rear wheel pulley

[PITBULL]

how many teeth on the rear wheel pulley on a 2002 softail. is it 70?,could you bolt on a 65 tooth without belt lenght issues.

[DarrellV]

Not sure about a Softail....But my 02 FLHT is a 70 tooth rear and 32 front

[mtnmotorrider]

Yes, and no.

[PITBULL]

thank you

[mtnmotorrider]

Sure.  In my experience belts will tolerate about a 2 tooth change up or down on the rear wheel sproket, that's all.  I'm going from a 66 to 70 tooth wheel sprocket and had to go from a 137 t0 139 tooth belt, and it's still tight.  Big Boyz has an excellent calculator on their web site for gear ratio changes, stock configurations, effects of modifications, etc.  It does not include belt lengths though, but you can find those in the JP Cycle catalog where they sell the belts.  This is how I figured out my gear ratio changes for my '07 Road Glide.  Good luck.

[PITBULL]

so going from a 70 to a 65 tooth rear pulley will bolt right in without changing the belt?

[mtnmotorrider]

That's five teeth difference, so I don't think so.  You'll probably need a shorter belt.  I don't know what modle and year bike you are working on, but try the JP Cycle catalog suggestion.  You should be able to compare what you want to do with the sproket setup on other bikes/years and get a fair idea.  You will also have to compare the distence between the rear axle and the trans output shaft to know what belts are available and will fit what you are trying to do.  Belt width is the other thing you need to consider as well.

Are you just trying to get a higher final drive ratio?  If so, it would be easier and less confusing to just change out the trans sprocket to a two tooth (34) larger one.  Then you would probably be able to use your existing belt.  Both Andrews and BDL make these.  They're about $120 to $150.  Belts are almost twice that alone.  The pully change alone will give you a 6 percent reduction in RPM.

[Evo160K]

Recall when the rear axle is moved forward or backward, with a belt or pulley change for instance, the handling of the bike changes.

[mtnmotorrider]

Not that I've ever noticed or heard of.  I've done it on two bikes, a Softail and my present Road Glide.  On the older bikes you have to make sure you get the axle alighnment square with the trans output shaft is all.