Shredded Belt

[Urbestfriend]

Traveled 50 miles yesterday to Terre Haute, IN.  Ten miles into returning home around 60 mph,  I had a stall-out.  Thought I, blew the engine.  Coasted to the side of the road and restarted with no movement so I knew the belt was broken.  Initial stall was caused by the belt cords getting caught in the clutch faces, then breaking.  Called AAA and waited 2 hours as usual for the flatbed.  I pay for the AAA RV level that covers up to 100 miles of towing.  We flatbed towed it the remaining 40 miles to home.  I pulled the cover off and cleaned everything out using a brush, alcohol and an air gun.  Fortunately I invested in a new belt, rollers and sliders about 6 months ago,  so I saved three weeks downtime.   This is not on-road maintenance because an impact wrench is necessary.  I believe this photo illustrates the worst mechanical destruction I've seen in a long time.

[windwheeler]

...no, I "pulverized" mine even more...  ;-)

Is this the OEM belt, and on what bike?  That doesn't look like a Grand Vista 250 behind it.

[Urbestfriend]

Sorry Windwheeler.   You may recall I also have a GV.   This was my Xciting 250.  Entered my post under wrong model mistakenly.   Yes, it was the original Kymco belt and was replaced by duly authorized parts.   If yours was shredded worse,  how many miles were on it?

[windwheeler]

Actually, it was not the belts fault, it was the installer's fault.  The nut that holds the face plate pulley came loose, and then all kind of things went bad, and it pulverized an almost new OEM belt, with some other damage...

I hope this is not what happened to yours?  I had the belt changed at 13,000 miles and the original OEM belt did not really need it then.  It had inside the "teeth" cracks in the rubber, more age related (7+ years), but no abnormal wear.  Kymco gives the 250cc OEM belt 16,000 miles before changing. 

I am a bit confused about your situation, is this is already your second belt, and somebody else changed it for you?  How many miles ago?  If it IS the second belt, how many miles did you put on your first belt?

[Urbestfriend]

This was the original factory installed belt.

[windwheeler]

This was the original factory installed belt.

I would say you had some not normal slippage; that tears up belts like yours.  Make sure your roller weights and rear pulley spring are OK.  If anything of the function "hangs" on the pulley drive, or the spring is weak, you belt slips and it tears it up without noticeable indication to you, until it breaks.

[Urbestfriend]

Windwheeler...Interesting comments,  yet I believe I suffered a normal belt failure.  This was a 2009 model.  The was no abnormal wear nor rubber residue on the coned pulley drive surfaces.  I spent several years as an engineer in the rubber industry (automotive air springs).   Milled rubber can actually start to cure once it's mixed and coiled to the sheet spec.  Therefore the speed to actual product build and cure is actually the optimum.  From there on, it actually continues curing or dries out.  That's why some are careful when they buy tires to be sure they haven't been in a hot warehouse for an extended time.   In the case of these belts,  the wear or loading is mainly on the edges (the belt width is the wear factor / which I never did).   Besides that,  the ventilation of the belt housing doesn't offer a great deal of cooling,  so the oils in the rubber just continue to dry out.  If you run like I do (mostly 60+ for an hour),  this is a variable that's different for each user.  In this case,  it just reached its end of life and basically deteriorated as shown in the photo.  Unfortunately everything fatigues,  belts, plastic parts,  bolts and even my 60+ body.  I had checked this belt once or twice and cleaned out the rubber dust from the housing.  As I've recommended time after time,  Invest the money in key spare parts and have them when something like this happens.  Took an hour to fix and saved three weeks downtime.  This is unless some mechanical failure in your instance expedited abnormal wear.

[windwheeler]

Thank you, yes, makes a lot of sense.  I agree, some riders are power hungry (like I am) and drive much faster, and for sue that reflects in belt life by a time factor, vs, miles factor.  I learned it on my 150cc GY6 where unfortunately I "eat" belts in about 2500 miles. There is nothing wrong technically, just the constant full throttle, high rpm and heat probably kills them quckly (the little scoot runs very good, 60 by GPS)

In your case it "seems" just deterioration, but still a bit unusual for a KYMCO belt.  Are you running slider or roller weights?  If a change there, to what weight did you go?

