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Belt question from potential owner

2K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  Flook 
#1 ·
I know this has probably been discussed frequently but I’d decided to buy a f800st, found one within a reasonable distance and ran across some pretty old threads about the life and cost of the drive belt. What’s the latest and greatest info. It’s hard to believe the belt doesn’t last longer than what I read on a bike this light. The cost was a little surprising also at around 450.00+. I hope this info is outdated. Any new news?
 
#3 ·
Common for belt to last 40,000-50,000 miles IF ... highway use only. When used on dirt/gravel life span is shorter. Quite rare for actual belt failure unless used offroad and a rock gets lodged in the belt. Inspect it closely at every oil change and look for cracks. Worry less, ride more.
 
#4 ·
The supply of belts for the ST became a classic case of OEM price-gouging. The belts were specific to the ST, made by Continental and for years only available at a ridiculous price from official BMW channels, despite many efforts from folk on this forum to get them direct. This all changed when ST production stopped and GT production (different specification belt) started. ST belts became available from Continental and distributors for around half the price, also on EBay etc., and the GT belt then became the new Golden Goose. Now that GT production has finished, I am not sure what the price and availability is currently, but stay aware Strato, that ST and GT belts are NOT interchangeable!. Have good prowl through this forum, mate - there is all you need to know about ST belt maintenance, service life and purchase scattered over the last10years or more. I think the belt drive was one of greatest attributes of the F800 series and it is a great pity it hasn't carried on. Oh well.....
 
#5 ·
OP doesn't tell us where he is located, nor what currency his "450+" is.

In UK a Contitech Motorcycle Drive Belt CT1158 173 Teeth 34mm For BMW F 800 ST can be sourced for GBP164.99

BMW quoted service life is 24,000 miles, many users extend life beyond that which makes the belts cost effective compared to chains IMO
 
#6 ·
I got 53,000 miles on my GT's first belt. It doesn't mean everyone will, but you can hope. Like Royce said, highway miles helps; there's less stress on the belt. And while I ride year around, I put a lot of highway miles on in the summer.

I purchased a belt for @$500 when I reached 25,000 miles, and just kept it around. Unfortunately for me, BMW discontinued the GT like the ST before it, and the price dropped to less than half that.

My recommendation, if you ride a lot and need to depend on the bike, is to buy a new belt where you can find it cheap and then to keep it around for when you need it. If you never use it, you can give it away with the bike when you sell it or sell the belt separately. But with the supply chain issues everywhere it seems, if your belt breaks in June, you could be missing the best riding weather of the season waiting for a new one.

Chris
 
#7 ·
I've had my ST for 8 years now and changed my belt twice. Both times was at the 30k mile mark just before a huge trip. Both times they still looked and felt perfect when I took them off. Both times cost me about $200 USD. And both times it look about 15 minutes to do and didn't Twitter any special tools. Never in all those miles and years have I had to adjust it, clean it, lubricate it, or change sprockets (pulleys). I love having a belt!

The only related work I've had to do is change the rubber bumpers inside the rear pulley.

Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk
 
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#8 ·
I had my original F800ST for 10 years and it was on the original belt for all that time with no issues. They can be bought at a very reasonable price, as long as you do not go to the dealer, and can easily be fitted at home. Look for PatH in the members of this forum who showed how easy it is to change.
 
#9 ·
Like Daboo, I got good mileage from the original belt. I had 57+K miles on the belt and didn't see any cracks when examining the belt. I hit a deer and broke the bike so I don't know how many miles I would have gotten from it. I had a spare a nice forum member sold me. I sold the belt to a guy in San Diego who was going to try to copy them. He made some beautiful aftermarket gas tanks for Ducati's. Don't know if he was successful or not.
 
#10 ·
I bought my replacement belt from Amazon (believe or not) they were priced around £120 at that time over a year ago now. Though the price I paid for it was under £100 as they were giving discounts if you got the Amazon Discount card as well. And it was the correct one. It was a Contitech make as well, not a pattern part.
 
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