Alternator belt cover removal with new Ohlin shock

[scootrp125x]

I just got new Ohlin shocks installed on my 04 R1150RT. I have 65000 miles and have never replaced the alternator belt so I have been living on borrowed time.

The Ohlin front shock appears to be just slightly bigger in diameter than the BMW shock and I'm having a hard time getting the alternator cover off. I removed the right shark fin trim mounting bracket but cant get the top of the alternator cover past the top pulley.

Is there a certain way to remove the cover over the pulley or is the shock a bit too big to do this? I don't want to have to do anything with the front shock to be able to change the belt in the future.
Thanks for any advice anyone has with this particular problem.

I will keep jiggling the cover and hope it comes down......Mark

 

[gsaddict]

If you look at the inside of the cover to you will see that some plastic webbing that can be trimmed away to clear the upper nut. This was just enough to clear my front Ohlins spring.

 

[scootrp125x]

If you look at the inside of the cover to you will see that some plastic webbing that can be trimmed away to clear the upper nut. This was just enough to clear my front Ohlins spring.

Thanks, I will check it out. It looks like there is a curved plastic ridge or something. I will see if I can trim it enough to get it over the pulley.

 

[scootrp125x]

I spoke to the nice folks at Ohlins USA this morning. They are familiar with this problem since the outer diameter of their front shock is slightly bigger than the BMW shock. They said I need to unbolt the shock from the bottom so that I can move the shock slight forward enough to get the alternator cover off. They said there is not any load on the shock when the bike is on the center stand.

I need to weight the bike so that the rear tire is on the ground and shim the front wheel so that it doesn't drop since it now is off the ground. I might try trimming the inside of the alternator cover as previously suggested once it is off so that it will clear the top pulley.

 

[scootrp125x]

Sure enough, unbolting the bottom shock bolt allowed me to move the shock 1/4 inch or so and it made the difference to allow me to remove the alternator cover. Now I need to decide if I should modify part of the inside of the alternator cover enough to keep from having to unbolt the shock. I suppose the alternator covers are made that way for a reason and unbolting the shock doesn't seem to be too difficult. It's not like I need to replace the belt every year. At my riding mileage it wont be for another 4 years.

 

[jnrugg]

How serendipitous, I have the same problem with my Wilber shock on the front.

 

[scootrp125x]

How serendipitous, I have the same problem with my Wilber shock on the front.

What was your solution???

 

[henzilla]

Sure enough, unbolting the bottom shock bolt allowed me to move the shock 1/4 inch or so and it made the difference to allow me to remove the alternator cover. Now I need to decide if I should modify part of the inside of the alternator cover enough to keep from having to unbolt the shock. I suppose the alternator covers are made that way for a reason and unbolting the shock doesn't seem to be too difficult. It's not like I need to replace the belt every year. At my riding mileage it wont be for another 4 years.

Modifying the cover where it will come off without dealing with the shock will at some point save some roadside grief if a belt does fail. It most likely will guarantee no future fail of course...like carrying an extra XYZ part for years and never needing it
The failures I have fixed for folks seem to always involve engine guards with the crossbar covering alt cover or larger springs of aftermarket shocks..maybe why the belt, or HES changeout on 1100's, was put off to start with.

 

[scootrp125x]

Modifying the cover where it will come off without dealing with the shock will at some point save some roadside grief if a belt does fail. It most likely will guarantee no future fail of course...like carrying an extra XYZ part for years and never needing it
The failures I have fixed for folks seem to always involve engine guards with the crossbar covering alt cover or larger springs of aftermarket shocks..maybe why the belt, or HES changeout on 1100's, was put off to start with.

I hope this guarantees I wont need to change an alternator belt on the road, that was a bear! I ground down the ridges on the top right quarter of the cover. At least the cover will be much easier to remove the next time I have to replace the belt. I hope it's a long time, I only got 65K out of this belt, lol. Seriously I will change it more frequently in the future.