Shredded another belt. 2500 miles.

[Forbes1964]

I recently replaced my belt. HOPEFULLY it's just a "cheap belt" . I installed a Bando brand belt because I could get it more quickly than the Kymco. I now have the real Kymco belt. But I thought I would just wait until later to install it because I THOUGHT that Bando was a decent belt since that's what they use on the smaller scooters.

Anyway, other than the low belt quality, is there any other thing that can DESTROY a belt prematurely? I ride hard fifty miles each way to work. And I know that's hard on a belt. But 2500 miles? My pulley faces look good and smooth. I Just inspected the belt last Saturday. It looked good then. HOPEFULLY it's just a low quality belt. If so, it will be KYMCO and ONLY Kymco belts from now on.

Glad I have the spare belt this time.

[CROSSBOLT]

Heat. Variator needs lotsa ventilation to let the fan circulate that "cool" outside air. Are your in and out vents clear? Is your variator fan operational?

Karl

[Stig / Major Tom]

I recently replaced my belt. HOPEFULLY it's just a "cheap belt" . I installed a Bando brand belt because I could get it more quickly than the Kymco. I now have the real Kymco belt. But I thought I would just wait until later to install it because I THOUGHT that Bando was a decent belt since that's what they use on the smaller scooters.

Anyway, other than the low belt quality, is there any other thing that can DESTROY a belt prematurely? I ride hard fifty miles each way to work. And I know that's hard on a belt. But 2500 miles? My pulley faces look good and smooth. I Just inspected the belt last Saturday. It looked good then. HOPEFULLY it's just a low quality belt. If so, it will be KYMCO and ONLY Kymco belts from now on.

Glad I have the spare belt this time.

From what I've been told....factors leading to belt wear with eventual failure include: speed, miles, time and the biggest one : WRONG size belt!
i know a lot of folks use all brands of belts on their Kymcos - but I would try the correct KYMCO belt that comes in a sealed KYMCO bag from reputable scooter parts house that stocks a full range of KYMCO parts for most of the KYMCO line of vehicles. This usually does NOT include off-shore eBay sellers.
I would get a genuine KYMCO belt on your scoot - if that snaps there may be something amiss with the surfaces that come into contact with the belt, or something causing extra heat on the belt (bearings in clutch area?)
Stig

[Chris0381]

What made you decide to replace the belt after 2500 miles ? Was it worn down. I replaced mine also with a Bando at about that mainly to have an extra one as a spare.

I did note that when I opened the cover originally at about 700 miles to replace weights, the insides were extremely dirty with belt dust. I cleaned it out. Its not been that dirty since and I have almost 6000 miles now. I ask myself if it was assembled wrong etc.

I do read stories of people replacing their stock variator and then having belt tears and thats one of the reasons I don't desire to put a high performance (or new) variator on the scooter.

Although I do wonder at what point does one need to replace the variator and how to get a stock one or how to tell if it is worn to a point it could shed a belt possibly.

[Forbes1964]

What made you decide to replace the belt after 2500 miles ? Was it worn down. I replaced mine also with a Bando at about that mainly to have an extra one as a spare.

I did note that when I opened the cover originally at about 700 miles to replace weights, the insides were extremely dirty with belt dust. I cleaned it out. Its not been that dirty since and I have almost 6000 miles now. I ask myself if it was assembled wrong etc.

I do read stories of people replacing their stock variator and then having belt tears and thats one of the reasons I don't desire to put a high performance (or new) variator on the scooter.

Although I do wonder at what point does one need to replace the variator and how to get a stock one or how to tell if it is worn to a point it could shed a belt possibly.

it shredded this morning on my way to work.
Everything is stock. The bando belt is the only non Kymco part.

[Forbes1964]

Heat. Variator needs lotsa ventilation to let the fan circulate that "cool" outside air. Are your in and out vents clear? Is your variator fan operational?

Karl

Last week when I removed the belt to inspect it, I did notice a few leaves in the Intake vent. I removed them at that time. The belt already had about 1900 miles on it at that time. Perhaps that was enough to cause the damage even though the belt still looked good.  Hope so.

