Was there in '93 on a 21 day motorcycle trip pulling a tome-out camper. Best trip we've had.
Going there soon on a trip to the Colorado high country.
Where Did You Take Your Slingshot Today?
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Finally go a chance to fiddle with the belt tension and alignment, again! I think this is attempt # 7 or 8. After loosening the angle drive mounting bolts, I jacked up the rear just enough to raise the rear wheel off the concrete, I fed a strap around the angle drive, being careful to avoid the brake lines, and tried loosening the belt tension by trying to pull the angle drive to the rear w/o success. I then remembered I hadn't loosened the belt tension nut.
Once I did that, I was able to get some slack on the belt. I then lowered the Slingshot so the rear wheel was on the concrete and proceeded to tighten the belt tension nut in about 1/8 turn increments until I got the belt tension to between 3/4-7/8". After tightening the angle drive mount bolts to 85 ft-lbs and the belt tension nut to 40 ft-lbs, I rechecked the belt tension (still in the same range of 3/4-7/8") and then realigned the belt until it was tracking just inside the inner lip of the pulley. Here's a pic of the pre-test ride position -Unfortunately, when I went back out for a test ride, the electricity gremlins struck. My Slingshot went thru the start-up sequence, but when I went to push the Start button, all of the lights (dash and headlights) went out and I noticed my digital voltmeter was now showing under 3 Volts. Assuming I must have somehow had my battery run down, I hooked up a charger, but it read 14.1 Volts and showed the battery at 100% charge. I pulled the 3 main fuses near the battery, but they all looked good, at least in the amount of light I had at the time. I'm going to go back out and check the battery cables and also check each fuse for continuity, just in case. If it still won't start, I'll either shoot the Slingshot or myself!
JK!
I'll be updating this post later tonight or tomorrow.
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Possible the battery connections or ground wire near batt is lose? Whenever I have gremlins like that, usually the cause. Good luck!
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Just checked all 3 main fuses for continuity and they all seem to be good. Next step is to check battery connections and test with a load tester.
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I have known motorcycle batteries to have a full charge and as soon as you place a load everything drops. I lost my load checker years ago. That reminds me I should get a new one!
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I have known motorcycle batteries to have a full charge and as soon as you place a load everything drops. I lost my load checker years ago. That reminds me I should get a new one!
Road trip to HF. Just don’t spend a bunch.
JUST SAYIN -
Road trip to HF. Just don’t spend a bunch.
JUST SAYINI do a round trip. Hit up Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply on the return. Picked up these two last week. A LED Motion detection light and a really great swivel ratchet wrench.
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After the electrical problems that seemed to kill my electrics (see Post #4542, above), I pulled the battery and tested it with my HF Battery Load Tester and it showed still good, but just barely. I put it on my charger for 30 minutes to 1 hr and it tested better, although battery voltage dropped to 11 volts under loaded test. I had already tested the 3 big fuses near the battery and they all tested OK, so I reinstalled the battery (it sure would have been nice if Polaris had provide a few more inches of battery cable
) and turned the ignition key. The lights all came on and the dash cycled thru the startup sequence and when I pressed the start button, the engine fired up. I took a short test ride, just under 10 miles and pulled over and restarted several times because my AFR/Boost gauge would stop displaying the AFR reading and each time I restarted the engine, my digital voltmeter showed a slightly lower voltage level when cranking, so I may still have a problem with the battery. I might need to go by my NAPA parts tore and see if they'll test the battery using the jump ports I installed behind the driver's seat.Now for the important stuff! After readjusting the belt tension and alignment for what must have been 8 times, now, here's a pic of the belt position after my 9.6 miles short test ride -
It looks like the darned belt stayed where we had adjusted it to!
Now, I just need to see if it stays aligned during a longer ride. Hopefully, I'll get a chance for a longer ride in the next couple of days. I can't overstate how relieved I feel right now. I just hope I still feel that way after a longer test ride! -
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Happy for you BKL 🙂
Speaking of belts…. Can someone please explain the physics of how the belt becomes tighter as it get warmer?
What properties does it have that allow for this??I've checked mine many times before a ride and directly after. It's definitely tighter after the ride. I checked along the way every few hours to get an idea of how long I should wait when setting the adjustment to get a true adjustment. Once it heated up it didn't really loosen much till the next morning when it was cold. I suppose it's a combination of both the belt and the Pullies. Perhaps it has more to do with the expansion of the metal pullies that the belt rides on?
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so I may still have a problem with the battery.
