1992 fxrs. just split my Final drive belt, can I fix it at home? ok/good mech. knowledge but will I have problems with clutch etc. Any "traps" or handy tips would be good.

sounds like your float is stuck holding the jet openno easy way to fix it must take carbie off use a white to cloth tip it on so you dont lose any parts remove the bottom of the carbie you will see the float under that is the jet remove clean spray with wd40 and put it all back together

Replacing the final drive belt is a bit of a job and I don't suggest it for the amateur mechanic. It does require some tools that the average person does not usually have in his toolbox. In order to replace the final drive belt, not only does one have to remove the entire primary drive including the clutch and the inner primary cover, but you must also remove the rear wheel and the swing arm. On your FXR, the transmission is mounted in rubber mounts that are supported by the same bolt as the swingarm. This means that you will have to support the frame and the engine seperately in order to get the swingarm out. You will have to retorque the engine sprocket to 150-165 foot pounds and the clutch mainshaft nut torques to 60-80 foot pounds in the LEFT HANDED DIRECTION. If you have to remove the front belt pulley, you'll need a special socket to get the large nut off that holds it on and the threads on it are also LEFT HANDED. It torques back to at least 150 foot pounds as well. So, you'll need a "pulley locking tool" to hold this pulley while you torque it as well. I would suggest the purchase of a service manual as well since this is a moderately complicated job and sometimes "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Good Luck
Steve

Put the bike in gear with the engine not running. Try to push the bike. If the bike rolls freely, the final drive belt is broken. Check the tension on the belt. The only other thing that I can think of is the final drive belt front pulley has stripped out. The early belt drive bikes, the front belt drive pulley was very thin in the area where the splines were cut for the final drive gear. In 1994, Harley can out with an improved front pulley and offered a retrofit kit to replace the earlier models. When the front pulley strips the splines out, it will not drive the rear drive belt. The final drive gear simply turns inside the center bore of the pulley.

To change the belt on your Softail, you'll have to pull the outer primary cover, the entire primary drive mechanism, the inner primary, the starter, the exhaust system (to get the starter off), the rear wheel, and the swing arm. If the pulley is bad but the belt is good, you do not have to pull the rear wheel and the swingarm.

Good Luck
Steve

No, you must remove the outer primary, the clutch assembly, primary chain and adjuster, the compensator sprocket, the starter, the inner primary, the rear wheel and the swing arm to change the final drive belt. It's a major job.

Good Luck
Steve

I'm not sure what you mean by "engage the clutch". If you mean when you pull the clutch lever, the noise goes away, I'd check the tension on my final drive belt. If the belt is loose, when the engine tries to slow the motorcycle down, the final drive belt tries to rise up off of the front belt pulley making it rub the underside of the starter to inner primary housing. When you pull the clutch lever in, you disengage the engine from the transmission and the engine breaking force is removed from the front pulley and the belt goes back down on the pulley.

Good Luck
Steve

Are you saying that with the engine running, you pull in the clutch lever, put the transmission in gear, release the clutch lever, Nothing happens?

If so, Look and see if your final drive belt is still on the bike. When the belt breaks, they just run out onto the road and you have nothing to drive the rear wheel with. It'll do it and you won't notice it except that the bike will no longer move under it's own power.

Now, if the belt is still on the bike, it could be the front final drive belt pulley has gone bad. The pulley is made of cast iron and is much softer metal than the final drive gear of the transmission. As a result, the pulley wears rather than the gear. If the gear wore, the time and cost of repair would be much greater than replacement of the pulley. The splines unside the pulley where it goes on the final drive gear may have worn and stripped out.

These are the two most likely problems. Check these out and if you don't find your problem, repost on this forum with what you have learned. Good Luck!

Belts = quite, durable, less cost to replace.
Chain = noisy, last longer, messy oil spots on floor, good ones cost $400.00 or more, have to keep adjusted, hard to break. Im a chain man myself.

Changing FINAL drive easy with chain or belt drive - difficult/impossible with a driveshaft. Final drive affects all gears/engine speeds.Possible aftermarket "taller" 4 & 5 th gears available, but not likely.Another/similar model have the same transmission? Is the bike made in a touring ("open road")model? Touring may have taller gears.Perhaps different ratios/gears from another year of same model.Good independent shop may have knowledge of this situation -if a fix is available.Dealers - likely not