Pulleys and cruiseing RPM

[Sweet Tooth]

Has anyone changed their pulley to a (Smaller) rear pulley for the cruising Rpm.  I know Matt St. John changed his to a bigger rear for acceleration . If this chart is right i like to have it From 2300 rpm to 2800 rpm at my normal speeds. Change the sweet spot from 60-70 to 65-75 instead. Looks like a 60 tooth sprocket would have me rollin 2482 rpm at 70. I dont have a Tach so i dont know if the chart is right though .
Anyone changed it to a 60 tooth  and would you be able to use the stock belt i havent done the math on that all yet? And is the front a 31 tooth. I ant took it off and counted it.
http://woodsware.aciwebs.com/gears/gears.asp

[RoadStarRaider]

[Rick Busbea]

I have a slight harmonic around 60-65 (enough handlebar vibration to numb my hands after about 30 mins at same speed) but that would be the ONLY reason I would even consider giving up torque for a lower RPM cruise.  I personally love the sound of my Raider at cruising speed of 70-75 - personally thinks it has a better tone than at 60 but that's just my opinion.  I also think you might have a difficult time finding a belt to make it work...Matt St. John could make it work by using the Strat belt because of the frame length but I'm guessing you'll have a difficult time finding one to work.

[Frank72086]

I was actually intending to post a thread about this very thing..  I too would like to change out the rear pulley to a lower tooth count in order to drop cruising rpm at higher speeds..  I use my raider as a daily commuter, 80% of which is on a freeway at 80mph..  I know you can buy a used Harley rear pulley and drill the holes out a bit to fit and just throw on a new belt, but has anyone done this?  And if so, how we're the results? 

I don't want to start a debate about how changing to a smaller pulley will result in less grunt off the line, these bikes have plenty of torque as it is, I don't mind sacrificing a bit to gain longer engine life and a bit better mpg.. 

[Coldfinger]

I thought I had read somewhere on these forums about people using a different pulley.  Maybe I'm mistaken.

The cost of this stuff is crazy.  Approx - Rear Pulley $754, drive belt $583, front pulley $209.

I can't believe drive belts are $583.  Snowmobile belts are generally $75-175.

[CHROMINATOR]

I thought I had read somewhere on these forums about people using a different pulley.  Maybe I'm mistaken.

The cost of this stuff is crazy.  Approx - Rear Pulley $754, drive belt $583, front pulley $209.

I can't believe drive belts are $583.  Snowmobile belts are generally $75-175.

Check out some of Paladin's threads, he has some great info on it.  Yes, the belt is expensive, far and above what you would pay for a snowmobile belt, but then the Raider is no snowmobile... 

[gostr8r]

Agreed with Bill L that Paladin is a great resource of info on this and almost anything else ftm. An older member that hasn’t posted in a while had done some homework on the ratios too, and his username used to be Floridaliner. You might be able to search for some of his replys too.

[Sweet Tooth]

Ive looked and seen for only bigger pulleys . 70 tooth. I beleive i can make up some the torque that i loose with the air kit and the pipes . Its a cruiser though the crotch rocket is what i have if i want to take off fast

[Frank72086]

I just searched the forum and found some information reference the pulley and belt option, most of which posted by paladin..  A Harley 61 tooth pulley would eliminate 5 teeth from the factory pulley and could be used with a 130 tooth belt..  I just searched and found several pulleys that would work on eBay for about $60 shipped, used of course.  The belt (130tooth, 1 1/8th") made by dayco-panther I found for about $130 new..  So the entire mod can be complete for roughly $200 if you do the labor yourself.  Not a bad mod for the money, I'm all for better mileage and longer engine life.  Best part is it is all easily reversible.

[Sweet Tooth]

Gotta link . That would work out pretty perfect too.   At 65 itd put me at 2343 and at 80 itd put me at 2884 . 

[Frank72086]

What's normal rpm at 65 and 80 with the factory pulley?

[Sweet Tooth]

Normal Rpm with stock tire according to the chart is 65mph -2632 rpm and 80 mph is  3240 rpm
If you are running the 240 tire the you will shave  97 rpm off 65mph to 2535 and at 80mph shave off 120 rpm will be 3120 rpm
 

[Frank72086]

Nice, definitely worth the investment!!

[Sweet Tooth]

I have corrected my earlier post (#51) on this thread. If you replace your Raider's stock, 66T, rear pully, with a 61T rear pully, you will need a 130T belt. In theory, dropping 6T on the rear pulley, would require a 129T belt, which isn't made. A 128T belt will be too short, and a 132T might be too long. So, a 130T should be just right. It's knid of like the Three Bears story.
The reason I came up with a 132T belt, for a 61T rear pulley, was the fact that the Strat. runs a 136T belt, with a 70T rear pulley, and the Raider runs a 134T belt, with a 66T rear pulley. So, it would seem that a reduction of 4T on the pully would equal a 2T reduction on the belt. However, I think this might be more of a coincidenza, since Yamaha is the only company that I can find, that makes 134 and 136T belts.
I didn't want someone to purchase the wrong belt, due to the posting of mis-information on my part

If  Paladin is right I am going to buy the 61 tooth sprocket. And a 130 tooth belt .  Reckon this one is worth a crap ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230385320202?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Coldfinger]

Do the Harley belts have the same tooth profiles and distance between teeth?

[Paladin]

Because I'm running a supercharger, I went with a gates belt that had carbon fiber added to the belt, for added strength. The belt you're looking at should be fine.
Be aware that you'll need to slightly enlarge the holes in the pulley. This is due to the fact that the Raider uses metric bolts and the Harley pulley is drilled for U.S. threaded bolts.
I'm running a 240 tire on an 8 1/2" wide wheel. So, in order to properly align the belt, I also had to machine up a spacer for the new rear pulley. If you're running the stock rear wheel, you may not need to do this. If you do need to make up a spacer, you won't have to worry about spacing out the front pulley, as it's extremely wide.
BTW, the tooth pitch on the Harley pulley is the same as on the Raider pulley