Vulcan 900 Scootworks REAR Overdrive Pulley

[idmtchris]

I have the front pulley and after putting 2400 miles of freeway driving in one trip I see no reason for the rear. The front only will give you the desired results. Buy the front, put a couple thousand miles on it, then if not happy buy the rear.

[volfan67]

Absolutely the only noise I suffer from now is where the belt grabs the front pulley. When I first replaced this pulley, I had 3 distinct noises. One by one, I worked them til I got to this last one and it is crazy. I loosened the belt so much so that on one test drive I only got about 20 yards out of my driveway and had to turn around because I just knew it was TOO loose and it felt like the belt was gonna fly off. (that was only at about 5 mph.) Here are the noises:
1) A horrible gyrating sound coming from where the belt would track into the left side of the rear pulley, easy enough to fix with alignment.

2) A whirring sound that sounded like the back of the belt was riding over a lip or some other piece of the bike. I fixed that by taking my dremel tool to the inside of my inner front pulley cover. The new pulley was large enough that it pushed my belt into 2 of the ribs on the inside of the cover. I grinded those ribs down about 1/8 of an inch and repainted the cover. That sound was fixed.

3) This creaking sound that I can't seem to get rid of. I was working on this sound when I loosened the belt to the point where I only went 20 yards before having to turn around. Now, I am back to that noise being the only noise I get, It does not make that sound while coasting, only while applying throttle and more noticeable at take offs probably due to lack of wind noise. This is why I am going to go in the tightening direction, it already feels a little loose to me and I think I will be able to tell if it is getting better with the 1 flat per adjustment test rides.

[volfan67]

I am not saying you guys don't ride that fast. I just find it hard to believe. I have only hit 75 once and I was back to 70 as fast as I could get there. I replaced the front pulley and although I know for a fact I am moving faster, I still have not gotten it up past 75. It doesn't shake, vibrate or anything crazy. It simply doesn't feel right. Like the bike can't take it for very long.

I think the scootworks front pulley gives me much more pull in the 3rd and 4th gears and I feel as though it has helped my city driving more than my highway driving. The only time I have noticed a reduction in torque was when I threw my teenage daughter on the back.

[volfan67]

I started the one flat per adjustment with follow on test ride. I tightened my adjusters 1 flat at a time on each side because the alignment was good in the first place and it stayed that way throughout this endeavor. The creaking slowly got worse until it creaked badly even while coasting and I could hear the bearings struggling in the rear wheel. Total adjustments in the tightening direction was 5 flats, maybe 6. The belt was to the point that I didn't feel comfortable with it being as tight as it was so I removed the 6 flats back to my original starting point. I then loosened the belt 2 flats in one flat increments with a test in between the 2 adjustments. The belt is to the point of making me think that it is too loose so I stopped there. I still had the creaking up through say 2nd gear. Finally, I sprayed a little WD-40 on about 40% of the belt length and test drove it. The sound is completely gone. I know this will not last but I also can't really understand why I need WD-40 to make the belt quiet. I saw my neighbor who just bought a 2009 Vulcan Classic and asked if I could check his belt tension. His belt tension is way tighter than mine. At my tightest setting today, my belt was noticeably tighter than his but I had the creaking.

[sphill1]

Anyone try buying the the gauge that kawasaki makes for proper belt tension?

[Matt7even]

I started the one flat per adjustment with follow on test ride. I tightened my adjusters 1 flat at a time on each side because the alignment was good in the first place and it stayed that way throughout this endeavor. The creaking slowly got worse until it creaked badly even while coasting and I could hear the bearings struggling in the rear wheel. Total adjustments in the tightening direction was 5 flats, maybe 6. The belt was to the point that I didn't feel comfortable with it being as tight as it was so I removed the 6 flats back to my original starting point. I then loosened the belt 2 flats in one flat increments with a test in between the 2 adjustments. The belt is to the point of making me think that it is too loose so I stopped there. I still had the creaking up through say 2nd gear. Finally, I sprayed a little WD-40 on about 40% of the belt length and test drove it. The sound is completely gone. I know this will not last but I also can't really understand why I need WD-40 to make the belt quiet. I saw my neighbor who just bought a 2009 Vulcan Classic and asked if I could check his belt tension. His belt tension is way tighter than mine. At my tightest setting today, my belt was noticeably tighter than his but I had the creaking.

