[mjw930]

28T pulley's, HD vs. Aftermarket

After reading numerous posts on other forums and interjecting what turned out to be false information due to my lack of understanding and my now first hand experience with the HD kit I think a post to clarify the issue might help answer some questions and resolve some misinformation.

Aftermarket 28T pulleys offered by TurboTec and Mainstreet (V-Mod) consist of only the actual pulley. The HD kit consists of a pulley, output flange, shorter belt and assorted nuts and bolts. The difference may not seem significant but read on.

All pulleys consist of 2 basic parts, the 3 point flange that attach's to the transmission output shaft and the actual pulley itself. Here's where the difference comes in. The Harley 28T pulley has a smaller inside diameter thus requiring a smaller flange. The aftermarket pulleys are machined to retain the 30T's inside diameter meaning you can use the flange already installed on the bike. Here's where the major difference in the installation lies.

To install the HD kit you must remove the flange which is press fit onto the output shaft. To do this requires some tools and/or tool fabrication that many of us may not have at our disposal. The 2 major tools are a 30mm thin wall socket (or a thick wall socket ground down to 39.6mm outside diameter) a 3 arm gear puller and some mechanism to prevent the flange from turning as you remove and install the nut which is torqued to 118 ft-lbs.

To install the aftermarket pulleys all that's required is to remove the 3 16mm bolts holding the pulley on and reinstall them with the new pulley.

For those who either do not have the tools at their disposal or are considering switching between pulleys when they plan a long ride the factory kit IS NOT for you. My suggestion would be to buy the aftermarket pulley and if there's an issue with the belt tension buy a belt for the '04 VRSC's.

Average installation time:

Aftermarket = 20 - 30 minutes
HD kit = 45 minutes - ???? depending on tool availability

Thanks for listening

Mark

 

[Super Kaz]

Support the Little guy who made the first one anyways.Sam at Tubo Tec USA!

 

[mjw930]

I never thought I'd say this but I should have listened to you from the start. :notworthy

 

[VRODScout]

Thank God

For a guy who was contemplating which side of the cliff to jump off of... (H/D kit or Aftermarket) I am SO glad I read this post.

I literally had my finger over the enter button yesterday to order the 28 tooth pulley from Hale's (yes they are now available to Internet purchase rather than just "in store purchase only.") Looks like I will spend the little extra scratch and get the Turbo Tec one.

Kaz, you referenced me to Sam at Cycle Dynamics once before (1-602-242-6099), is there a code word or phrase to receive the :notworthy "I know Kaz" discount?!?!?!!

Mike

 

[0rest 0har]

very timely thread...

Can someone post the HD part number for the '04 belt only?

Listening to you guys, I too will order the Turbo Tec product. Or can the Turbo Tec people also sell me the shorter belt? I like the idea of a kit, I get the impression that for the easy change option, a new belt and pulley from the after market shop of your choice is all that is needed?

mjw930: I understand the desire for swapping, but wouldn't that mean that in one of those configurations the spedo and odo would be off...? Does anyone know what the "mph delta" would be?

 

[mjw930]

I'm in a peculiar postion, I took the bike down to the point of removing the stock flange awaiting the arrival of a package from Hales today. Luckilly I didn't remove the flange because the parts won't be here till Tuesday Not Hales fault just the way Fedex ground works. So now I've put the bike back together again so I can ride it today and tomorrow but I'm on the fence whether I should return the HD kit and order an aftermarket pulley...... Anyone know what a drive belt costs?

Via (a real name would be nice)

I have the new version of the Race Tuner. All I need to do is reload my map and tell it I have the 28T. The adjustment is 7%.

Mark

 

[djoyce]

The part # for the 2004 belt is 40105-04. Chicago HD lists the belt as $207 discounted to $165.60

 

[mjw930]

Thanks Don,

Damn, the belt alone is $207 MSRP. That means the pulley and flange are only another $40 (you must have been on the ChicagoHD site the same time I was, I might not buy from them but I sure use that parts lookup page alot )

I guess I'll keep the HD kit, I have all the tools now so I can always go back if I want, just buy another washer and nut (one time use).

Thanks again,
Mark

 

[djoyce]

Mark,
Any idea why the nut is good for one use only?

 

[mjw930]

Here's another random thought, Do the holes on the 2 flanges match up and is the difference in the inside diameter small enough to machine the Harley 28T pulley to fit the 30T flange?

If the answer is yes and yes then I might just have a firend machine the inside of the 28T so I don't have to remove the flange and can switch off as needed.

If the answer is yes and no then maybe machining a collar that slips inside the 30T to make up the slack?

If the answer is no and no then I guess I'll get some use out of the tools I bought/fabbed for this project

 

[mjw930]

Mark,
Any idea why the nut is good for one use only?

Other than the manual saying it's one use only I can only guess that because of the high torque values and small thickness they are worried about thread fatigue.

 

[0rest 0har]

What do you give up at cruising speed on the highway when you switch to the 28T? Is there that much of a desire to swap back for those long trips?

 

[djoyce]

I doub't they would as the flange is made to fit somewhat snug to the pulley. There was a lot of slack in the mounting holes but that would make it very easy to get off center.

 

[mjw930]

What do you give up at cruising speed on the highway when you switch to the 28T? Is there that much of a desire to swap back for those long trips?

Orest,

There's lots of threads on this on various forums but the bottom line is about 300 rpm more with the 28T in 5th gear.

 

[0rest 0har]

I think that I'll go to the 28T and probably just stay with it. With the quality of the secondary roads in NH, I find myself jump'n on the expressway only for the few times that I'm in a hurry...

...I try to not be in a hurry to get anywhere when I'm on the bike.

 

[mjw930]

I doub't they would as the flange is made to fit somewhat snug to the pulley. There was a lot of slack in the mounting holes but that would make it very easy to get off center.

Yes, I saw that. This looks like another engineering exercise gone amiss by HD. If they would have simply made the 30T wall thickness more they could have used the same flange for either pulley. How that they have 28T's in the US and 30T's in the rest of the world they have to keep an inventory of 2 different flanges as well as the extra casting (the unit looks cast, if it's forged then the price goes up even more). Doesn't sound like much to us but when you add up the cost over 10000+ bikes a year it's a significant savings.

If you can't tell I'm an engineering manager and I spend almost as much time directing my engineers to look at the whole picture as I do actually designing stuff

 

[djoyce]

If you can't tell I'm an engineering manager and I spend almost as much time directing my engineers to look at the whole picture as I do actually designing stuff

Please see if you can infiltrate the MoCo and get them straightened out.

 

[Ketsugo]

Yep, this has been all over the Yahoo message board! Really makes me happy I did the Turbo Tec pulley almost a year ago!


John

 

[Super Kaz]

Once again it's that CASH THING!You must bring it to a dealer to have it installed or pay the bucks for your own special tool! MOCO is pretty smart that everything"well almost" they make after market need the dealership to install correctly!

 

[mjw930]

This has been asked before and we have a smaller group here but ..... How many people have needed the extenders with the 28T and the stock belt?