Yes my trip was cut short. I did trailer the bike home after going for a couple of good runs after replacing the wheel bearings. I could have taken the bike to a local dealer but most bike shops are closed on Mondays and this was Saturday night. Either way my bike was not going to be ready till Tuesday evening. Next year I'll try to go around Superior again, my schedule was tight as it was, definitely didn't have the two or three days needed to deal with the wheel bearing issue.
The belt tension issue, I'm a little confused about your statement. I have read a few posts about drilling out the bolt holes of the stock tensioner. Are you referring to modifying the stock pulley assembly or is there a different fix? I believe the XR1200 has an adjustable axle, unlike our fixed axle. I'm considering drilling out the tensioner, but in the mean time I'm getting lots of use out of my blind-hole bearing puller.