Timing Belts

[fffracing]

G'day,

My S4RS is coming up for the 10 000k service.

The bike is 2 years old and the manual states that the belts should be changed at 20 000k or 2 years.

The bike has had a very easy life and I have inspected the belts and they look brand new. I guess Duc wants them changed due to degradation of the rubber.

I would just like your thoughts on wether I should wait until 20 000k before changing the belts as I am more inclined to do it now. I guess I have answered my own question!

Cheers

[tim_golfer2]

I had my bike in at Flywheels recently for 2 year service. It had just under 8000 kms.

Guys checked the belts but didn't replace them. I believe they said they could still see the writing on them (whatever is written on them. For all I know it could say 'change me before I break')

[Big T]

Similar situation.

S4RT 12,000km service at 2 years old ish by Frasers....

Belts all okay and left for 24,000km service......

[mattyvas]

Similar story, last service before I took full ownership belts were inspected but left till next major.

[bazz20]

G'day,

The bike is 2 years old and the manual states that the belts should be changed at 20 000k or 2 years.

thats because they have broken, its up to you 

[dragonworld.]

Screw that!!! 

I change mine every 20k. (Around once a year.) Its no big deal, and buying them from the USA its not too expensive.

You cant tell the condition of a belt by JUST LOOKING at it. I've seen a belt that looked perfectly good and with low K's (But over the time frame by a year) snap with the resultant engine damage. 

Wasnt a Duc, but the theory remains the same. I'd rather change them, cos Murphy is a bastard.

[techno]

My S2R800 was two years old and had 9k on it when I bought it. I had them changed just in case as I had no personal knowledge of the history, only what I was told.

Cheap insurance given what could happen if they let go, even if it is highly unlikely.

[CairnsDuc]

I asked this question of Lt Snyder of Desmotimes and he has now taken his belt interval out to 3 years, he reasoning is the new generation of belts are no where near as fragile and as fussy as the old belts, having said that, he says that for vehicles that get ridden at least once or twice a week.

Hello FFFracing, fellow Cairns dweller, I used to work at Pitstop, I took over in Spare parts for Andy (For the 3 months before the whole lot went Tit's up and went down the Drain) 

I am going to stick to the 2 year interval, mainly because it will match up to the KM's, my Major service of 24000km's is coming up by year end (S2R 800), so I'm going to do all the work myself, I'll soon be sending of a large order to Lt Snyder for a valve kit, belts and a few other bits and pieces.

I was going to get another local Ducati wrench spinner to do it, but when his quote got to $1000 for Labour alone, I told him thanks, but no thanks.

[G]

I've heard the sound of a Ducati after a belt has broken whilst in operation.
Well, at least after it had returned to the pits (at PI) due to operational abnormalities and the owner was having it "assessed".
It sounded like a single struggling to start....
For me it re-inforced my current regular servicing routine.
Recently, I had to change the belts well before 20,000km. In fact it may have been 10,000km. The rubber had visibly perished on one of the belts. I queried it and sometimes it happens...
Each to his own...

[dragonworld.]

Oooh, still running with one busted belt??? 

I have a mental picture of the crook cylinder doing the crunch, wallop as the good one tries to keep everything turning.   

Show the results of that to anyone who tries to err, umm "extend" belt changing intervals!! 

As you said G, "Each to his(her) own.

[MonsterDorf]

I currently manage a range of sub-sections, one of them MRD or Maintenance Requirements Determination. Each and every one of the practitioners has an extensive technical background and squillions of courses to do their job. Every maintenance extension to the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) schedule is evaluated and most times leads to "special" inspections to confirm/validate the decision.

So where is this leading...............changing service intervals is a specialist field and doing it without the appropriate considerations is risking failure.

If we have the time and can source the failure data I'll see if we can make a determination to get some science into the discussion.

[fffracing]

Thanks everyone for the info.

I think for the sake of a few hundred bucks I will do the belts at 10K service.

I am going to do all servicing myself, so has anyone had anything to do with Desmotimes? They seem to have all the gear required.

Hey CairnsDuc. Cairns has plenty of Dukes, not bad for a town with no Dealer. I emailed Ducati Aus a couple of months ago asking what is going on and they couldn't even answer my email .

Great bikes, crap importer. They have a very similar approach to the KTM importer. That is: We have a great product which sells it self, so who cares about customer satisfaction.

Cheers 

[goldFiSh]

desmotimes are awesome, as are ca-cycleworks. For general maintenance parts and tools, you can't go wrong with either.

LT Snyder of desmotimes also has an awesome maintenance manual as well...

[dragonworld.]

desmotimes are awesome, as are ca-cycleworks. For general maintenance parts and tools, you can't go wrong with either.

LT Snyder of desmotimes also has an awesome maintenance manual as well...

Like goldFiSh said! 

A huge +1 for bothe LT (Desmotimes) and Chris (CA-Cycleworks). Great prices, great stock and very reliable. 

[CairnsDuc]

What a sad reflection of our Industry, we get told to support local suppliers and distributors, but what is the point, they are, to be quite frank, make the beast with two backsing useless!!!
Every time I seem to give a local company a go, they are to expensive, to god damned slow or just plain useless

I ordered a Screen for the Monster from the local supplier/importer, that took 3 months to arrive from the States, and another 2 weeks in transit from Sydney to Cairns.
I ordered a rear Sprocket, was promised many times is was right and would fit, totally wrong design and size.
I ordered some gloves and some Exhaust springs from a prominent online store in Sydney that advertise during the Superbike and Motogp on Fox Sports, Order lost, Order found, Stock never sent, order forgotten, then decided after 2 weeks of phone calls and Emails to finally send the order on Friday.

And the majority if the rest are just to over priced!
I got an Ohlins Shock for my Monster delivered, setup and Sprung for my weight from Motowheels for $700
Aussie Suspension places want $1200 for the Shock, $200 for the spring, $200 for the setup and tuning of the shock plus freight. Not bloody likely