Replaceing drive belt 2001 road king

To remove a Softail drive belt FIRST remove the rear wheel then remove the primary chain, the clutch, the engine compensating sprocket, and the chain adjuster as an assembly, then remove the primary chaincase housing, place a support under the rear fork and engine, remove the pivot shaft and spacer, slip the drive belt off from the transmission sprocket.



To replace a Softail drive belt FIRST not that all belts, used or new, must never be formed into a loop smaller than 5.0 in. (130 mm), and must never be bent backwards because this can severely weaken the belt and cause premature failure if it, then install the belt over the transmission sprocket, install the pivot shaft and spacer, remove the support holding the engine and rear fork, install the primary chaincase housing, the primary chain, the clutch, the engine compensating sprocket, and the chain adjuster and the primary chaincase cover, fill primary the primary chaincase with oil, install the rear wheel, align the rear wheel and properly adjust the belt tension to the specified deflection.

Is it a softail????



To remove a Softail drive belt FIRST remove the rear wheel then remove the primary chain, the clutch, the engine compensating sprocket, and the chain adjuster as an assembly, then remove the primary chaincase housing, place a support under the rear fork and engine, remove the pivot shaft and spacer, slip the drive belt off from the transmission sprocket.



To replace a Softail drive belt FIRST not that all belts, used or new, must never be formed into a loop smaller than 5.0 in. (130 mm), and must never be bent backwards because this can severely weaken the belt and cause premature failure if it, then install the belt over the transmission sprocket, install the pivot shaft and spacer, remove the support holding the engine and rear fork, install the primary chaincase housing, the primary chain, the clutch, the engine compensating sprocket, and the chain adjuster and the primary chaincase cover, fill primary the primary chaincase with oil, install the rear wheel, align the rear wheel and properly adjust the belt tension to the specified deflection.

All depends on what you guage an average guy is. Primary casings, clutch, compensating sprocket all comes off. High torque values involved when re-assembling. 160 ft-lbs for instance on crankshaft bolt. Do you have the necessary tools to do it?

this is a pretty big job, the whole primary needs to come off, clutches, compensating sprocket, and inner primary. you need to unbolt the swingarm, remove the left side isolator, unbolt left shock, carefull sneak the belt between the trans housing and swingarm. If you wanna tackle this yourself. your are gonna need a manual, there are alot of specs to follow. you really need to look closely at the 3 transmission seals, any wetness, i would change them, i usually change them all anyway. you need to change the inner primary seal and starter shaft seal while you're in there.

I assume you're talking about the front belt drive sprocket. First, disconnect the negative side of the battery. If you haven't already done so, you must drain the primary and remove the outer primary cover. Then you must take the engine compensator nut off and the nut that holds the primary chain adjuster. Remove the circlip and pull the clutch adjuster plate out of the center of the clutch. The mainshaft nut in the hole in the center of the clutch. The nut has LEFT-HANDED THREADS on it. Remove the engine compensator sprocket, primary chain, and clutch assembly all together. Then remove the small bolt that holds the jackshaft in and remove it and the coupling. Remove the starter. Then, take the bolts out and remove the inner primary cover. Now, you can see the front belt drive sprocket. You must take the large nut off the sprocket. It too has LEFT-HANDED THREADS. You need a special deep socket and a sprocket locking tool to get the sprocket off and retorque the nut when you put it back on. This is a major job requiring a fair amount of disassembly of the bike. If you're going to change the belt, the rear wheel and swingarm must come out as well. I would high recommend that you purchase a service manual to help with this project.

Good Luck
Steve

That's the trouble with today's "mechanics". Replace,replace,replace! I was a mechanic for all my working life, Ford dealers and then my own shop. we repaired alternators, starters, power steering pumps, transmissions, engines, carbs. you name it. A rebuilt part has been repaired! The rebuilders make a lot of money, so does a real mechanic that repairs instead of replacing. Not too many of us left. If you cannot do it you should not be working on it.

To replace the final drive belt on your RK is not a small job. You must first take off the foot board on the left side of the bike. drain and remove the outer primary cover, take loose and remove the engine sprocket, primary chain, and clutch assembly, remove the exhaust system, remove the starter, remove the inner primary cover, take the rear wheel out from under the bike, and take the swing arm off.

So, as you can see, it's not a small job by any means. That's why it cost so much to have the dealer do this.

Let me know what else you need to know.

Ride Safe
Steve

On a Big Twin, you must pull the entire primary drive off the engine.

Disconnect the battery. Take the outer primary cover off the engine. Remove the compensator (engine sprocket) nut. This nut is very tight and has Loctite thread locker on it. 150-165 foot pounds of torque. You'll need to something to lock the chain up so the engine does not turn while loosening or tightening this nut. We use what is called a "locking bar". Remove the small plate with the screw and locknut in the center of the clutch assembly. Remove the mainshaft nut up inside the clutch assembly. It torques to 60-80 foot pounds LEFT HANDED TREADS. Remove the nut from the primary chain tensioner. Grab the compensator sprocket and the clutch assembly and lift the primary drive out of the cover.

Take the small screw out of the center of the jackshaft and remove the starter jackshaft.

From the right side of the bike, remove whatever you have to remove to get to the starter, exhaust pipes or whatever. Disconnect the battery cable and the small wire from the starter. Remove the two bolts holding the starter on inner primary cover.

Go back to the left side of the bike. Remove the four bolts that holds the inner primary to the engine, and the two that hold the primary to the transmission. There's one bolt coming in from the backside that has a braided wire on it on the early models. There may be four bolts holding the inner primary onto the transmission. When you have all the bolts out, the primary will come off easily. If it does not seem to want to come off, you may still have a bolt somewhere. Do not beat on the primary cover with even a rubber hammer. It should come right off.

Now, you'll have to remove the rear wheel, rear shocks, belt guards, and remove the swing arm.

As you can see, it's a pretty involved job on a Big Twin.

Good luck
Steve

Remove the outer primary cover on left side. Don't forget to drain the oil first. Using a large pair of snap ring pliers, remove the clutch adjuster plate from center of clutch assembly. Remove compensator sprocket nut (very tight) and the clutch hub nut (left handed threads) and remove nut from bolt on primary chain adjuster. Grab the compensator sprocket and clutch assembly and lift out of inner primary.

The compensating sprocket has regular threads and will loosen left and tight right. The clutch nut has reverse threads and loosens to the right ..... I've done this procedure several times and if u have any other questions, dont hesitate to ask - good luck