Trans rebuild & Baker Belt Drive

[Bowhunter]

Sorry that I didn't take a photo of the interior of the outer support, but I copied the photo supplied by Baker.

Enclosed in the outer support are sealed bearings which truly support the spools. They are attached to the spools with 6 screws to each spool and it is a very rigid design. In this photo I am puttting screws through the outer support into the spools for a "trial fit"
of the dogbone and to set the standoffs length.

For my '09, the kit from baker included everthing, basically speaking you will reuse NOTHING from the stock primary drive. Apparently my bike had a different nut for the engine compensator than Baker thought it had. The kit did not include that nut and I called Mark Baker and told him that fact. I ordered the nut from FASTENAL which is next door to my office and had it in 3 days.
As far as difficulty putting on the belt, it was a fairly easy process with a rubber mallet and light taps going from top to bottom-front to back.
I have the entire stock system sitting on the shelf which encludes the compensator, chain, clutch basket, and inner & outer primary.
If I had not sent the transmission to Andrew(Bigdogtech1) to have the bearings replaced for peace of mind while I was going this far, I could easily knock this kit out in a day.
Being a visual learner, I though some of you guys that are considering a belt drive might like to see the process visually. I will finish the process with pics as soon as Curtis at WILD STEED gets me a final drive belt.
And as soon as the snow stops falling and the temps get above freezing, I will give you feedback on the changes to the bike.

 

[bigdogtech01]

Looking good Steve :2thumbs:
You didn't put Loctite on the splines did you? Just on the threads of the shafts?

 

[francoblay1]

NICE!!!! :2thumbs:

 

[Bowhunter]

No Andrew, I did not put Loctite on the splines. The video by BDL shows him soaking the splines with Red Loctite as well as the threads. Maybe a "permanent" joint from that point on in my experience with cars, usually takes a torch and a lot of heat to break a Red Loctite bolt that has been soaked with it.

 

[Mickeetwo]

Great How-To Steve......the open primary looks great :2thumbs:

Thanks for taking the time to take pics and post the How-To

 

[Bowhunter]

If it helps or encourages one guy to do it himself, it is worth the time to take the pics and do a little write up. Curtis @ Wild Steed has a final drive belt on the way and I should be able if the weather gets right to ride by next weekend.
More pics and final impression to follow.

 

[bigdogtech01]

No Andrew, I did not put Loctite on the splines. The video by BDL shows him soaking the splines with Red Loctite as well as the threads. Maybe a "permanent" joint from that point on in my experience with cars, usually takes a torch and a lot of heat to break a Red Loctite bolt that has been soaked with it.

That's good Steve, you did the right thing. Putting Loctite on the splines is a NO NO!! For some reason, someone on here decided to start telling people to put it on the splines. That person is sadly mistaken. If you put it on the splines, it takes a high output heat gun or torch to heat the loctite up enough to flow out of the splines in order to remove the primary assembly.
On a side note, what's the weather like down your way at the end of March?

 

[Bowhunter]

Maybe they watched the video on BDL belt drive installation on Youtube, that guy sure soaked it down good with red locktite.
By the end of March it can be very nice from lunch time till almost dark. The mornings are still very cool, but with good clothes you can handle it.
As a side note Andrew, the transmission feels like you took a lot of the play out of it as I spin the output spool back and forth. I don't know where the play was coming from but you seem to have eliminated it. I can't wait to get back on the road, Curtis(Wild Steed) has a new final drive belt on it's way to me and I should have the bike back together next weekend for sure.

 

[05 old dog]

steve...what shims did you wind up using under the tranny were you very far off? andrew mailed my tranny back to me friday so i will be tackling this shortly. glad i sent it to him mine needed work!

 

[Bowhunter]

Billy,
When I originally removed the factory primary and then the bolts holding the transmission, I was surprised to find that the transmission was not properly shimmed.
The transmission acted as if it was "high-centered" and would rock from left to right. When Andrew returned the transmission, I sat it in the frame with no shims and it sat perfectly flat. The bonus was that it mated perfectly with no shims to the new Baker Belt Drive. So the answer is that I used NO SHIMS at all and it is perfect. Andrew did a great job from what I can tell, I had play in my transmission when I would turn the output pulley clockwise then reverse to counter-clockwise. That play is now gone completely. The advantage of the Baker Belt Drive is that it has a little vertical play to allow it to match up to the vertical height of the transmission. I am not sure that you will have that play available with the factory primary. Good luck!

 

[Letbigdogintocanada]

Great How-To ,thanx for posting it Steve ,looks great ,how much do these baker kits selling for??

