Belt/rollers replacement interval?

ncsteve · Post by **ncsteve** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:36 pm

For those of you with high Buddy mileage, what is he expected life of the belt and rollers? Are they normally replaced at the same time? I have only 1600 miles on my Buddy 125, but I am wondering when these items will need to be replaced. I love the Buddy, BTW.

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:40 pm

Let's add to this...is it recommended to get better rollers when you do the replacement?

And is that a recommended course of action to hop up my 125?

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:15 am

Roughly 6K, but many people have gone further without needing to change. You may be able to feel/hear a change down there, some slipping, rattling, or loss of acceleration. Then it's definitely time to change.

As far as roller upgrades, your choices are sliding rollers (which I have no experience with) or altering the weights (which can have mixed results). Some experimentation may be needed to get the desired outcome. I do recommend getting a kevlar belt, which will outlast most rollers by quite a bit.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:42 am

I've got about 9500 Blur miles on my Blur and I can definitely hear the rollers rattling around in there. When I removed them for inspection, they all had uneven flat spots around their circumference. Time to replace.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:56 am

Sliders work the best of all, leeroy speeks good of them. He used Dr. Pulley's, plus they can be found on ebay for 26 dollars which includes shipping in the cost. 16+10 shipping.

But if you do that, you might as well use a Dr. Pulley variator too. Take out the old one, put the new sliders in, and put the new variator and fan inside. It works even better. But most places sell the variator and fan kit for around 130-140 dollars.

vaderscoot · Post by **vaderscoot** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:59 am

personally i think roller placement varies by rider weight and riding style
i weigh 300 and my rollers went bad at 3500 miles resulting in big problems.i would have them checked regulary once you hit the 3000 mile mark and replace them at the first sign of flat spots they are only $25 shipped

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:01 am

Dr Pulley's last much longer than the stock roller weights on the buddy.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:39 am

vaderscoot wrote:personally i think roller placement varies by rider weight and riding style
i weigh 300 and my rollers went bad at 3500 miles resulting in big problems.i would have them checked regulary once you hit the 3000 mile mark and replace them at the first sign of flat spots they are only $25 shipped

+1
Running too long with flat spots on your rollers can actually cause damage. So at least have them checked regularly.

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:18 pm

Gonna check the tech area for a pulley-replacement article.

If there's not one there, could someone take some pics when they do their replacement?

Thanks,

Jeff

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:28 pm

There's not really a tutorial for that, but some members have done the install and have posted about it in General Discussions.

I may have to crack open the Buddy's transmission case this week, just for fun and to take photos.

trevo_man · Post by **trevo_man** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:58 pm

I have only got about 1700 miles on my buddy and I am going to put some dr. pulley sliders in there. Is it imperative that I replace the belt when I do this?

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:00 pm

It's really not that hard to get to the rollers, but an impact wrench (whether air or electric) is a must-have, unless you can come-up with a tool/jig to keep the variator from rotating while you're trying to loosen/tighten the nut that holds it in place. Also, the outside variator plate has splines that match those on the shaft that it slides over, so when you're reassembling, make sure those splines are in alignment with each other - the problem is, the belt, which is very tight, will fight you along the way.

Post by **ericalm** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:04 am

trevo_man wrote:I have only got about 1700 miles on my buddy and I am going to put some dr. pulley sliders in there. Is it imperative that I replace the belt when I do this?

Not imperative, especially with such low miles.

babblefish wrote:It's really not that hard to get to the rollers, but an impact wrench (whether air or electric) is a must-have, unless you can come-up with a tool/jig to keep the variator from rotating while you're trying to loosen/tighten the nut that holds it in place. Also, the outside variator plate has splines that match those on the shaft that it slides over, so when you're reassembling, make sure those splines are in alignment with each other - the problem is, the belt, which is very tight, will fight you along the way.

Motorsport sells a variator holder tool for Vespas, but there are different sizes for different models and I don't know if any would fit the Buddy.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:17 am

I sure hope I get my new Dr. Pulley variator soon. My rollers are sounding like an old diesel truck or some kind of farm implement right now. Kind of embarrassing at stoplights.