Cam Belt Cover

[theandyb]

Hi,

I have just come to replace the cam belts on my newly acquired 1999 M900 and found that the last person to do this had sheared one of the plastic lugs off the horizontal cover which has the inspection cover fitted into it i.e. the leftmost cover of the three horizontal covers, if that makes any sense?

Has anyone got one kicking around in good condition please as Ducati are quoting 7-10 days delivery.

Cheers,

Andy

[utopia]

Well, this is probably of no use to you whatsoever, but just in case....
I have one that came off my yr 2000 M750. Dunno whether the 900 ones are the same. this one bears the legend 245.1.011.1A.
And its not in good condition. It actually has a piece missing where a stray belt sawed its way through like a bandsaw, cutting a 2cm long piece from the thin section immediately to the right of the inspection window.
However, if you're just looking for a temporary cover so you can get back on the road while you wait for the permanent replacement to be delivered, then you're welcome to it.....and its still perfectly serviceable.
To be honest, I might like it back at some stage, purely as a record of the history of my bike (which is a keeper), but I'd be in no hurry. And you're not far from me, so our paths may cross at some future gathering.
Like I said, that may not be very helpful, but worth a mention, I thought.
Oh, and don't worry about the bandsaw thing....a rare quality control issue with the drive pulley was the cause...your bike will almost certainly be unaffected.

[theandyb]

Hi Utopia,
That's a very kind offer thankyou but the one I have should do temporarily, if needs must. I was really hoping to get everything back together once and for all, so I can get on with riding it. If no one has anything kicking about, I'll probably hang on for JHP to get one in.
A local meet would be great, as long as you can put up with my enthusiastic newbie questions!
ATB,
Andy

[utopia]

As I thought really....but worth a shout anyway.

No need to apologise for enthusiastic newbie questions.
I still consider myself to be in that catergory to a large extent.

When I first changed my belts, I couldn't resist whipping the covers off and rechecking the tension after just 100miles or so....you know how the creeping doubt can get to you.
So, although the centre section is a bitch to get off, its probably worth refitting your old one and riding it for a few miles while you wait for a replacement.

But what I really wanted to say was another slightly over the top....top tip....when refitting the covers.
I found that when you tighten the outermost cover screws, it leaves a residual torque in the surrounding dense rubber-like material of the inner case. If you look closely just behind the threaded inserts you may see tiny cracks opening in the surface of the rubbery stuff where its in tension as a result of this. I reckon its worth finishing off with a slight anticlockwise twist, not enough to move the threads but just enough to close these cracks. Otherwise they'll only get worse faster than they would anyway, and one day maybe the threaded insert will bust out.
And lube the threads, obviously.
My thinking is that if a previous owner has been ham fisted enough to break the cover, they may well have overtightened the screws too, so the cracks are likely to be there.

There you go.
Try feeling over enthusiastic after that. ;)

[theandyb]

Now sorted thank you.

Utopia - it would appear we share the same OCD!!