Blown Apart CVT Belt

I picked up a 2004 Silverwing with just shy of 16,000 miles.  At 16K, the belt light came on, so in addition to all of the deep dive maintenance items (plugs, oil, filters, battery, brake fluid, tires, etc.), I added a belt.

I bought a no-name belt from an eBay seller and paid the price.  After 500 miles, it blew apart at highway speed.  You don't have a full appreciation of the Silverwing's weight until you're pushing it up the slight incline of the off ramp from the bottom.

I heard a "pop" from the left side, the engine died and I coasted to a stop.  Turned off the key and started pushing.  I suspected the belt, so cranking on the starter was a bad idea until I could get into the CVT compartment and have a look-see.



Sure enough.  A ripped apart belt and corded reinforcement strands throughout.  I carefully removed all of the parts and cleaned off the rubber stains with a scrubbing pad.  The rollers were really dusty-- more so than when I removed the original OEM belt (which I had saved).



I ordered an OEM belt from Ron Ayers.  Took off the variator and started the engine to see if the abrupt stop had damaged the engine.  Seemed no worse for wear.  I reinstalled my old belt.  Took turns tightening the variator down and started it.  Seemed no worse for wear.



Put on the metal CVT cover and took it for a short ride around the neighborhood.  First thing I noticed was the belt pick up was faster.  The replacement belt had a momentary lag before delivering power.  The 16K mile OEM belt didn't.  

The short ride 24 hours after the blow out seems to indicate the Silverwing is no worse for wear.  I'm very lucky on several counts.  I mean, you can buy a no name belt that has the Honda part number, but I'd strongly recommend buying the OEM one from a reputable dealer.  

That's what I should have done.  Ride safe.

Glad to hear you had no permanent damage. I tried some cheapy fork seals from eBay and they leaked within about 3 months.

Thus, it brings about the debate of using reputable dealers. We live and learn.

Wow not a good experience , wonder if the belt was for the 400 or if it was damaged when fitted , these belts are usually very strong so i there is a make on the belt then be useful to know which so we can look for and avoid this brand.

Re the weight , yes with a rider and fuel its over a 1/3 of a tonne and something akin to the weight of the astroid that caused the Yucaton crator. You dont want to be pushing that around if you can help it , always carry a tow strap buddy.

Peace!

cello33 wrote:

(Snip)always carry a tow strap buddy.

And where would you attach an actual tow strap?

Ron Ayers has always been a good dealership for me to order from online.  They've had online fiche for years, even back in the day when dealerships concealed them like state secrets.  Competitive prices too.

I pushed the Silverwing to a local grocery store then called my wife.  I came back with my truck along with straps and a loading ramp.  Never been a fan of tow straps.  Too much can go sideways.  

In the same vein, I use a folding loading ramp that's as wide as my truck bed.  Watched too many tragic videos of people loading bikes with a 2x6.

Went ahead and ordered the 26g Dr Pulley sliders.  I had a good experience using them on my Kymco.

Not a good way to start the year, but at least you and the bike survived with no damage done, other than wobbly legs from pushing a big fat bike
Along with brakes and tyres the drive belt isn't something to skimp on.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

cello33 wrote:

(Snip)always carry a tow strap buddy.

And where would you attach an actual tow strap?

There's a few options forks or handlebar but my favorite is on the rear grab handle.

Yes, I got towed backwards once with myself reversed on the bike so I am pointing forwards with my arms behind me so the front/rear brake levers are on the same side.

It takes a bit of getting used to but try not to do over 20MPH as if you get in to a fishtail situation you have to lock up both wheels in order to get stable once again.

Peace!

The best place to put the tow strap is between the "spokes" on the front wheel... That way you can ride and see where you're going.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself...

I can't believe I fell for that...even for a few seconds!

I added some before and after pictures in my first post. Still waiting for the OEM Honda belt and Dr Pulley weights. All good.

I'm staying out of the tow strap discussion. Probably the simpler alternative to the above suggestions: befriend someone with a truck or a trailer. Your results may vary.

