• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

elast alternator belt

roostershooter

motorcycle cowboy
So who has replaced the newer elast alt. belt without using the tool that BMW techs use? There is much info archived here but not much in the way of a successful replacement. My bike has 40k on it and the belt really looks good, no cracks or anything. Wondering if I should let it go for a bit.
 
Replaced the one on my 05gs at 60 thousand miles.I used one of the holes in the pulley with an allen wrench stuck in it.Saw the video online that showed how easy it was.(Maybe on adv rider?) Ed
 
Changed the belt on my 04 RT in June. I didn't have any "special" tools. I don't see what the big deal is. I have put 5K on the bike since with no issues.
 
Replaced the one on my 05gs at 60 thousand miles.I used one of the holes in the pulley with an allen wrench stuck in it.Saw the video online that showed how easy it was.(Maybe on adv rider?) Ed

Yeah that looks pretty easy. However, the elast belt is a bit shorter than the one in that video. Do a search for elast, read all about it.
 
The recommended service interval is 36,000 miles.

You might not see the accrued aging - cracking can happen on the INSIDE of the belt - after all, that's what rides against the pulleys. Last time I did mine ('04 1150RT, at about 40K), it looked just fine on the outside...

But once it was off, I discovered that one of the "ribs" was starting to separate longitudinally (in the same direction as the ribs). No way to see that while it was mounted up.
 
IIRC, the original older belts were replaced with a newer version of the poly-v, which entailed replacing the pulleys. This is the belt with the 36K replacement interval. If I understand your question correctly, I'd stick with the newer poly-v for that machine, instead of trying to upgrade to the elast. Just my $0.02
 
Very good thread, very good info. My 04 is in the shop now, and (with almost 40K miles) I was told the alternator belt was toasty. Then there was a problem with none of the stock replacement belts fitting. Methinks the lack of update in the manual might be causing my shop a problem. Now I'm wondering if they have the 200+ dollar tool on hand for tensioning the elast belt.
 
Don't give up on BMW over a rubber belt. If they can't tension a belt properly without the fancy tool you might want to look around for a mechanic though! This can be done by feel.
 
I just use a block of Maple cut to 116 mm, let the upper pulley rest on it and tighten the mounting bolts. It ain't astrophysics.;)
 
04rt1150 belt

not so easy for 2 men - dealer said cant do it without $$$ tool. My thought was why sell a belt when dealer knows you cant put it on. Even with dis assembly this job wont be done by me and my buddy again. Not all 04's have the same belt , mine is no fun.....
 
Ditto on the 04's not having just one belt type. My shop had to order one from BMW as the one they showed (and had in stock) didn't fit.
 
The belt type changed during production of '04 bikes in July of '03.
Only moderately confusing.
Mine was built in July '03, so I went by looking at the alternator pulley. The new ones have a flat front
 
Back
Top