's just me, but I probably wouldn't reuse a belt that is falling apart.

[DonTom]

A picture is worth a thousand words here.  Any concerns?

IMO, it's probably more cosmetic than actual damage, but I ain't sure. I figure it's just a covering over the belt and the covering has nothing to do with its strength.   But does it help protect the belt from something? I have no idea.

But I would like to know how many miles that belt has on it.

Both of my Zeros have around 10K miles and so far no belt problems.

I know on my Harley, the belt is supposed to be changed at 70K miles. I am not sure about the Zeros. My 1,000 lb Harley has one hell of a belt compared to Zeros.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

Yes, protects it from UV damage which makes plastics fragile.

-Crissa

[JaimeC]

It is also protecting the belt fabric from outside debris.  Once it is exposed it becomes much more liable to getting damaged by road debris.  Once the kevlar/carbon fiber fabric gets damaged it becomes substantially weaker and much more prone to snapping.

I've had two other bikes with Gates belts and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this (the other two bikes used Goodyear belts).

[princec]

There's no way Zero could reasonably expect to exclude this from a warranty claim. It looks clearly to be the result of manufacturing defect, which I'm fairly sure is covered under most statutory consumer protection laws (although I'm not sure what the situation is in the States, perhaps it's crappier over there?)

Even if it weren't covered Zero would be insane not to replace the belt under warranty just for goodwill. I can 100% categorically state that on the evidence presented in this thread alone (let alone all the other threads and videos of Zero belt failures) that this is an absolute showstopper to me ever buying a Zero and I don't think I'm the only one.

Cas

[JaimeC]

Here is a link to my report of the same issue:
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=9601.msg85390

[TheRan]

There's no way Zero could reasonably expect to exclude this from a warranty claim. It looks clearly to be the result of manufacturing defect, which I'm fairly sure is covered under most statutory consumer protection laws (although I'm not sure what the situation is in the States, perhaps it's crappier over there?)

Even if it weren't covered Zero would be insane not to replace the belt under warranty just for goodwill. I can 100% categorically state that on the evidence presented in this thread alone (let alone all the other threads and videos of Zero belt failures) that this is an absolute showstopper to me ever buying a Zero and I don't think I'm the only one.

Cas

I think because it's classified as a wear item and not manufacturered by Zero it's not up to them to decide how long it should last, what could cause it to fail, and it's not up to them to replace it (legally, it would be nice of them to do so though). Take it up with Gates, if your tyres fail contact Pirelli, and if your brake pads delaminate contact whoever the OEM is for those.

It is also protecting the belt fabric from outside debris.  Once it is exposed it becomes much more liable to getting damaged by road debris.  Once the kevlar/carbon fiber fabric gets damaged it becomes substantially weaker and much more prone to snapping.

I've had two other bikes with Gates belts and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this (the other two bikes used Goodyear belts).

In addition to that there's the possibility that the kevlar could be damaged by UV light, so even if it's not ridden on but instead kept as a spare it might still might not be any good.

[DonTom]

Yes, protects it from UV damage which makes plastics fragile.

-Crissa

Just keep that section of the belt face down when parked.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[TheRan]

Whoops, looks like I missed Crissa's post. From the photo Domingo posted it looks like there's at least one other section of belt that's damaged, wouldn't surprise me if the entire outer layer starts coming away. If you really wanted to save the belt I suppose you could coat it in some black silicone, but for how much a new belt costs it's really not worth the risk.

[JaimeC]

Whoops, looks like I missed Crissa's post. From the photo Domingo posted it looks like there's at least one other section of belt that's damaged, wouldn't surprise me if the entire outer layer starts coming away. If you really wanted to save the belt I suppose you could coat it in some black silicone, but for how much a new belt costs it's really not worth the risk.

That is what I had observed in my case.  The entire outer casing was dried and cracking.  There were several spots where the kevlar/carbon belt was completely exposed but that chunk in the photo was the largest.  Coincidentally, it appears to be the same size as the chunk out of mine too.