Timing belts - end of life I was reading this thread https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/i-thought-that-sounds-bad-and-i-was-right.78094/ I could have posted there , but decided to split it off because I'm interested in people's views on this topic . I've never really decided which of these things is the Kiss of Death or most likely leads to the belts being in a very risky condition :- a] mileage b] age c] being left unused for longish periods I tend to think age and/or standing unused will do more harm than just miles alone . That is a really tight radius at the drive pulley , and that's why I reckon that having a bike stood up might be a belt killer . Any thoughts ?
I disagree , it's Saturday and it's raining by here .... it's perfect for a heated debate ! Let's say three or more years .... just for the sake of argument
I do remember there was thread on here about the belts on a Scrambler when they first came out not need changing for 5 years and the discussion was along the lines of, same belt (maybe a bit different in length) and the tensioners Could be the same part but with a different part number? As I'm sure in the past with Ducati's people are a bit put of with servicing every two years hence the change to 5 years to build up a bit more custom.
That’s promising for me then, fitted new belts about a year ago, then ran out of time and money to get bike finished so it’s stood since. I’d expected to redo the belts as it’s stood but there’s hope for me yet then.
Yes, fitted myself. (Tension checked and rechecked about 100 times so far). Sensible idea, I like that.
I hope I’m not late to the party. I had the belts and tensioners changed at 18k km because one of the tensioners broke down. A bit surprised as I’m aware my Scrambler was supposed to change those parts at 24k km. I run my scrambler casually, approx 800-1000km per month, usually just weekend trips. Bought the bike late September 2017. Had the belts and tensioners changed in early July 2019. A friend of mine also had his belts and tensioners changed on his Scramler at 19k km. So not a big surprise.
Couldn't you just slacken off the tension? Or are you worried you's forget and start the bike up anyway?
Didn’t think to do that to be honest. I was hoping to get it back on the road last year when I did them, then circumstances changed and it’s stood. Hopefully get a bit of time tomorrow to have a look and check them.
I have recently purchased a 749 took the covers off and they look fine, I smashed it into 6th and rotated the rear wheel just to do a simple check that it does move freely even though not under very much load.
All the windows and french doors open and it's still 26.5 inside the house. It's like living in cypress, in Essex, except we can flush poo paper because we have proper drains
My original belts lasted 14 years and about 7 or 8 thousand miles, ran for 1st couple of years and did about 3 thousand miles then stood for about 4 years. Ran for another 2 years doing about 3 thousand miles and then stood for about 18 months, had a couple of runs (maybe 30 milrs each) stood another couple of years and had a 5 mile run then standing for a year before putting about 1,500 miles on and deciding it was time to change the belts. They looked surprisingly good despite age and long periods of standing. I may have been lucky? Im doing them at 4 years now
