Continued from post 1.
The forward inner bolt is a real bear to get to. It is located exactly next to the tire and I had to search for just the right extension that was not too long yet long enough to get to it. This bolt is also recessed so an extension is also needed. I used my ratchet to loosen the bolt and then wormed my fingers back there to turn out the bolt.
Pic 4 shows the lower inner belt guard and you can see the 2 bolt holes.
Now for the belt tension check. Everything I was reading says to measure the distance between the front and rear belt sprocket centers and check belt tension using the force tool at the mid point between those centers. Most of the articles I read also stated that someone should be sitting on the bike to compress the rear end as it would be while riding. I am guessing there are two reasons for this. One is that the front sprocket may not be exactly centered at the pivot point of the swing arm so the tension may be different if it is not compressed as when riding. The second reason may be to prevent the rear wheel from turning slightly while checking the tension. On this scooter the front sprocket is centered at the pivot point of the swing arm so that doesn’t change tension on the belt. The pivot for the swing arm rotates around the drive pinion shaft for the forward drive sprocket. Also this scooter has a parking brake that will prevent the rear wheel from turning while pressing on the belt on one side or the other. So I proceeded to do this check while the bike was on the center stand.
I set up my tape measure to stand up so my hands were free to test the tension and also take the pictures. The belt at rest, including the thickness of the tension tool L bracket was set to be at the 1 inch mark and as I pressed up on the force tension tool I measured up from there looking at the bottom of the tool L bracket.
Pic 5 is what it looked like.
The deflection of the belt is checked when pressing up on the end of the tool until the plunger gets to the 10 pound mark. You can see here where the midpoint is where the belt should be checked. Set the tool on the belt just below the space between the Kymco label and the front of the insert with that logo on the swing arm. I checked the belt in several places by turning the wheel one quarter turn and checking the belt. Then another quarter turn and check the belt again. Then repeat. I did this every quarter turn of the rear wheel 6 times to get an average reading of belt tension deflection.
I came up with a measurement of between 3/8 to 7/16 of an inch deflection depending where I was measuring. This is my benchmark for now.
This tool has 2 rubber O-rings. One you can see in the picture above to be used to mark deflection. I used the bottom of the L bracket instead but could have used the O-ring just the same. After doing this I am thinking it would be easier to see the O-ring so I may set that to a mark on the tape measure and observe the deflection using that as the marker. There is also an O-ring on the silver plunger shaft to make it easier to see the 10 pound mark. There are only the zero and 10 pound marks on this plunger since those are the only marks needed.
If tension is too loose the tool will deflect the belt more than what it should be. If tension is too tight the tool will not deflect the belt enough. In either case the belt will need to be re-tensioned per the procedure in the service manual. And then this procedure will need to be repeated.
When finished checking the tension of the final drive/timing belt then reinstall the belt guards in reverse order of removal.
