The belt is not made of elastic so we don't need a certain weight or something like that. Or do I see this wrong ?
Laurens, good evening.
No, the belts are not elastic in any way by design. But they are very stiff and hard to flex compared to other type of belts.
It's necessary to have consistent amount of force to "push" the belt to a given deflection that equates to the proper belt tension. What that force is in pounds and how much deflection is needed, is still up for debate on a M3W.
I will say that across the board on Harleys, it's 10# of force on the belt. But not all Harley belts get the same deflection. Touring bikes have one deflection and Softails have another amount of deflection, but all with the same spring force against the belt. And not all years of the same models have the same deflection.
All I'm saying is that "some" amount of force will be needed to keep everyone on the same playing field. Your index finger pushing up against the belt is not the same as my index finger pushing against the same belt. It cannot be subjective, it has to be a science.
In the case of the M3W, the front swingarm pivot point is close enough to the center of the BB that it will probably not matter if you're on the ground or freely suspended off the ground. The only issue with being on the ground is that if the car is under load in one direction or the other, that portion of the belt, top/bottom, can be slack or tight depending on the load. So probably to help it would be best to check this with the car cold and the rear tire off the ground. Also as Harley suggests, the belt tension should be checked in different parts of the belt as to take into consideration of any possible high spots on the pulleys etc. The tension is usually then set at the tightest spot.
I'm sure that it will be figured out soon and everyone can then do the same setup.
