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Wheelz: V-belts, stock and Malossi

3K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Wheelz 
#1 ·
This is a bit of a controversial post, as I am going to challenge what I've heard.

This post concerns v-belts. There are lots of articles concerning this. I don't want to repeat what others have said. Keep in mind that I have a 2009, Gen III. What I have to say is not applicable for more current gens, as Gen IV was the first 530, which has a different CVT and v-belt.

It's a topic of discussion due to Yamaha wanting us to change the belt at 12,500 miles. The belts are not cheap, ranging from about $140 - $180. Prices have risen. When I bought my bike it had 11,000 miles on it. It now has a little over 20,000 miles. I have been inside my CVT 11 times. That's eleven times (I'm getting good at it). When I first got the thing there was lots of black rubber belt dust inside. I cleaned that out, and since that first cleaning things have remained clean. I have measured my stock belt width throughout all the times I've been inside. New width is supposedly 32 mm, 30.5 mm is the wear limit. Mine has stayed at 30.9mm from the very beginning. Hence, I never changed it out. I literally have 20,000 miles on my stock v-belt. I don't ride 2-up often, but when I do my passengers haven't been petite (hope none of them are reading this post), and here in the Bay Area we have things called hills. Steep ones. Not mountain passes, but not Great Plains Flat Kansas, either. And when I ride I'm usually getting on it.

When I got my scooter I also got some Malossi parts, among them a v-belt. Back then (maybe two years ago) they were going for $100. I just installed the Malossi belt (have a couple hundred miles on it) and am keeping my stock for a spare.

Here are the things I've heard that are incorrect:
- The first 3 gens use different belts.

They all use the same belt. Malossi's part number for Gens I, II, and III is the same. I remember doing lots of arcane research regarding Dayco, involving a phone call to Dayco USA, so that I could verify a European part number, and I was led to Dayco's European site and catalog, and the same held true, there. It was either that or Mitsuboshi. It all becomes a blur. Bottom line: Malossi is not the only belt manufacturer that offers one belt for the first three Tmax gens.

- The Malossi belt is longer than stock.

The Malossi belt I have has the exact same tooth count and outside length as stock.

- The Malossi belt will have clearance issues with the belt case.

"Note: In the event that the Ventilvar is coupled with the Multivar MHR, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE the spacers supplied with the variator kit, this would create interference between the belt and engine case." (Malossi's 2019 Catalog). This has to do with a particular variator setup, a full Malossi one, in which case Malossi even tells you how not to create the interference. This has nothing to do with the belt. A stock one would create the same problem if using the same variator setup. The details are important, no?

- The Malossi belt has a different profile than stock.

Even if this were true, it would be meaningless. The belt wears to the profile of the variator and torque driver sheaves. Malossi's Ventilvar specifically has a "redesigned working angle" to give different performance aspects. Polini has a similar product. Scootfusion.org offers similar that they have machined to their preferences.

In conclusion, I really want to challenge people NOT TO SPOUT HEARSAY. I've done a lot of research and have had to pound the ground, alot, due to finding conflicting information. Thanks for understanding.

Wheelz
 
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