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Old 10-07-2015, 10:14 PM   #1
Maddog   Maddog is offline
 
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I'm a believer

It's been almost one year since my last belt breaking/ replacement. I commute on this 2006 Reflex daily, and was told that the belt would last app 10k miles.
Thought that was rubbish. Opened it up today to have a look, with a pre purchased Earlandson belt in hand. The Honda replacement belt has gone 11k and it looked good, upon closer inspection I chose to replace it. It's dimensions were OK but it was hard and showed a few cracks on the inside, between the ribs of the belt.
Test drive to work today, WOW what a difference, the engine dropped 600 RPMs at the same given road speed. This not only increased top speed possibility but would help fuel mileage at lower cruise speeds.
We're just getting into the really sweetest riding weather and I'm happy to be ready. Finally the asphalt isn't baking my ass off going into work. Sub 90 deg.



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Last edited by Maddog; 10-07-2015 at 10:19 PM. Reason: Information
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Old 10-08-2015, 10:55 AM   #2
kz1000st   kz1000st is offline
 
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I just had the same experience with a Gates belt in my 150. It showed signs of stretch but zero cracking. I had almost 7,000 miles on it. These Aramid fiber belts are pretty sturdy.
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2008 Eagle Milano 150- 9,679 miles
2009 Honda Rebel 250- 10,434 miles
2009 CF Moto Fashion- 16,023 miles
2009 MC-114 50cc Cub Clone- 4,317 miles
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That's 30,049 China Scootin miles and Counting.
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Old 10-08-2015, 07:49 PM   #3
bandito2   bandito2 is offline
 
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Belt change interval for the Reflex is 12,000 miles though some will change it earlier if they are a heavy rider, ride in lots of stop & go traffic, warm temperature environment, lots of hills/mountain travel or any combination of those since higher than average demands will make the belt wear sooner.(naturally) Keep the used belt as a spare. (you very well may need it before long.) I haven't heard of ANY non-OEM belts that were worth the $$ spent on them... maybe you'll have better luck. My last belt went 17,500 miles before it broke... And I pulled a single wheel trailer for a lot of those miles. I wanted to see how long it really would last. I don't mind replacing drive belts; it's a non-issue to me. Most belt changes have been done in the neighborhood of 13K to 15,000 miles. OEM belts every one of them. Not because they were broken though... just sort of following recommended change interval.

So I did some digging...

Hmmm. Erlandson... Not heard of these folks before. Made in the USA... That's a plus. Heard of Gates and other Chinese knockoffs that sell belts that actually are not the right size and don't last very well at all. About half price, but you get what you pay for with those. (If you are lucky)
Bando (A Japanese manufacturer) Makes belts that are priced a little higher than the Erlandson belts (though still below OEM cost) and cite similar quality standards of manufacture. Reportedly they are an OEM supplier, but I'm not sure if Honda is one of their customers... for the Reflex belt anyway.

I'd really be interested to hear later how this belt works out for you since they claim to keep within 0.02 of OEM manufacturing specs. (I am assuming they are talking 0.02 inches)
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Old 10-09-2015, 04:41 PM   #4
bandito2   bandito2 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bandito2 View Post
Bando (A Japanese manufacturer) Makes belts that are priced a little higher than the Erlandson belts (though still below OEM cost) and cite similar quality standards of manufacture. Reportedly they are an OEM supplier, but I'm not sure if Honda is one of their customers... for the Reflex belt anyway.
.
Well apparently they do/did drive belts for the Honda Reflex. Looked at one of my spare belts and it clearly says Honda Bando. There probably is no difference between the Bando replacements and the Honda badged OEM belts.
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Southeast Michigan Dark Side Rider
4 Honda Reflex scooters & a Big Ruckus
Originator of the
"Darkside" Honda Reflex.
"Yeah dude, that IS a car tire there on the back of my scooter."

Sometimes I'm so far outside of the box, the Hubble telescope can't find me
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Old 10-10-2015, 04:27 PM   #5
Maddog   Maddog is offline
 
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Bandito,
I went through 3 different belts last time in order to realize the Bando belt sold as the replacement IS NOT the same dimension as the Honda belt made by Bando. I think I tried Gates and another Off brand. None were correct on the width and shreadded within 20mi.
Changing a belt is a nonissue however getting to work on time is important to me. I don't carry enough tools to change it on the road. Save that space for groceries and helmet storage. The Earlandson belt is correct in dimension and at $60. Is 2/3 the cost.
I Know I said "I'm a believer" probably should have gone OEM on the belt, BUT I as frugal as they come. Hope it doesn't bite me.



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Old 10-14-2015, 09:34 AM   #6
Maddog   Maddog is offline
 
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Cruise

Reporting back, I took the reflex on two good cruises this past weekend. Took the wife over to Coco beach and made a run down the river road. Logged 120mi with no issues except some light rain. Followed that the next day with a run over to Daytona to get some scuba stuff, lots of high speed, no issues as of yet, probably got over 500miles on this belt and all is well so far.
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Old 10-23-2015, 01:54 PM   #7
Ebuddy   Ebuddy is offline
 
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Belts are pretty inexpensive. I've put nearly 4,000 miles on my 244cc scoot this past summer. When I bought it in the spring, the seller said the belt was new the previous fall. I'll still probably change it out this next spring after I take it out of storage. I'll keep the old one as a spare and call it good. Gas savings alone on the scoot versus my 2002 Saturn L300 already has me at breakeven if I sell the scoot for what I bought it for ($600) so for me it's cheap insurance.
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