Ok, managed to get those flanges off with a small flat screwdriver tapped gently between the ring and the notches in the pulley behind. Carefully! Came off ok but not sure yet whether I'll try to flatten and reuse the flanges, I dont want them pinging off at high speed for obvious reasons. Hope the photos help others who come across this particular design. Cheers to all for the advice and help, without that I'd still be scratching my head or damaging something out of frustration. Pete
Leave them off Pete, it doesn't need them. You'd risk engine damage if one came off. Ducati stopped fitting them from around '94. The belts are kept in line by the flanges on the bottom pulley.
Thanks Derek I also think that might be best. I may run the bike without the covers on first just to double check the belts are tracking correctly, but as you said the bottom 'dual' pulley still has flanges so that should be enough. Cheers again
There's more than one way to do this, and it's been an interesting read, as I havent seen the flanges removed before to fit the belts. I was aware that they stopped fitting the pulleys with the flange on later models and reading this thread has explained the pulleys in detail! Thanks for sharing
That is indeed perfectly possible but why make it difficult for yourself? It can be hard enough keeping the vertical cam in place while fitting the belt without having to struggle getting it over the cam flanges. They are not required. As said above Ducati themselves did away with them. Just because they are there is no reason to retain them.
I agree in part Derek, overall better without them, the vertical belt is kept in check by the common pulley but the horizontal belt can still come off although it's highly unlikely and there is usually another factor involved.
Sorry to disagree with you Chris but the bottom pulleys have inner and outer flanges and a centre flange which keep both belts in line and separate, unlike the 4V engines that only have a centre flange to separate the belts but have flanges on the fixed and adjustable tensioner pulleys to keep the belts in line. Last year I had to do some finishing work on a 2V engine which had had lightweight alloy pulleys installed. The bottom pair at least must have come from a 4V engine as they had no outer flanges. As soon as I turned the engine over the horizontal belt tried to make break for. Fortunately I spotted it right away.
that's ok Derek, I respect your thoughts. Yes, there is a small flange as standard but it’s quite ineffectual if the circumstances are even slightly wrong. I lost a front belt on a 750 Elefant and caught another just in time - front belt also because it would never happen on the rear belt in the same way/far smaller risk. I was lucky with the Elefant as it came off at almost TDC firing so cost me a valve/guide was ok, was on the M25 so managed to push it 2 miles to Clackett Lane services. The reason for the Elefant fail was due to the tongue of the rubberised inner cambelt cap swelling/distorting enough to rub on the inner edge of the timing belt. The second time was a mystery but the corresponding bespoke tensioner bearing was binding a little.
Absolutely. If they will come off easily, just dump them. What I was querying really was any need to touch the fixed pulleys.
Fair enough Chris. Usually if a belt fails though there's an underlying reason, like a tensioner bearing, interference or incorrect fitment. They don't just fall off by themselves.
Re the flanges on the pulleys please see a response from another forum to the question about the need for them.
You have the wrong man. You have obviously never come across Martin Brickwood Performance, founded by Guy Martin noted Montreal, Canada-based Ducati tuner. from what I can now discover it would appear that this company may well have been subsumed into Chris Kelley's Californian company. Around the date of the email that I posted there was a lot of dialogue between the two companies, not only about the extensive head modifications that MBP did but also regarding their own spec/design of valve collets which significantly extended the interval between adjustment of valve clearances. Most of the work aimed at the air/oil cooled motors with claims approaching 100bhp from the 900 lump. FYI. http://www.ducatitech.com/2v/maint/rebuild/headwork.html
I totally agree but in all of your experience browsing the forums largely populated by those of distant climes you will also have realised that what is blatantly obvious to most still requires further clarification for others.
