belt seems to be slipping

I have a 2003 Swing with 8800 miles. Bought it in May this year with 7100 miles on it and it looked like new. I have done maintaince of oil change, changed oil in final drive, cleaned air cleaner, cleaned belt housing, and put on two new tires. I love it, it has been a real delight to ride, just added an Airhalk seat pad yesterday. Also, bought new plugs, just not put them in yet. However, the last couple days I have heard an "Rrr" noise in the rear end when I take off. I thought a bearing might be going out. Today it was more noticable but sounded like the belt was slipping a bit when I took off. I almost sure that's what it is. When I cleaned the inside of the belt housing the belt looked like new. I now have a service manuel but I did not measure the width of the belt.

Is belt slippage "normal" at times? Do I need a new belt?
Can anyone give me any ideas or help?

Redrider

Redrider welcome to the best SilverWing site on the web.This is from an earlier post on this topic.

Subject: Re: Squealing Noise? Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:53 am
D,

This happens when the clutch gets glazed over, usually by slow stop and go traffic, or just always taking off from a stop really slow. To get rid of this you can hold in one of the brakes and rev it up to 4,000 rpms for about 4-5 seconds. You will get a slight burning smell but this will take away the squeal. My SWing is 4 years old and I do this a few times a year or so. It will also smooth it out too.

If you don't want to do this then just do some fast accelerations from a stop and don't take off slowly anymore. See if it works.

_________________
Ride safe,

JeffR

x

Redrider;

You need to work these four muscle groups in your right arm more aggressively.

Extensor Digitorum Communis
Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis
Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus
Extensor Carpi Ulnaris.

Do this once at every fifteen to twenty stoplights and your ailment will never reoccur.

Thanks for the responses. I did not know I posted this in the "For Sale" section. I am still new to the forum and still learnig.

Redrider

I have just started to hear the same sort of sound coming from the lower left rear of my bike in the area of the belt drive when I take off from a dead stop. If I take off very slowly I don't hear the noise. If I take off at any speed other then very slowly I hear it. The noise doesn't always sound the same and it is hard to describe but my first thought was also that the belt was slipping. The sound is something like a rope being pulled through a squeaking, squealing, squawking pully. My bike is less than a year old and it only has 3,200 miles on it. It's still under warranty so I think I will take it in to the dealer on Monday and have them fix the problem. I'll let you know what they do and what they tell me. I don't think I want to try holding the rear break in while running the engine up to 4,000 RPM for a few seconds. I will ask one of the mechanics in the dealship what he thinks of that approach.

Well model28a I have to say I tried your recommendation and it appears to have solved my problem.

I was going to take my SilverWing into the dealer tomorrow and have the noise in the lower left rear of my bike checked out. But this afternoon I said what the hell and gave your recommendation a shot.

I put the bike on the center stand, started it up, held the rear break lever down hard and cranked the engin up to 4,000 RPM for only a couple seconds. I then closed the throttle and released the break. I didn't smell anything like something was burning.

After dinner I took the bike for a ride. When I started out I heard a metalic pop in the lower left rear but the other noise, the squeaking, squealing, squawking was gone. I stopped and started out in my normal way several times and I never heard anything coming from the drive belt area again, that includes the metallic pop sound. So, I guess your idea worked.

My only problem is holding the break like that and cranking up the engine just does not sound like something we should be doing. I'm no mechanic but this sounds like I could damage something if I did this repeatedly.
And I have no idea what that poping sound was. It was almost as if I had wound up something when I cranked up the engine and then when I started out the first time it was quickly released.

I'm not going to take the bike to the dealer now. I have two months left on the warranty so I'll ride it for another month and see what happens. If I get that noise again I will take it in.

Thanks much for your help.

x

Sorry to say the noise was back today and just as loud as ever. I took the bike into the Honda dealer. When I get it back I will let you know what he said and what they did.

Garth Williamson
Midland, MI

I got my bike back from the Honda dealer today. The noise is gone and the service was covered by my warranty.

I have to say model28a hit the nail right on the head. I was told the problem was due to glazing of the clutch caused most likely by slow starts, and I think the mechanic also said slow acceleration. Apparently when one starts out the clutch first spins and then engages. During slow starts from a stop the clutch spins longer before it engages than during fast starts. This excessive spinning results in the glazing that shows up as the noise I was getting in the area of the belt drive.