Windwheeler...Interesting comments,  yet I believe I suffered a normal belt failure.  This was a 2009 model.  The was no abnormal wear nor rubber residue on the coned pulley drive surfaces.  I spent several years as an engineer in the rubber industry (automotive air springs).   Milled rubber can actually start to cure once it's mixed and coiled to the sheet spec.  Therefore the speed to actual product build and cure is actually the optimum.  From there on, it actually continues curing or dries out.  That's why some are careful when they buy tires to be sure they haven't been in a hot warehouse for an extended time.   In the case of these belts,  the wear or loading is mainly on the edges (the belt width is the wear factor / which I never did).   Besides that,  the ventilation of the belt housing doesn't offer a great deal of cooling,  so the oils in the rubber just continue to dry out.  If you run like I do (mostly 60+ for an hour),  this is a variable that's different for each user.  In this case,  it just reached its end of life and basically deteriorated as shown in the photo.  Unfortunately everything fatigues,  belts, plastic parts,  bolts and even my 60+ body.  I had checked this belt once or twice and cleaned out the rubber dust from the housing.  As I've recommended time after time,  Invest the money in key spare parts and have them when something like this happens.  Took an hour to fix and saved three weeks downtime.  This is unless some mechanical failure in your instance expedited abnormal wear.

[Urbestfriend]

All the standard Kymco parts.

[AVGuy]

Wow, looks like you ran it through the shred-o-matic. Good thing you already had the needed parts.

I just passed the 6,000 mile mark on my GV and have been wondering about the life of some of the key components. I'm getting ready to take a week long trip very soon and plan on an oil change right beforehand. I also have roadside assistance just in case.

[windwheeler]

AVGuy: How in the world does it post an average fuel consumption on your GrandVista with 81.6 mpg, when apparently you did not reach that (see low mpg after, high mpg before last fill up  = inconsistent levels) and that and there is even a "best" for 155.3 mpg...  () How does this happen with such a weird range of mpg's?  Do you not fill up completely every time?

[AVGuy]

AVGuy: How in the world does it post an average fuel consumption on your GrandVista with 81.6 mpg, when apparently you did not reach that (see low mpg after, high mpg before last fill up  = inconsistent levels) and that and there is even a "best" for 155.3 mpg...  () How does this happen with such a weird range of mpg's?  Do you not fill up completely every time?

I'd be glad to sell you the secret to my excellent mileage figures for the low, low price of $99.99 
Actually, I think I fumble-fingered entering some data on the Fuelly app on my phone a couple of times and didn't notice the errors until I'd already pitched the gas station receipts and couldn't correct the numbers. I do try to be consistent with the amount at every fillup, usually around 1.5 gallons.

[catman2130093]

All the standard Kymco parts.

Hi Friend-I replaced my oem belt at 11k out of an abundance of caution. My GV is also a 2009 model. All of my riding is on a US 2 lane hwy,running a gps indicated 60-65 mph. I did replace mine last summer,so it was a year younger than yours,but it was in very good shape,if slightly more narrow.  I have it and the sliders set aside as spares,just in case,they looked so good. The new belt/sliders are also oem.  It may be improper to draw conclusions based on your and my experience,but it nonetheless seems to me that maybe yours had indeed "dried" out more than mine did before needing replacement.   My new one won't go so long without needing replacement. I'm the second owner of mine-it had 3k on it then-2011. Today it has 14,500..I use my GV whenever weather permits, I just enjoy it.  I'm glad you had the spare on hand!!

[mrbios]

I bought my 2005 Kymco Grand Vista / Grand Dink 250cc scooter 2 years ago with 2600 miles on it.  At about 8K miles the scooter developed a high speed vibration that starts at about 60mph.  I concluded that the problem is the belt is worn.  Belts wear unevenly the same way drive chains wear on motorcycles.  That is to say the the belt is tight in one spot and as you rotate the wheel gets loose and the wheel is easier to move. It is mainly noticeable at high speeds above 60 mph.  It is a constant rhythmic vibration.

You can feel it by putting the scooter on the center stand and rotating the rear wheel - hard to turn , easy to turn then hard then easy.  I now have 10K and am thinking about replacing the belt.  It cost $83 at the dealer and it looks like it has been sitting on the shelf for a few years.

Also, My clutch has started to make a squeak when it first engages or "locks up".    Any thoughts?  Belt width shows little wear and I ride easy with gradual starts and mostly highway driving 65 to 70 mph.

Thanks.

[Urbestfriend]

10,000 miles...I'd recommend new belt, rollers and the three sliders.  Although wear is a factor, I think the age and drying of the rubber is more of a factor.   Last check of Stadium indicated "Call for Price" on the rollers and sliders.  Another indication is quantity of Rubber dust when you take off the cover.