Hi 749, I had the belts changed about 4 months ago, now the salt and cold weather is here, I will still take the bike out on dry days, but they may be far and few, so if its laid up for 3 to 4 weeks maybe 5 is it worth pushing the bike in gear to move the belts so its not the same part of the belt in the tight position? Thanks
If the belts are changed in accordance with the maintenance schedule I think you're wasting your time.
But it is good practice to turn the engine over every now and again to move the belts. With my bikes, I will just tap the starter with no choke just to achieve this.
Yes, but not just for the belts. It is good to turn the engine over every now and then so that the piston rings aren't parked in the same position for months on end. If the valves are open, and at least one will be on a twin, then dampness from the atmosphere can get in and possibly cause corrosion. Moving the engine will help prevent any pitting of the bore at the ring/cylinder interface, although maybe not so much of a problem with modern engines.
I agree and if I could be bothered then I would remove the plugs and drop a little oil in. Then turn over the engine a few times. As I will use the bikes and it never gets too bad weather here to lay them up for very long, then I just run them up to operating temp if they are not used for a few weeks.
I do pretty much the same as you with my ST4s. I don't ride in the ice and snow anymore but managed to get through the last two winters without laying the bike up or even trickle charging. Just made the effort to run a few miles when the weather was just about acceptable.
Yep I guess the answer is get out when I can, any run is a good run for the engine and the cycle parts.
I thought this thread was about your jeans belt over the festive period being too short again because of excess food and alcohol