[Forbes1964]

From what I've been told....factors leading to belt wear with eventual failure include: speed, miles, time and the biggest one : WRONG size belt!
i know a lot of folks use all brands of belts on their Kymcos - but I would try the correct KYMCO belt that comes in a sealed KYMCO bag from reputable scooter parts house that stocks a full range of KYMCO parts for most of the KYMCO line of vehicles. This usually does NOT include off-shore eBay sellers.
I would get a genuine KYMCO belt on your scoot - if that snaps there may be something amiss with the surfaces that come into contact with the belt, or something causing extra heat on the belt (bearings in clutch area?)
Stig

How would I be able to tell if the Bearings or something else was causing too much heat? The wheel turns smoothly. And the small bearings in the clutch housing turn easily as well. Would it be obvious? And although I do expect shortened life due to the type of driving I do, I don't expect it to fail this often. What does a ready to fail belt look like? Obviously I don't know what to look for. That being said, I got more life out of the Original -already used belt- than I did from the new Bando belt.
Perhaps that's why Kymco uses Bando only for their smaller scooters. I know that the manufacturer of the Kymco belts for the Larger scooters is Mitsubashi. Even so, I'll only buy the Kymco from the Kymco bag. HOPE that does the trick. I expected to belt to last a least until the 4000 mile inspection interval.

[Forbes1964]

From what I've been told....factors leading to belt wear with eventual failure include: speed, miles, time and the biggest one : WRONG size belt!
i know a lot of folks use all brands of belts on their Kymcos - but I would try the correct KYMCO belt that comes in a sealed KYMCO bag from reputable scooter parts house that stocks a full range of KYMCO parts for most of the KYMCO line of vehicles. This usually does NOT include off-shore eBay sellers.
I would get a genuine KYMCO belt on your scoot - if that snaps there may be something amiss with the surfaces that come into contact with the belt, or something causing extra heat on the belt (bearings in clutch area?)
Stig

I bought this Kymco belt from the Dealer. Are there any other sites you can recommend by name that are reputable? If I can get it slightly cheaper but be assured of the quality, I'd like to save some money if possible. Thanks in advance

[CROSSBOLT]

I am with Stig on this (as well as other stuff!) because Kymco engineers seem to be the contolers in most cases involving design and testing. Plus most Kymco belts work well for long periods by OUR experience. Now I had bird seed in mt DT variator air inlet! The belt did not shred but lost some teeth as a result of overheating. Could be those leaves blocked enough air circulation to fry the belt into failure.

Karl

[Stig / Major Tom]

OEM KYMCO belts
$58 for the 250
$90 for the 250ri
from kymcopartsmonster.com
have purchased from them several times - parts guy on the phone has been helpful as well.
Stig

[Forbes1964]

OEM KYMCO belts
$58 for the 250
$90 for the 250ri
from kymcopartsmonster.com
have purchased from them several times - parts guy on the phone has been helpful as well.
Stig

Thanks. I saw their web site. I was wondering if they were reputable. Word of mouth is the best reassurance.

[Mr. Paul]

I too can vouch for Kymcopartsmonster. I highly recommend calling them and order with your vehicle VIN. They have great customer service. I have used other belts also, but I was very unhappy. Have learned to stick with Kymco OEM parts.  A little more expensive upfront, a LOT cheaper over the long haul in money and trouble. Keep riding Forbes! Be safe my friend.

[Forbes1964]

I haven't replaced the belt yet. I'll do that later today. But I can tell by the looks of the shredded Kymco belt with 10,000 miles vs the shredded Bando belt With approximately 2500 miles. The Kymco belt left chunks that are still recognizable as a belt. The Bando shredded into a pulverized mess . It simply looks like insulation or cotton candy with a few strings left on the pulleys. I'll post pictures if I have the means.


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[Mr. Paul]

We Love pictures!

[xsel777]

I have used two gates booster dn(red text) belts, no issues, and I ride every day 50-100km.
One was 9802-40811,  current 9802-41811.
I have not been able to find out exact measurement of these two gates,  or the original kymco.

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