How long does a Buddy 125 OEM Bando belt last?

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k1dude
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How long does a Buddy 125 OEM Bando belt last?

Post by k1dude »

13,676 miles and 9 years.

I know it wasn't the smartest experiment to conduct due to the inherent dangers of breaking a belt while riding, but my curiosity got the best of me.

Changing the belt every 6,000 to 8.000 miles or every 9 to 12 months always seemed excessive to me. Being a former design engineer, I was curious what the factor of safety built into the design was. I typically designed either a factor of safety of 2 or 4 depending. So I assumed the belt was probably a 2. Which means it would likely last to 16,000 miles assuming it wasn't degrading due to age.

I suspect it was more a factor of age than mileage that caused mine to fail. If it hadn't failed, I was going to change it out at 15,000 miles regardless.

I don't recommend anyone replicate my experiment or use anything but the manufacturers recommended service intervals.

This post was purely an intellectual exercise on my part. Or I guess some of you could say a lack of intellect on my part.
Last edited by k1dude on Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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az_slynch
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Post by az_slynch »

I've seen an OE Like 200i belt last a little over 16K. Towed the bike home for the owner. When I took it apart to make repairs, I was surprised to see that the belt had blown into confetti. Nothing big enough left to jam up the driven clutch. I'd call that an optimal belt failure.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...

Seriously...I've lost count...

Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
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Dooglas
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Post by Dooglas »

az_slynch wrote:When I took it apart to make repairs, I was surprised to see that the belt had blown into confetti. Nothing big enough left to jam up the driven clutch. I'd call that an optimal belt failure.
But that is the catch. A broken belt may make quite a mess inside the CVT case. Ideally you would change the belt just before it broke - but usually our crystal ball isn't that good.
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Post by mukaiboston »

I had my CVT rebuilt around 18k or so. Belt looked fine, but it may have had small cracks in it. I don't remember. The rollers definitely were the main thing. They were flat or cracked.
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DeeDee
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Post by DeeDee »

Which Gates belt? The PL30707 is the Powerlink premium belt in the Buddy size of 743-20-30. This belt is a Kevlar blend and will last longer than the Gates standard PL20707.

If you pull the belt off, bend it back onto itself and you see no cracks, you see no visible delamination on the sides and the width measures more than 19mm, you can run it forever.

Not sure why you would want to risk being stranded to save $15.00. That's what you can get the PL30707 for with shipping.

How long are you going to run the rollers? Maybe replace them both at 6 to 7,000 miles and call it good. Better yet, install Dr. Pulley Sliders. They will last through 2 belts.

I've never seen a stock Gates belt on a Buddy. The 8 or so I've worked on have all been Bando.
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k1dude
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Post by k1dude »

DeeDee wrote:Which Gates belt? The PL30707 is the Powerlink premium belt in the Buddy size of 743-20-30. This belt is a Kevlar blend and will last longer than the Gates standard PL20707.

If you pull the belt off, bend it back onto itself and you see no cracks, you see no visible delamination on the sides and the width measures more than 19mm, you can run it forever.

Not sure why you would want to risk being stranded to save $15.00. That's what you can get the PL30707 for with shipping.

How long are you going to run the rollers? Maybe replace them both at 6 to 7,000 miles and call it good. Better yet, install Dr. Pulley Sliders. They will last through 2 belts.

I've never seen a stock Gates belt on a Buddy. The 8 or so I've worked on have all been Bando.
Oops. You're right. Bando. I changed the title to reflect that.

I never would have done the experiment if the belt had kevlar. The kevlar belts have been reported to lock up the rear wheel at speed when they fail. The belt looked fine when I last inspected it at 10,000 miles.

The purpose of my experiment wasn't to save $15. It had nothing to do with cost. It was curiosity.

Stranding is relative. Almost all my trips are short. I was a mile from home. No sweat.

Believe it or not, it's still running on the original rollers. The scooter continues to accelerate and hold top speed as if it were new. At the 10,000 mile mark the rollers still looked good. However, when I put in the new belt, I'll also change out the rollers to Dr. Pulley sliders and put them in a new Dr. Pulley variator. I have all the parts. Just need to find the time.
Last edited by k1dude on Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
scootERIK
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Post by scootERIK »

The Bando belts I have used have all lasted over 12,000 miles, a couple lasted over 14,000. They still looked good but I didn't want to risk breaking one when I am 100 miles from home.

I tried a Gates belt once. That is the one and only time I will ever run one. By 2500 miles the belt started to come apart. A chunk about the size of a dime was coming off the belt. It was a large enough chunk that the whole scooter shook when you rode it. I would rather spend a few dollars more and buy a Bando and know that it will easily last 10,000 mies then risk having a cheap one fail after only a few thousand. I always recommend Bando belts when people ask about belts.
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Post by DeeDee »

The Japanese made Bando belts are great. I've had good results with Gates Powerlink.
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k1dude
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Post by k1dude »

As a side note, the rollers were still fine after 13,676 miles. Nice and round and performed flawlessly like when new.

Final weights - 4 were 10 grams and 2 were 11 grams.
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