 

[pknowles]

It's already been said a few times but worth repeating. Thanks for taking the time to put togeather this how to.:2thumbs:

 

[mastiffdave]

Nice set up for the bike and great post with great pictures. I have a serious case of envy going on here for one of those belt drives. Gonna have to figure this one out some how.

 

[05 old dog]

thanks steve...i have a 4 inch belt drive been running for 2 years now...winter project was having the 05 tranny gone through...when i pulled my tranny there was not 1 shim...and when i installed my belt drive for the first time the motor plate slid on and everything lined up perfect...hoping it does the same...thanks

 

[Bowhunter]

Ok, yesterday I finished the Baker Open Drive/transmission rebuild/starter upgrade project. While I had the starter on the bench, I had Curtis(Wild Steed) send me a slam button and new boots for the starter. Here is the new boots and the slam button installed(easy upgrade of rotton rubber).

With a chunk missing on my drive belt, I had Curtis(Wild Steed) send me a Falcon drive belt. It has a shiny smooth texture on the top surface as compared to the Gates.

Here is the belt installed as well as the started put back in its place.

Replace the belt cover.

Now the clutch rod which I have well lubricated is slid back into the transmission.

Turn the rod into contact with the throw-out bearing and back off 1/3 turn and lock down with the lock nut.

Replace the cover with a light coat of lube on the O-ring.

Reinstall the exhaust with new gaskets.

Fill the oil tank and install the Scavenger system I got from Don(Value Tech) and run the motor until clean oil shows.

Reinstall the K&P oil filter, once again from Don(Value Tech), and top of the oil tank.

Reinstall the batter which has been sitting on the tender for the last several weeks. Notice how I zip tied the terminals as I removed them to avoid any confusion later on. This is a easy way to prevent a bad day! Coat battery terminals with dielectric grease!

Installed the side covers, seat, rolled out side and HIT THE ROAD.

Got almost 100 miles of cool riding in yesterday, miles of smiles and absolutely no problems. I really like the new Falcon final drive belt that Curtis hooked me up with. The new primary is sharp looking and the clutch is very smooth, no more chain adjustment or oil changes here.
Hope this helps to inspire confidence in anyone wanting to do this upgrade. It is really easy, just takes time and some extra money.

 

[Brew]

Great how to, thanks for sharing...:2thumbs:

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Nice Bowhunter
I like that belt too
Alot cleaner looking

 

[pauldeepsea]

Maybe they watched the video on BDL belt drive installation on Youtube, that guy sure soaked it down good with red locktite.
By the end of March it can be very nice from lunch time till almost dark. The mornings are still very cool, but with good clothes you can handle it.
As a side note Andrew, the transmission feels like you took a lot of the play out of it as I spin the output spool back and forth. I don't know where the play was coming from but you seem to have eliminated it. I can't wait to get back on the road, Curtis(Wild Steed) has a new final drive belt on it's way to me and I should have the bike back together next weekend for sure.

I watched the video on you tube before I installed the Karata just for reference, I don't understand why he smothers the splines in loctite? Made no sense to me.. guess if you don't ever plan on removing the pulley or plan on never changing your stator????
Already 1 pair of jeans down I am considering ordering a OBS with the partial cover just to save on the cost of losing my pants when riding... Great write up I should have done something similar for the LSD's but really wanted to get the bike back together to get some riding in.

 

[Bowhunter]

Thanks guys, I rode today from noon until dark, everything is smooth as silk. I really like the look of the Falcon final drive belt that Curtis sent me.

Another important note is that while riding last summer Postman and I stopped for fuel at Fall Creek Falls and when we were ready to leave, Postman's bike which is a '08 had sparks arching off his starter wire where the rubber insulation had become so rotten that it was literally falling off the wire. We did a quick fix with a piece of plastic coke bottle and some electrical tape to get home. We then had Curtis supply the boots we needed to repair his starter as well as mine, this is a common problem on these bikes. I suggest you take a look at yours and get Curtis @ Wild Steed to hook you up with some new boots if yours is dry rotting like ours. We also added the "Slam buttons" since Postman had his started switch give him problems on his ProSport in the past, Curtis can hook you up on those also.

 

[V]

[QUOTE

Another important note is that while riding last summer Postman and I stopped for fuel at Fall Creek Falls and when we were ready to leave, Postman's bike which is a '08 had sparks arching off his starter wire where the rubber insulation had become so rotten that it was literally falling off the wire. We did a quick fix with a piece of plastic coke bottle and some electrical tape to get home. We then had Curtis supply the boots we needed to repair his starter as well as mine, this is a common problem on these bikes. I suggest you take a look at yours and get Curtis @ Wild Steed to hook you up with some new boots if yours is dry rotting like ours. We also added the "Slam buttons" since Postman had his started switch give him problems on his ProSport in the past, Curtis can hook you up on those also.[/QUOTE]