Curious as to where you are on this project progress?
OK, I'm starting to think my shenanigans did not cause the drive belt failure.
I pulled her apart and removed the belt. Inspection went well. Everything other then the belt looked good. Upon close inspection I noticed no holes from debris, but the belt had more wear on one side like it was rubbing on side of the rear pulley. Not the whole length of the belt, just the spot were the teeth/cogs were missing. It wore so much, the remaining teeth/cogs in that spot had holes on the side like they were hollow teeth. I also noticed the remaining teeth/cogs were torn loose from the rub side. Not horizonal like you'd think do to torque.
So, I ordered parts, cleaned everything up and read the service manual instructions explaining adjustment and alignment. That's another story in itself the way HD explains that procedure !
Reassembly day comes. Swingarm goes back in and I bolt the rear end to that. The swingarm plate bolt holes are slotted. You are told to adjust the Fore-Aft first. They want it within a 1/16 of an inch.
You must have a laser line to do this. For the life of me I could not achieve this measurement. You take this measurement off the swingarm pivot shaft on each side. It was way off !
Here was the problem. My rear end was more then a 1/2 inch out of alignment from the adjustment screws. Right side was forward, left side was back. This now explained the wear on the right side of the drive belt.
I talked to my parts guy at HD and he stated when they set up a new Tri Glide, they do not check alignment of the rear end. It's supposed to be done at the HD assembly plant. The only thing they do back there is feel the belt tension.
I think this alinement was bad from day one. It had to be. Being a mechanic/machinist my whole life, I could see no one was fooling around back there. There weren't any witness marks to show that.
OK, Back to the alinement. So now I know I have to straighten the rear end so we have equal distance on the adjustment screws. This was no easy task. The rear end from being installed crooked did not want to sit straight anymore. I had to force it back with bars tightening the clamp bolts each time. Little by little it started to straighten out until I had equal adjustment on both sides.
Now, I went back to the Fore-Aft measurement. To my amazement I could now achieve the specifications HD called for and I tightened the rear end plates to the swingarm ! So, if you ever tackle a job like this, remember the rear end must be square first before Fore-Aft measurement. The HD service manual does not state this !
Next, adjust the belt tension. No explanation needed here, just adjust it back equally.
Now for the last hiccup ........ the belt was touching the battery box were it travels thru to the front pulley. I rechecked ALL my alinement measurements. Everything was perfect ! Back to the HD service manual we go, and lo and behold, they address this issue. HD service manual states, if the belt does not have enough clearance or is rubbing the battery box, move the Fore-Aft until the correct clearance is achieved.
I go thru all this meticulous laser measuring to achieve the absolute perfection the service manual wants, just to "move it over" till the belt clears the battery box !!! I shouldn't be surprised. I've found this to be the case throughout the years with other Harley specifications. You just have to let common sense guide you.
So that's that. I still don't have the body back on. I'm in no hurry. We don't have the weather to ride anyway. I'll let you guys know how the 32 tooth front pulley works out. Stay safe.