I'm reading this thinking it might be time to replace the original battery in my SS.
Bought in December 2014!!
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Happy for you BKL 🙂
Speaking of belts…. Can someone please explain the physics of how the belt becomes tighter as it get warmer?
What properties does it have that allow for this??May be an answer buried here - https://lmgtfy.app/?q=why+do+m…ighter+as+they+warm+up%3F
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May be an answer buried here - https://lmgtfy.app/?q=why+do+m…ighter+as+they+warm+up%3F
I went to the Harley Davidson site and everybody talks about their belts being tight but nobody speaks to the physical properties of the belt and why it would contract under hot conditions. Perhaps I’m just a little too simple minded but usually when things get warm they slack up not contract
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I went to the Harley Davidson site and everybody talks about their belts being tight but nobody speaks to the physical properties of the belt and why it would contract under hot conditions. Perhaps I’m just a little too simple minded but usually when things get warm they slack up not contract
SoCal different materials react differently when heated. Some things have a positive CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) and expand when they get warmer, others have a negative CTE and contract when they are heated. Carbon fiber which I believe is used in the slingshots drive belt has a negative CTE which might explain the belt contracting and getting tighter when it heats up
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SoCal different materials react differently when heated. Some things have a positive CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) and expand when they get warmer, others have a negative CTE and contract when they are heated. Carbon fiber which I believe is used in the slingshots drive belt has a negative CTE which might explain the belt contracting and getting tighter when it heats up
Ahhhh okay- well put! I get it now! 🧐
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Went for a longer test ride. I had planned on an 85-95 miles ride, but I could hear the belt squealing, so I headed back home for a total test ride of about 47 miles. When I decided to head back, I looked at the belt on the rear pulley and it looked like it had moved to the outside, but when i got back home, it looked like this -
It looks like the squeal might have come from the belt being too far inside. I'll try shifting the belt a little away from the inner side of the pulley and try another test ride.
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More info on Carbon Fiber belts - https://motocrossactionmag.com…fiber-how-to-care-for-it/. Paragraph 2 from the article - "
(2) CTE. The parts can be tailored to have strength and stiffness in the directions and locations the designer deems necessary, making it relatively easy to form complex, integrated structures with a superior overall shape and value. Carbon fibers by themselves have a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)–meaning that when they are heated, they shrink. Even when the fibers are put into a resin matrix, the composite can be tailored to have almost zero CTE. Carbon’s thermal stability increases manufacturing precision. Aluminum, steel and titanium all increase in size when heated."
Took me several different phrasings of my search query to find a decent answer.
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More info on Carbon Fiber belts - https://motocrossactionmag.com…fiber-how-to-care-for-it/. Paragraph 2 from the article - "
(2) CTE. The parts can be tailored to have strength and stiffness in the directions and locations the designer deems necessary, making it relatively easy to form complex, integrated structures with a superior overall shape and value. Carbon fibers by themselves have a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)–meaning that when they are heated, they shrink. Even when the fibers are put into a resin matrix, the composite can be tailored to have almost zero CTE. Carbon’s thermal stability increases manufacturing precision. Aluminum, steel and titanium all increase in size when heated."
Took me several different phrasings of my search query to find a decent answer.
Another aspect to consider might be the pulleys - - they are aluminum and they also get hot from the friction of the belt I suspect so perhaps thermal expansion of the pulleys also contributes to making the belt tighten
Or - perhaps expansion has nothing to do with the squealing and its just the teeth of the belt rubbing on the outer rim of the rear pulley from experience I can tell you that I have more issues with belt noise when the weather is very cold than when its hot - - does cold cause the belt compounds to get harder?
There are just so many different things going on here - - and for me the one thing that always gets rid of any squealing is simply cleaning the belt and pulleys
Also, not that it matters, but in 5 years of ownership I have never messed with the belt adjustment, took a short ride this morning and this is the belt position when at rest.
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Went for a longer test ride. I had planned on an 85-95 miles ride, but I could hear the belt squealing, so I headed back home for a total test ride of about 47 miles. When I decided to head back, I looked at the belt on the rear pulley and it looked like it had moved to the outside, but when i got back home, it looked like this -
It looks like the squeal might have come from the belt being too far inside. I'll try shifting the belt a little away from the inner side of the pulley and try another test ride.
looking at this I would suggest you really clean that belt and the pulleys - -looks to be very very dusty and dirty and I have found that every time my belt and pulleys get dirty that's when I get the squeal under load
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Went to see the skin doctor this morning and he only took two samples.
