Alternator vee belt - don't let it happen to you

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pint6x

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As some of you may have seen, my Alternator vee belt snapped a few weeks ago at 34,500 miles.

It was due to be changed at the 36,000 service as part of the service schedule.

Having chatted to a few dealers to find most reasonably priced 36k service, and having asked them to deduct cost of replacing vee belt as it won't need doing, I had an interesting chat with one of the workshop guys.

He said that he had never known a vee belt to go early on the 1100s but had heard of quite a few going on the 1150s prior to the 36k service when they'd get replaced anyway.

I said I would do it every 12k from now on. He thought this may be unnecessary and suggested it would be prudent to change it every 24k miles.

The belt is about £8 and the replacement is relatively straight-forward - black cover on the front of the engine - 4 allen bolts - should be no more than 20 minutes labour or so.

Message is - consider getting this replaced (or doing it yourself) after every 24k miles rather than 36k miles if you've got an 1150.

I'm still sore because even though I have a used bike warranty, this is considered "fair wear and tear" and I had to cough up. Bollocks to that - the part failed before it's serviceable life had been reached. I have written to MBW assist and will let you know the outcome.

Needless to say, the invitation to renew my used bike warranty is currently not something I am anxious to accept.
 
Funny you should post this Phil - I'm getting set for my 60k service, which I'll be doing, with the aid of a couple of stalwarts from ADVRider, in Oregon in a week or so's time. I've ordered all the bits from BMW of Chicago (who do a standing 20% discount on all BMW parts*) and decided to order a couple of V belts, 1 to fit, 1 as a spare.

You may recall that Bilko & I got stranded overnight in Caen as a result of my V belt breaking at about 38k last November. Subsequent investigation revealed that the belt hadn't been replaced at the 36k service - no explanation by the dealer (Lind). They refunded the entire cost of the 36k service, and paid for the repair in France, by way of (a very gentlemanly) apology:thumb.

I've decided to replace the belt at 24k intervals, as it seems that the 36k is a little too close to the design life of the belt - nice to hear that this agrees with someone else's analysis...

Mike:)

*including BMW Navigator II - $1200 delivered ;)
 
I need to book my 24K service as soon as I'm back home. I'll ask them to change the belt. I might even see if I can get it done for free as a goodwill gesture considering the number of corroded metal parts they are going to be replacing under warranty while the bike is in the shop.

Mike
 


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