The Yamaha Road Star Warrior Forum

Thought I'd share this with you guys. I'm sure it's not the safest way to do this, but I did it anyway. I have my rear wheel off today while doing some wiring up under the fender and when I put the wheel back on, I aligned the belt as close as I could and then had an idea... I had the bike up on a jack with the rear wheel up in the air. I looked forward at the front pulley and could see the belt was riding a little close to the inside of it... so I started the bike up and put it in first gear and let it idle with the back wheel spinning. While it was spinning I adjusted the tension bolt and watched how the belt would move left and right depending on which way I adjusted it. I was able to get it so that the belt runs right down the center of the front pulley. Of course once I got it there I tightened everything down. It was a little bit nerve-wracking having the bike run in gear while up on the jack, but I'm sure I have my belt adjusted as close to perfect as possible now.

For those who will read this advise: This is not the way to align your rear wheel.

To properly align your rear wheel in the chassis you must have equal measurements from the center of the pivot point to the center of the axle.
Even though you mention "belt alignment", what you are really doing is changing the position of the axle in the swingarm to accomplish centered belt tracking. This will most likely result in improper wheel alingment since the belt is attached to the wheel by a rubber dampeners and manufacturers slack parts tolerances. I wouldn't even reccomend using the alingment marks on your swingarm to aling the belt/wheel except in a pinch. []

This isn't off topic since I will be doing this in the near future but I was wondering if you know the size of the axle nut and if its the same size as the swingarm nut. I purchased a 32mm after seeing that size posted on the forum for both and it is way to large. I would like to get only the socket I need and not a comeplete large set since I already have a couple sets up to 19 mm. Thanks in advance if anyone knows the correct size.

This is not the proper or correct instructions or is it "Endorsed by www.rswarrior.com" I would recommend that if you need to adjust your belt alignment and or belt tension to read the Yamaha Service Manuel, which has specific instructions on proper belt alignment and or belt tension. This is a fine example of what you should not do if you value personal safety. If you do not have the specific skills to perform such a task than there is always the option of having a certified technician and or dealership adjust the belt alignment properly/correct.

I guess I should have posted my "I'm not a mechanic, etc, etc" disclaimer with my post. Or maybe not since it seems you guys figured that out anyway. [] Yeah, I wasn't recommending anyone else do it. I guess I should have just kept the idea to myself. Feel free to delete this entire thread without me crying about it if you think it's in everybody's best interest from a safety standpoint. I also cut my tire off from the rim today with a dremel and a die grinder and never once even looked for my safety glasses, and didn't use any hearing protection. I got sunburn on my leg last weekend from welding while wearing shorts and burned the back of my right hand while welding at the same time when a few chunks of molten steel fell on my hand/wrist since I wasn't wearing my welding gloves that were a couple of feet away from me. Oh, and I cut my right thumb again today (like I do a couple of times a month) while cutting some wiring with a razor blade. OUCH! I'm not the best example of how to work safely in your garage, no doubt about that.

27mm for the pivot nut and the axle nuts

Your a Hoot......[] Made me laugh more than once with your humor! LoL! Is it April yet?

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Originally posted by Shag

I guess I should have posted my "I'm not a mechanic, etc, etc" disclaimer with my post. Or maybe not since it seems you guys figured that out anyway. [] Yeah, I wasn't recommending anyone else do it. I guess I should have just kept the idea to myself. Feel free to delete this entire thread without me crying about it if you think it's in everybody's best interest from a safety standpoint. I also cut my tire off from the rim today with a dremel and a die grinder and never once even looked for my safety glasses, and didn't use any hearing protection. I got sunburn on my leg last weekend from welding while wearing shorts and burned the back of my right hand while welding at the same time when a few chunks of molten steel fell on my hand/wrist since I wasn't wearing my welding gloves that were a couple of feet away from me. Oh, and I cut my right thumb again today (like I do a couple of times a month) while cutting some wiring with a razor blade. OUCH! I'm not the best example of how to work safely in your garage, no doubt about that.

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I've been guilty of aligning one of my custom HDs this way. Turns out the frame was bent at the pivot point and no matter how many times I measured -the belt would not track at all. Didn't find this out until I dissasembled the rear end of the bike. Turns out there were 2 problems; the swingarm shims were too narrow and when the pivot bolt was tightened it pulled in one side of the frame, and the wheel didn't have the correct spacing. Between the 2 the only way to track the belt (which was chirping like a flock of birds) was to align it much like you described.

It's good deductive reasoning on your part, it's just not the most accurate way to accomplish proper wheel&belt alingment. BTW, I'm not a mechanic "perse" but having owned that bike I quickly learned enough through bad experiences to muttle my way through most anything the Warrior can toss in my direction.
Sounds like you're on the right path too. []

Thanks JPWARRIOR, now I can continue with with my 240 project.

Shag,
Anything else you want to confess to before this post goes into the archives... lol [].

heh heh... No, nothing else that I'll admit to. []

Oh! I forgot to mention that although the belt tension tool costs around $40; it's a good investment to know for sure if the belt is too tight or loose. Also, I found the tool company on the internet, but I still had to go thru the bike shop to get it. There was a post some time back that had a link to a digitized copy of the Warrior manual. Mine is an 04 and the manual was dated for the same year. Don't know if other year copies exist.

sounds like a accident waiting to happen . make sure you have a video camera taping you next time ... lol

seriously, be careful man .

Here's an inexpensive belt tensioning tool:http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441847167&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374309041102&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374309041102&bmUID=1133139861183&bmLocale=en_US

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Originally posted by sanger

Oh! I forgot to mention that although the belt tension tool costs around $40; it's a good investment to know for sure if the belt is too tight or loose. Also, I found the tool company on the internet, but I still had to go thru the bike shop to get it. There was a post some time back that had a link to a digitized copy of the Warrior manual. Mine is an 04 and the manual was dated for the same year. Don't know if other year copies exist.

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Too late for me to get the tool [:0]. That's good (cheap) advice.