Belt loss and sprocket options

[Mesozoic]

Chrysler 426 Hemi low-gloss black wrinkle finish spray paint the closest I've ever found for rear pulley.
VHT....Mopar....Eastwood....PJ1...probably a few others all have it in spray bombs. Follow directions and lots of light coats to get the wrinkle finish just right.

Thanks! I also have some black textured (crinkle) powdercoat, but not sure what to do about the teeth.

[Cooter]

Powdercoat is a much better option IMO. Easily done with a hobby Eastwood kit in a toaster sized oven.

The epoxy should last a lot longer in that high wear area. I'd high temp mask off the teeth though. Wouldn't want it to chip off the fancy part
Just did some gloss parts and some flat/wrinkle parts for this old Softail. Turned out great!
Blacked out the rocker boxes, pushrod bases/covers, trans covers, primary, derby, fork lowers/covers, headlight ring, wheel/tire swap, and a bunch of other things.




I think it turned out sweet!

[Mesozoic]

Alright, so here's a question for the group. I have the new sprocket from Harley Davidson and comparing it to the old one, I'm not sure the new one is finished as well as the old one. I'm not sure if the sprocket comparison image will come through with enough resolution, but there appears to be the textured paint overspray into the belt tooth groove area, to the point where there's buildup and you can scrape it with a fingernail and remove bits. My concern would be that the textured paint might abrade the new belt?

XBstrapped.jpgSprockCmp.jpg

[Cooter]

I'd run it. Opinions will vary.

[cvc]

Borrow the wife’s sonic care toothbrush use a little rubbing compound and take off the overspray. I have used my wife’s toothbrush and it works great for those tight spots!


Just buy her a new head for it and “loose” the old one before she gets home.

AND never tell her how well it works…. That was a mistake

[Mesozoic]

That’s an excellent idea, cvc!

[34nineteen]

Alright, so here's a question for the group. I have the new sprocket from Harley Davidson and comparing it to the old one, I'm not sure the new one is finished as well as the old one. I'm not sure if the sprocket comparison image will come through with enough resolution, but there appears to be the textured paint overspray into the belt tooth groove area, to the point where there's buildup and you can scrape it with a fingernail and remove bits. My concern would be that the textured paint might abrade the new belt?

The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/co...-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

[Mesozoic]

The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/co...-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

LOL yeah, something like that!

I brought the sprocket into our lab today and showed it to a friend of mine who's also a rider and a composite specialist. He agreed that it's looking pretty rough and even suggested returning it... not sure I would go that far, though. The issue is that the overspray isn't from a smooth paint, it's from the textured black paint that goes on the main visible part of the sprocket. It's really rough and you can tell it's going to chew up the belt (at least a little bit) if it were to go on as is. I'm not sure how many others have had to replace their rear sprockets before, but I'm curious if the finish quality was better or something a while back? It may seem like I'm being anal and paranoid, but with a new belt, sprocket, and bearings it's getting close to $1K and I want to ensure that my installation has some longevity to it, like the original setup did.

[Cooter]

The paint overspray would likely be a belt killer. You may want to make some sort of improvised shield/cover for the pulley so you dont get any sand in there either. Maybe a belt wiper system to remove any debris that may get thrown up from the road and in between the pulley and belt. Or possibly a fan system that runs off the pulley and ducts air towards the lower part of the belt to blow anything out before it starts damaging the belt.

Sort of like this: https://blog.exair.com/2020/11/03/co...-and-friction/ but something that runs continuously.

You're a nozzle.

[34nineteen]

LOL yeah, something like that!

I brought the sprocket into our lab today and showed it to a friend of mine who's also a rider and a composite specialist. He agreed that it's looking pretty rough and even suggested returning it... not sure I would go that far, though. The issue is that the overspray isn't from a smooth paint, it's from the textured black paint that goes on the main visible part of the sprocket. It's really rough and you can tell it's going to chew up the belt (at least a little bit) if it were to go on as is. I'm not sure how many others have had to replace their rear sprockets before, but I'm curious if the finish quality was better or something a while back? It may seem like I'm being anal and paranoid, but with a new belt, sprocket, and bearings it's getting close to $1K and I want to ensure that my installation has some longevity to it, like the original setup did.

You could return it, but can you guarantee what you will get back will be any better? Whoever you ordered it from likely got it as a special order from Harley, so unless you can get Harley to go through their existing stock (if there is any) and cherry pick the best one for you, you may just get back what you already have.

The other reality is that Harley may not see this as being a problem. It may truly not be a problem, and it may not be a problem because its not going on their bike.

The other thing to consider is that you are going to have a bunch of sand, grit, etc running through that interface just through the normal course of riding the bike that the paint overspray should not be an issue.

Myself, I would just run it, and let the belt abrade off the overspray. If I felt it was too much overspray, I may get my dremel and try to "polish" out the overspray with a fine abrasive (or just roll up some emery cloth and give each groove a couple swipes to clean them up). I get it that its $1K of your money, and I'm not knocking you for being (overly?) cautious. Also, remember when you install the $1000 of parts and run them for a few miles, you will have burned off about $800 of that.

Years ago, on my 1125CR, I bought new tires from Cycle Gear. Something happened when the rear was being mounted and the rear pulley took a little bit of damage. I went home, cleaned up a few of the grooves on the pulley with a fine file and some emery cloth and I'm sure the bike is still running around on that same belt and pulley without a care in the world.

My $0.02