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[Specter]

Oh, if the manu said it was ok then well, i guess it is!  That's kind of weird that a toothed belt would resonate that badly, you'd think that the teeth coming in and out as it spins would change it's resonant frequency a bit.  Not sure if this would help but,are there any aftermarket belts that may be made of something different that may not have that issue?  To bad you can't put clackers on it like power lines, or a tensioner that just rides on top to disrupt any vibes that start setting up.

side of the belt and lips of the pulley.  How tightly does the belt fit into the pulley, is there any side to side room at all?  If not, I wonder what a pulley ever so slightly wider may do, so it's not forced onto the sides like that.  also those pulleys I can see being mass produced, and essentially just cast /stamped out.  If you could get a machinist to polish one up for you on the inner walls that might help too, or maybe you could do it,  hell .. pulling this out my ass,  Q tip and super fine lapping rubbing compound to smooth it up a bit.  Since you don't want friction on the walls, it should help quite a bit.

How much do you feel like playing with it?   

Aaron

[Zelidar]

At this point we can only try "medications" but I get the feeling that if Zero had the resources of a company 10 times larger than them, they would fix it before it even occurs, by design: Setting up a team of engineers, gather vibration data and analyze the hell of that, then design the belt drive so that it never resonates over the belt's lifetime.

This is a costly undertaking that a small company cannot afford.

[Specter]

Are they the only belt driven bike in town?  If not, how do the other ones fare?  IF so, then maybe they may want to look into WHY the others are not belt driven as well?

It wouldn't be that costly if they truly cared, but that 'problem' is just  a cosmetic one really, and nothing to be overly worried about when they are facing recalls for this, that and the next thing burning up, burning out, or just burning.

There are plenty of other devices and machinery that are belt driven in industry, look at how they solved the problem and copy that.  Companies steal each others ideas all the time!

Aaron

[gt13013]

Attached is a copy of what is written in the service manual.
You can check that it is exactly what is said in the Gates FAQ here, in the section "My drive is squeaking or making noise, what's the cause, and how do I fix it?": https://www.gatescarbondrive.com/resources/faqs
And they also recommend this product : CRC 05074 Heavy Duty Silicone Lubricant
I also think that these products should not damage the belt.

I have two Zero.
My 2016 FXS has a thin belt and makes a rather happy and pleasant whistle. It sometimes growls in the rain, but that is not really a problem.
On the contrary, my 2023 S has a larger belt and it grunts and makes a noise of pain, particularly at slow speed. It also makes a terrific noise when I ride at constant speed around 90 km/h (55 mph), that probably comes from a resonance. I have checked the belt tension (on the lower side of the range recommended by Zero), and the belt alignment seems perfect. I would really like to find a solution, since these noises spoil the riding pleasure!

[LeverCommaJohn]

Are they the only belt driven bike in town?  If not, how do the other ones fare?  IF so, then maybe they may want to look into WHY the others are not belt driven as well?

AFAIK, Zero *IS* the only belt driven electric. HD famously uses (used?) belts on their bikes, but you sure aren't going to hear them over their engine. LOL

This is only an issue because our bikes are otherwise so deadly silent. Do we really complain about the sound of the brakes or suspension? The belt really shouldn't be any different. It's still SO much quieter than a chain or those gearboxes on the Livewire and Energicas.

*edit* It does appear that the S2 Del Mar uses a belt for final drive, but those are still unicorns and I haven't heard any reports from actual owners yet.

[Richard230]

Speaking of belt-drive motorcycles, my 1985 Kawasaki GPz305 had a rear drive rubber belt - made by the Japanese company "Bando".  It seemed to work OK, for the 14,000 miles that I owned the bike before selling it.

[MVetter]

Energicas started as race bikes and as such they can't risk a belt snapping on the track. Chains don't really snap so they stuck with them.

Both the Livewire 1 and S2 Del Mar use belts. The only reason the Livewire motor makes the sounds it does are the helical gear mounted to the motor shaft to compensate for the longitudinally mounted motor. Helical gears are quieter than straight-cut gears but they have a distinct sound that H-D tried to claim was some sort of carefully thought-out and precisely planned signature sound unique to the blah blah blah. Noep. Helical gear.

Zero's direct mounted belt is going to sound similar to any other mid drive belt bike, like a Tarform Luna.

Funny thing to note is all this is only really a low-speed thing. At high speeds all the electric motors sound really similar. Several weeks ago I was at Laguna Seca watching the Moto America Super Hooligans races in which there was both an Energica Ribelle and a Zero SR/F. I was there primarily to watch the Energica. As it completed a lap on the long straightaway it gave off that very distinctive high-pitched scream from the motor. After it disappeared a few of us started absentmindedly chatting but freaked out about 30 seconds later when we thought we heard the bike again and turned around in surprise to watch the SR/F go past. One could easily be mistaken for another at high speeds.

[Ireek]

I have a new 23 DSR and it's been super loud since the first mile, now at a little over 400 miles, it's exactly the same, I spent 4 hrs adjusting the belt for alignment and tension, it was about a mm off to the inside, now it's a mm off the shoulder of the sprocket, I forget the tension I'm running but it's half way between recommended specs, it's the only gripe I have with the bike and honestly, it's quite annoying.

[EVFX]

Just to add. I did have the chain kit installed at first, but went back to the belt because the chain is quite noisy. Makes any belt noises seem trivial. Of course any belt noises I get are mostly at lower speeds, the chain however is noisy all the time.

[Zelidar]

We know Zero has made changes regarding the belt drive on the DSR/X:

<<< In order to avoid moving to chain drive, Zero increased the Gates belt width from 20mm to 25mm and used a higher strength core, resulting in a belt drive that was over twice as strong as on the SR/F and SR/S. The drive also makes use of Gates’ Mudport technology, which helps clear debris from the belt pulley and is critical for off-road riding. >>>

Feature	Zero SR/SF	Zero DSR/X
Belt width	20mm	25mm
Wheel Pulley Teeth	90T	90T
Motor Pulley Teeth	20T	22T
Belt core strength	Standard	High strength
Mudport	No	Yes
Intended use	On-road	On- and off-road

From my own short test drive (45 min) I noticed that the basic belt noise was slightly higher on the DSR/X, I put that on its larger size. I didn't notice any resonance, or other extra noise.

Any DSR/X owner/tester can speak from a longer experience? Did Zero address that concern?

[Specter]

At the end of the day.  How loud is the bike, belt noise and all, as compared to an ICE of similar size / hp?
Perhaps you are just noticing it more because everything else is so much more quieter that it has become the main noise instead of the mufflers??

Aaron

[TheRan]

I don't care about there being some noise and that's why I'm considering switching to a chain, I'm not after a completely silent bike. What does bother me is when it sound like there's something wrong with my bike and people turn around thinking there's some old beater car with a loose alternator belt coming past.

I found some silicone lube and tried that on the belt and it's made a big difference, it still has some of the higher pitched whine but the groaning at low speeds and the vibration that I'd feel through the footpegs is pretty much gone.

[Specter]

Install a loud stereo system on the bike, play it loudly.  There, offending, obnoxious noises go away, unless you are playing rap music that is.

Aaron

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

This may or may not help, or even be the same issue, but I had a similar problem I resolved by rotating the rear sprocket.
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=11202.0

[Zelidar]

This may or may not help, or even be the same issue, but I had a similar problem I resolved by rotating the rear sprocket.
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=11202.0

Another great feedback, best one I could hope. I didn't see that post of yours, many thanks.
Doing it fully correctly like NetPro did, that's currently out of my reach. Now I have something else to talk about for my next trip to my Zero dealer.