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[NetPro]

Edit: Not 22K miles, actually, 2200 miles)

Happened a couple of hours ago on a city street perfectly paved and totally clean of loose gravel and such. NOT good I say!
Was waiting at the light and when green, gave it about 20/25% throttle and after the bike moved a few feet, it just broke and that is all she wrote.
It did propel me to the other side of the intersection but it certainly is not an experience I care to repeat.

Precisely to avoid this, I baby-sat that belt like if my life depended on it and had it perfectly aligned (the small gap on the shoulder side of the cog wheel) and on the lower end of the scale using the Gates app Carbon Drive to adjust the tension.
I weigh 175lbs in street clothes and only had my helmet extra this morning as it was a very nice morning.
Just checked about a week ago and all was very clean and well. Then this non-sense happens

So, I will not trust another belt regardless. Have had enough of that plus what I have read on this forum itself for the last couple of years.
Now, I too, am one of the unlucky ones that have had belt failures.

After searching this forum I found no reference to a specific conversion of an SR/F to chain: Just the pros and cons and some thoughts and comments on doing it.

I am thinking to remove the sprocket and cog wheel and take it --more likely, send it-- to a very high-end facility (super-duper machine shop) where not only they can make it a perfect fit but also use the correct materials when making the 2 parts.

I know it won't be cheap but I don't care if the work is done right and I can ride the bike without the fear of this happening again.

Can anybody recommend a place with the know-how and the equipment to make these 2 parts?

Or maybe there is a kit out there that my searches failed to find

TIA

[Eicas]

Can you tell if there is any evidence of damage on the belt?  I only ask because on my SR/S I picked up some debris and it pushed itself through the belt, the belt did not break but a good percentage if it's width was damage and I found it on my weekly inspection.  I replaced the belt.

On my previous bike, a Buell, I rode that for almost 12 years on the same belt, but others broke their belts due to belt damage. Hence the question.

[Crissa]

Yeah, when the belt broke doesn't mean when the belt took damage.

-Crissa

[NetPro]

Can you tell if there is any evidence of damage on the belt?  I only ask because on my SR/S I picked up some debris and it pushed itself through the belt, the belt did not break but a good percentage if it's width was damage and I found it on my weekly inspection.  I replaced the belt.

On my previous bike, a Buell, I rode that for almost 12 years on the same belt, but others broke their belts due to belt damage. Hence the question.

I took a good look at the belt ends when I was able to grab it but by then many cars have ran over it causing scuffs and marks on it. It is a pretty busy intersection.
But, no, I don't believe there was any damage and that is what bothers me: If some debris get caught there, then belt breakage is justified and explainable.
Most of my riding is on super clean, fairly new roads. But I understand a single piece of junk getting caught in the wrong spot can cause belt damage.

I wish Zero would sell a conversion kit for those not wishing to take chances with belt damage. It is going to be quite difficult to find a machine shop willing to make a quality rear sprocket.
The front one should be a lot easier to make because of its geometry and much smaller size.

Not knowing how much noisier the bike is going to be after the conversion is the biggest drag but I am going to try it and see how it goes.
I can always revert back to the belt if I cannot tolerate the noise (I doubt it will be that bad if done right, after all tons of current top-of-the-line ICE models still use chains).

[Shadow]

I'm glad to hear you're alright! It's stressful the first few times experiencing a broken belt on e-moto, indeed. 

[princec]

4000 miles here, still going strong, fingers crossed. To be fair I never had any trouble with my other two belt driven bikes (F800STs) but maybe I'm lucky.

Cas

[Zelidar]

That is strange. Harley Davidson have been using belts for ages. When investigating belt longevity online, you'll often come across 100'000 km, I have even seen 100'000 miles. I am nearing 30'000 km on my SR/F with the original belt and never did anything on it. I never properly checked its tension. I did make sure before changing the rear tires, that the mechanics had previous experience with belt drive, typically with changing tires on Harley Davidson bikes.

[Kill3rT0fu]

Is there any way to rig up some guards to keep debris out? Some sort of shielding?

[Richard230]

Perhaps the OP was just unlucky and received a defective drive belt?

And speaking of drive belts, I wonder if Zero is still using Gates-brand belts? The replacement belts that I bought (and never needed to use) for my 2014 Zero S and 2018 Zero S were marked with a Gates brand and model number. Could Zero have switched to a different drive belt supplier?

I still recall the brand name of the Japanese-manufactured rubber drive belt used on my 1985 Kawasaki GPz305. The brand name was "Bando".  While the name likely seemed appropriate to the Japanese, it didn't provide a high level of confidence to me that it would have had a long life. However, as it turned out, the Bando belt was more durable than 305's electronic ignition components.   

[Gains]

A belt breaks often because of too much tension. When the tension is too low, the teeth will break off. I don t trust the app or tension tools to adjust the tension (just feel if it has just a little bit of play ) I is not a guitar string. One should not adjust it ,unless when you install a new one. It doesn t get longer like a chain does.

[princec]

No indeed, they get shorter with age, especially in the first few hundred miles, so they need loosening off slightly.
Zero are still using Gates btw. I imagine there must be the odd duff belt amongst them.

Cas

[fredx]

The original belt on my SR/F broke at 54 miles, the very day I bought the bike.  The replacement is still going strong at nearly 7400 miles.  I prefer belt over chain so much, that if I feel the need to preemptively replace the belt every 20,000 miles, I'm okay with that. 

Oh, and I've had a chain break in the past, too.  It was much scarier and messier.  Plenty of fast-flying greasy mass involved.  I'll stick with a belt!

BTW, I think a tight belt is a good belt.  Any looseness creates a shock load when quickly braking/accelerating.

[DonTom]

The original belt on my SR/F broke at 54 miles, the very day I bought the bike.  The replacement is still going strong at nearly 7400 miles.  I prefer belt over chain so much, that if I feel the need to preemptively replace the belt every 20,000 miles, I'm okay with that. 

Oh, and I've had a chain break in the past, too.  It was much scarier and messier.  Plenty of fast-flying greasy mass involved.  I'll stick with a belt!

BTW, I think a tight belt is a good belt.  Any looseness creates a shock load when quickly braking/accelerating.

I often wonder why new belts break. Could it be it was mishandled at the factory? Could it be a design defect? So many possibilities and in many cases, we will never know.


On my two Zeros, the plan is to replace the belt on the 2nd rear tire change. They each have had one rear tire change already.


I have around 14,000 miles / 22.5 km on each of my Zeros. The DS gets the most use, but the SR is for MUCH longer trips. And the odometers are usually fairly  close to each other. Each has the original; belt.


But I always let go of the throttle  when I notice a bump coming up, such as a railroad track or a speed bump.  I am often in the eco mode. And I usually ride like a little old lady. Perhaps all of that is best for the belt.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[victor6.7y]

Is the belt on the gen3 set tighter?
or maybe the torque is kind of to much for it?

[TheRan]

Electric bike may have a lot of torque at the motor but I'm pretty sure there are belt drive gas bikes out there that put more torque to the wheel in 1st gear without snapping them.