I don't know how model28a knew this but he got it right. My only problem is following his recommendation on how to fix the problem.

I told the mechanic I was surprised this problem developed so early on my bike since I only had 3,300 miles on it. Fortunately I was still covered by my warranty but I said I sure hoped I didn't have to deal with a repeat of this problem in another 3-4,000 miles after the warranty has expired. The mechanic doubted it would happen again that quickly. He said this problem usually doesn't show up until an owner has about 16,000 miles on the bike.

I am up an running again and that's the important thing. And once again I am reminded that some to the guys on this forum know what they are talking about.

"I don't know how model28a knew this"
This is only information I have got right hear on this site.The post I copied was posted by our Site Admin JeffR,I just passed it on.

x

You are correct sir. He removed the clutch and did something to the surface to remove the glaze. However, I don't recall he said he sanded the surface.

midlandchip, if you read some of the older posts, you'll see that your mechanic is WRONG. We all get the same squealing noise at times and it seems like there is no mileage limit as to when it will happen. There is a theory that slow starts and slow acceleration causes it but I ride very hard, unless stuck in traffic, and I have had the problem too , so I think it's just the nature of the beast. The "Brake & rev" method works though. When you tried it, you said there was no burning smell so I suspect that you were a tad easy on the revs, being aprehensive about the remedy, and didn't clean off the glazing fully, which is why it returned so shortly after. The first time I did it, I was careful too and it came back a few days later. The second time, I hit it harder and had the burning smell and it cured the problem.
Ian

I have 17000 on my S/W and every once and a while I have the same problem. I ride hard most of he time but still have to ride in traffic once and a while.

I read in this forum a long time ago, that it is normal and the problem will go away. And with out doing anything different in a day it does.

My deepest regret, is being next to a car and having them have to listen to my baby cry, while taking off. So I do it real slow like.

I've noticed lately that the problem has gone away for me. I drive in a lot of stop and go traffic and I was dealing with it constantly.

I recently upgraded to the 26g Dr. Pulley Sliders and I believe that the fact that the sliders allow the revs to jump more quickly means that the clutch is locking up faster which prevents glazing.

Anyone else noticed this?

john123 wrote:

I have 17000 on my S/W and every once and a while I have the same problem. I ride hard most of he time but still have to ride in traffic once and a while.

If you accelerate quicker in the 0-15 MPH range ... it should solve the problem for the majority of time.

Well guys I'm back to tell you the problem has returned after having my bike out of the repair shop one day. My super, duper mechanic at the local Honda dealership did not fix the problem after all. I can't tell you how pissed I am right now. My bike only has 3,300 miles on it and still under warranty and I'm already dealing with something like this. And it's more than being pissed. I'm really down and disappointed. I always thought Honda made quality products but with so many of you having this same problem it is beginning to sound like some sort of design flaw in the clutch. I will be taking it back to the Honda dealership on Monday. I'm going to take it on a 400 mile ride over the weekend. Maybe the problem will go away as some of you have mentioned. More later.

I'm thinking the mechanic said "bigbird, I'll take door number 1 please.", then hurried off to send a bill to Honda for the repair.

But, I'm guessing he will take door number 3 this time around.

What is probably really going to happen is that midlandchip will find that the 400 mile ride over the weekend cured the problem. I'm hoping he lets us all know the solution to his problem.

I wasn't going to post on this topic again since I was getting tired of saying I have the problem, I don't have the problem, I have the problem, etc. But Buddy 19520 you were correct. We went on a roughly 400 mile trip to the upper part of the lower peninsula of Michigan and after a number of rapid starts from a dead stop (those Harley folks like to take off fast and make a lot of noise) the problem just went away. I never really noticed when it stopped. Well into the ride it just hit me that I wasn't hearing anything. So, for now at least I guess I'm all set. Thanks again to all of you who jumped in with ideas and suggestions. I really do learn something new every time I'm on this board. It's just that I'm now thinking I'm stuck with a chronic problem and I'm wondering how long I will have to wait for it to show up again.

what fun to think " I have to take off fast, its for the good of the bike!"