Hi, a couple of years back I changed the cam belts on a '04 Multistrada without any Ducati tools and it was a doddle. However, I want to change the belts on my '06 999S and checking the workshop manual it shows some Ducati special tools, one for locking the cam pulleys up and another for locking up the engine. My question is, do I really need to get those tools? I'm pretty handy with engine work and think that if I mark the cam pulleys I should be able to change the belts without special Ducati tools. What do you think?
The crank and cam locking tools are for resetting the cam timing. 'By the book' this should be done every time the belts are swapped out. If you follow the 996 style of changing them, but take care to mark everything up as there's no pulley marks, then you should be able to swap them. Watch also for the tensioner pulleys. There's a spacer on the back that can drop. Don't take the pulleys off, just loosen them.