WOW that belt shredded and only 500 miles not a quality part. Seems to be a lot of that going around lately in the auto parts market too stuff is not good. Dare I say made in China, sold in US but it's not what it used to be last few years.

I wrench on autos for a living and parts are crap anymore. Stick with OE or other know good sources. Honda belts are great, or G Boost they also work fine.

I looked carefully at the pic of the broken belt- I don’t see the ribs on the outside of the belt- am I missing something? I’m wondering if that was a belt that fits several scooters world wide and wasn’t more specific for the SW. Did it feel as robust as the original when you initially installed it? Was it torqued properly? Did it run as expected after the install (and I ask this only in that you indicated a change in how it ran after installing the OEM belt)? I have a GBoost on mine and it felt exactly like the OE belt I removed (and saved in case of an issue, and I changed it only due to age).

A broken belt will strand you no doubt but would not normally be expected to cause any substantial damage in the belt housing, just the mess of strands and dust to clean up. Glad you got it sorted out.

The replacement belt looked like the OEM belt it replaced. I'd placed it on top of the original OEM and it looked identical. I didn't put a micrometer on it. Ribs on both sides.

The initial ride with the replacement belt didn't feel any different. The Silverwing was new to me and I'd only put about 50 miles on it before changing the belt. Then I rode 500 miles on the new belt, so I had x10 the seat time with the new belt over the OEM.

When I did the test ride with the OEM belt back on, the "pick up" between applying the throttle and the rear wheel spinning was shorter with the OEM.

I considered bad installation, but that didn't track. I've replaced belts on several other scooters without incident following the manual. If my new OEM belt does the same thing, the problem is viewable in the mirror. Since I'm familiar with the install, it doesn't seem to be the issue.

We'll see.

^^ Just wondering…yup, seems like just a cheap poorly constructed belt.

I'm glad your "cheap/no-name belt" experience was mostly uneventful, it could had been a painful and $$$$ experience, buying rubber parts (Belts, tires, seals, gaskets) on Ebay is usually a crapshoot, the problem "could be"* that it is a Chinese part, but also most of these vendors buy/resale NOS parts, so even if is OEM, it could be "aged out" rubber belt for dealer stock, so you may have purchased an expired, shelf-life item. With all that said I have purchased branded belts, tires, etc. from Ebay, with good results, check the ratings, contact and ask for dates on tires, etc.

* Your OEM belt is probably made in China

I'm kind of the "Lone Ranger" (even though he had a sidekick ) on my opinion on "CVT" drive belt life, "Flame Suit On" , Rubber dries as it ages and CVT belts work hard! 16k miles or 5-10 years is the limit on "My" scooters, anything over 10 years is not serviceable IMO. Your life your decisions.. over-maintainer drama, maybe ..., also seen the $$$ results of .. "It was 15 years old, but only had 5K.." one liners

I learned long ago on this forum to be safe is to use only an OEM belt. When I did the SWing I used a Honda belt and this last summer I changed my Forza with a Honda belt... In addition my Kawasaki side by side got an actual Kawasaki belt! The Kawasaki forum said to stick with OEM as well so I did.

I believe my OEM Honda belts were made in Thailand not China.

My 26g Dr Pulley sliders arrived and were installed Friday.  Today my OEM belt from Ron Ayers came in.



Installed the belt without drama and took a fine test ride.



It had snappier acceleration, but that's probably as much of the Dr Pulleys as the new OEM belt. Very happy in any case.

Here's a picture of the offending belt package. I don't know what the letters stand for, except for maybe "Do Not Install" or "Run Away."



I'm keeping the original 16K OEM belt to simply have a spare. I suspect this new one should be good for 16,000 miles or so. The weather here has been in the low 30s to low 40s. Looking forward to getting back on the Silverwing to run errands. All good.

Great to hear! I didn’t suspect any other damage from the broken belt, and I had the same response with the 26G sliders when I installed them with the new belt. So, it seems less likely the belt would make a difference but it’s likely the sliders.