In my experience the belt creaking got worse the tighter the belt was since the teeth were biting into the belt even harder. There wasn't a reasonable tension or alignment setting that would get ride of it perminantly. They only way I was able to get it to stop was by putting the original back in but ultimatly I missed the way it performed so I took a chance and got my rear pulley and after some adjusting there is no creaking sound at all and only the usual low whirring noise that most stock belt drives have.

[volfan67]

Anyone try buying the the gauge that kawasaki makes for proper belt tension?

I took my bike to the dealer and had them align the back wheel and set the tension for me after about 2 weeks of me struggling to find the right tension/alignment. Although the belt tension may have been set to standards, the noise was still there so the gauge would not have mattered unless they didn't set it right either. All they told me was that my belt was a little loose. My belt is loose compared to my neighbors Vulcan but not so loose that it seems dangerous. It has to be this loose to reduce the noise to a "not so welcome" acceptable level.

[idmtchris]

BINGO! I don't understand how some of you are so freaked by the rpms. I don't shift out of 4th until between 55 and 60 and it's fine. When I ride the freeway I'm not paying close attention to the speedo at all just watching and passing traffic and it seems just fine. The 100 to 120 mph crusiers are flat out lying. You may touch 100 but no way you cruise there, not even for 1/4 mile. And on subject of top end, didn't any of you do any homework on that before you bought the bike?

I tried really hard in the middle of the Nevada desert to hit top end on my 900 with OD pulley. If I really wind out in fourth before shifting into fifth I could hit about 104 indicated and that was only after about 1/4 mile. It did seems to inch a bit towards 106 after sustained distance of 1/2 to 1 mile. Thats about as far as I went at one time at those speeds. Keep in mind there was not another vehicle within miles of me.

[davidcruiser]

I have an 07 Classic LT and have over 12K on the front overdrive pulley. Don't recall what the gas milage was before installing the front pulley but get about 45 mpg on average now at 70 MPH. The speedometer was reading about 5 mph slow and after changing the front pulley it now reads close to correct. However, the odometer now reads 5 % low. These readings were checked with a GPS.

+1. I learned a hard lesson last week when my bike sputtered on a free way on my way home. The odomerter reads around 187. The bike ran out of gas. I pulled over the freeway shoulder and called my insurance roadside assistance. 30 minutes later the tow truck showed up and delivered 1 gallon of gas for $5. The bike started right up and I rode home. I agreed with you on the lower gas mileage. No wonder I usually rode over 200 miles for a gas tank prior to the front pulley installed. The 5% reading low on the odometer tricked me to this incident. I didn't know that fact until now. That explains my bike consistently sputters right around 180-190 range.
Back to the point of this thread, my classic 900 runs smoothly at 70-80mph. In fact I notice it's even smooth at that high speed comparing to lower than 70mph. But I still sometimes search for a six gear when in a hurry only disappointed that it's on 5th already. If the rear pulley price is around of the front, I would give it a try.

[Toxicity]

The front pulley IMO, is a must have mod, unless you enjoy constantly trying to shift into 6th.

When I first changed the front pulley I was very pleased with the improvement.

That said, since then the improvement value has diminished somewhat, because I still have a tendency, (although not nearly as much) to try to shift into sixth gear.

The 900 needs a 6th gear. Period.

...or at the least a gear indicator.

That made me laugh. I am new to riding and here in South Texas it's long flat road. I will find myself constanley checking to make sure I'm in 5th. AKA trying to shift to 6th gear.

[Snow Bird]

That made me laugh. I am new to riding and here in South Texas it's long flat road. I will find myself constanley checking to make sure I'm in 5th. AKA trying to shift to 6th gear.

You guys need to spend some time on an I4 or something like a Ninja 250. That might cure you of wanting another gear.

Having come up through the ranks on a LOT of different bikes.......I find that with my '09 900, I constantly forget to shift into 5th until 70 or so. It really is an overdrive gear.

Unless the gearing has changed recently, I see NO reason to change anything.
It's the rider who needs some adjustment maybe.