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Thread: Free Spirits Tensioner Installation

  1. #1
    Senior Member Baal's Avatar
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    I know there are a couple of threads on this item, but I thought I'd start one that both showed the tensioner and also discussed the installation.

    First, I wanted to give props to Trojan Horse/Adrenalin-Moto. My experience was good. My inquirie(s) were answered very quickly and accurately. They shipped within hours of my order, and the part was at the local FedEx depot in two days from the UK to NC. Not bad.

    Second, with respect to pricing: The price of the part itself was correct with respect to the exchange rate at the time of purchase. The same was true on the shipping cost. My recommendation is that you talk with Matt about the shipping method and cost before you place the order, so that he'll be looking for your order and will charge you the amount you agree upon for the shipping method you choose. That will avoid any surprises there. Lastly, I'd suggest you check with your credit card company about any fees for international purchases/currency exchange. I did not, and ended up with an additional five bucks and change added to the transaction. My bad, and IMO not Trojan Horse's fault.

    So, on to the installation. First, just in case you haven't looked at yours recently, this is how the stock tensioner bracket looks:



    Functional, but dull. I've got silver Knight Design footpegs, and will probably go with silver shifter and brake pedals at some point, so I went with the silver tensioner. The '07 Ss has a bunch of different color metal trim, so what's a little more silver among friends?

    The instructions are pretty good. I got two sheets, one that appears to be from Free Spirits, and the other, more complete set from Adrenalin-Moto. The only thing they don't tell you is the proper torque specs for the idler or the mount. If you need those numbers, shoot me a PM.

    You start by slacking the belt by loosening the rear axle. I'm going to assume you already know how to do that. I also removed the front pulley/belt cover, mostly so I had a straight shot at the nuts on the bracket without rubbing on the guard. you can accomplish the same thing by loosening the screws but not removing the cover. I suggest that you remove the nuts, then slide the bracket outboard, but don't remove it yet. This will let you put a 13mm wrench on the back side of the pulley to loosen the nut, then use a ratchet with a T40 torx bit to remove the idler wheel axle bolt. The nut is a locking nut, and there are washers on both sides. It's just harder to hold things and loosen/remove that bolt if the assembly is off the bike.

    The instructions say to mount the wheel on the new tensioner, making sure that there is no play in the mounting. Well...once I pulled the bolt, there was play in the OE bracket, which apparently is taken out when you tighten the bolt up. But, the kit includes several very thin stainless shims to take up the lateral play between the wheel and the tensioner. (Yeah, I know I should have pics of this.) Even with all nine in place, there was still a little wiggle room until I tightened things up. I put all of the shims on the outside of the idler wheel.. I'll explain that in a minute. But, those thin little ba****ds can be hard to handle. What worked for me was to put the wheel into the tensioner, turn it horizontally and lay it on a towel, then slip all the shims you're going to use in at once. Line 'em up in the hole with a toothpick or something else small, then drop the axle bolt through. Start the nut on the back side, then put it part way onto the mounting studs so that you can put the wrench on the back and tighten the nut the rest of the way.

    Once you mount the wheel to the new tensioner, you mount the tensioner onto the bike. You'll have to lift and coax the belt onto the wheel, as it's in a slightly higher position than originally. The instructions warn to be sure that there is enough clearance between the muffler bracket and the tensioner once it is mounted. In my case, the two were in contact.

    The kit includes two spacing washers to correct this. I definitely needed those (and you can see one of them in the photos). This is how little clearance there is, even with the spacers in place:





    The installed clearance looks okay, but it's not much more than a piece of copy paper folded over twice. In the picture, you can see what looks like a small grease fitting on the pivot point of the spring arm. Nifty.

    You want the belt centered on the idler wheel once it's mounted. With the spacers in place behind the tensioner, the wheel was a fraction outboard of centered on the belt. This is why I put all the shims on the outboard side of the idler; it got me the most inboard position for the idler relative to the belt. Trust me, it's less complicated than it sounds once you're doing the installation.

    Double check the clearances and centration. Replace the pulley cover, tighten the axle and the pinch bolt and you'll be done! The instructions say that you may have to trim "10mm" off the bottom of the pulley cover. That wasn't necessary in my case, but I think it would be easy to do with a Dremel tool; just take it off at the crease you can see at the bottom of the cover.



    I trust that it's a functional improvement, but it also looks pretty trick:








  2. #2
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    Wow thats one LONGGGG write-up just to replace a belt tensioner...

    (condensed version)

    -remove rear axel to give slack to belt.
    -Take off Pulley cover
    -Remove the 2 tensioner bolts
    -Pull off tension
    -Put guide on new tensioner
    -Put on new one
    -Tighten 2 bolts down with Lock-tight
    -Pulley cover on
    -Axel on.

    However I give you a for detail (without torque specs) and great pictures.

  3. #3
    Senior Member thrstrmech's Avatar
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    for awesome close up pics

  4. #4
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    Thought you were going to polish the lip on the idler wheel.

  5. #5
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    interested in selling your stock tensioner?

  6. #6
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    ^^^ He wont have the guide.... right?

  7. #7
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    Gerat write up Baal, not too long imo. thanks for adding some of the details like using the spacers etc.& great pics. also! much better than the "condensed version" offered. onelogue, do you have to remove the rear axle?

  8. #8
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    very nice.

  9. #9
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    Kind of different question but may be related. Buying stuff internationally/import there is a customs involved. Did you have any issues? How did you handle import tariff?

    I'm asking cause I wanna buy some wheels for my car in UK and don't really know how to go about it. The website ask to contact domestic customs agency to determine possible charges.

  10. #10
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    No you do not have to remove the rear axel. More like loosen it so the belt is not tight. If you are real strong you can remove and replace Witt the belt tight.



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