I have read a few posts on the forum recently regarding belt issues on walk behinds and riding mowers. I found this great belt failure anayasis guide from B&S on another forum that I frequent. For those of us that dont have much experience with "V" belts or for those thst do, it looks like a great source of information.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6NaqjIxWV1yZ3NQOGpsRGhjODg/edit?pref=2&pli=1
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6NaqjIxWV1yZ3NQOGpsRGhjODg/edit?pref=2&pli=1