UK Monster Owners Club Forum » .: Technical :. » Engines, Clutch, Gears » Another belt brand

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 17-04-2020, 10:52 AM   #1
damien666
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Leeds, West-Yorks
Bike: S4Rs
Posts: 497
Another belt brand

I’ve seen the Ducati, Exact Fit and Dayco belts, but came across Flennor ( Germany ). They have made in Uk printed on them. I wonder if they are made by Gates, who make the Ducati belts?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ducati-99...-/114189366976
damien666 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-04-2020, 12:15 PM   #2
Mr Gazza
Lord of the Rings
 
Mr Gazza's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Norwich
Bike: M900sie
Posts: 5,766
Note that the price is for ONE belt.. Double that and add postage and it comes to £79.85. If they will combine postage, if not that will a round £92 to you sir..

You might as well get something known to be good like Exactfit.
__________________
Mr Gazza is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-04-2020, 12:40 PM   #3
The Clockie
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Gazza View Post

You might as well get something known to be good like Exactfit.
So long as you don't want belts for something basic like a 2v Ducati 900 (or in my case a 904cc Gran Canyon) cos they have no stock of them until May, given the Chinese makers are still in business!

Nick
  Reply With Quote
Old 17-04-2020, 01:26 PM   #4
damien666
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Leeds, West-Yorks
Bike: S4Rs
Posts: 497
I was just putting it out there in case people hadn’t seen them. Like me.
The price is still good for the pair for my model. I was surprised with the made in UK bit. I know Gates won’t sell them ( not allowed) under the Gates brand for Ducati.

They do the 2v etc which are a lot cheaper.

I’ve used both Ducati and exact fit with no problems.
damien666 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 10:08 AM   #5
Jez900ie
Pleasantly surprised!
 
Jez900ie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Stoke on Trent
Bike: M900ie
Posts: 780
So 900ie belts:

Dayco is 19,90 € per Piece so a pair £34.60 = £40.90 delivered
Flennor 22,90 € per piece so a pair £45.80 = £52.70 delivered
Exact TB900 pair £74.95 (out of stock until early May)

Anyone bought any others or Ducati OEM recently?
__________________
Monsters don't hide under the bed, they sleep inside the shed

Last edited by Jez900ie; 18-04-2020 at 12:23 PM..
Jez900ie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 10:25 AM   #6
Mr Gazza
Lord of the Rings
 
Mr Gazza's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Norwich
Bike: M900sie
Posts: 5,766
Oops! I appear to have inadvertently poured cold water on your post Damien.
That wasn't my intention and my interest was very piqued by the Flennor belts.
My first reaction was that the price was refreshing and back to what I paid for my first set of belts, then noticed the sellers strange choice of only advertising a single belt!
Adding it all up for a pair puts it on a par with Exactfit, which they claim last for three years. So I thought it was rich for an "unknown" brand.

Jez has put things into perspective with the relative prices for a pair of 900 belts, so they are back on the table, but what do we know about them? Probably made by Gates as you say, perhaps Ducati's hold on the rights has loosened? Or they have created a new brand?

Looking forward to three years before I buy more belts, having just fitted my first Exactfit ones. How long do Flennor last?
__________________
Mr Gazza is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 10:47 AM   #7
damien666
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Leeds, West-Yorks
Bike: S4Rs
Posts: 497
No problem Mr Gazza. Things get lost in translation, same when texting.
Like in my post above. I put, the 2v ones are a lot cheaper.
I mean’t cheaper than the Flennor 4v ones and not necessarily cheaper than any other belts out there.
I think there is too much ‘worry’ tax on the belts, praying on your insecurities about them snapping. So they can hike the prices up.
It would be interesting to know for example, how much each ‘ exactfit ‘ belt costs to manufacture in China.

Last edited by damien666; 18-04-2020 at 10:53 AM..
damien666 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 12:08 PM   #8
Flip
Registered User
 
Flip's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Beachtown
Bike: M900
Posts: 2,188
Agreed, that due to labour costs etc. manufacturing in the Far East is generally cheaper than in Europe but almost every European (and many American) manufacturer has an operation there.

I am sure I have read somewhere that Gates are no longer the OEM supplier of belts to Ducati since the VAG takeover as they too source their belts (and obviously have huge buying power from their other Automotive interests) from a Far Eastern factory.

Over the last few years I’ve become quite a fan of Exact UK predominantly because of the quality of the parts I’ve been supplied but also (much the same as Moto Rapido) because of their excellent customer service.

Here’s a little read for those who might be interested:

http://www.exactuk.com/

Oh and going on from Gazza’s mention of how much he paid for his first set of belts- I’ve just looked and in July 2000 I paid £12.40 each for genuine Ducati branded from my local (then) Ducati dealer- CMW in Chichester
__________________
You're perfect, yes, it's true- But without me you're only you!

Last edited by Flip; 18-04-2020 at 02:33 PM..
Flip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 12:38 PM   #9
Mr Gazza
Lord of the Rings
 
Mr Gazza's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Norwich
Bike: M900sie
Posts: 5,766
Yes I paid about the thirty quid mark only 6 years ago, they have more than doubled in price since then!

I'm already impressed with the Exactfit belts, only 350 miles in. They seem to run quieter if that is possible? My Monster seems to have lost an ever present little clatter which I used to attribute to valve or clutch noise, apparently coming from the nearside?
I also polished the clutch drum slots with Graphite at the same service as the belts, so I don't know if that's made a difference?
__________________
Mr Gazza is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-04-2020, 12:59 PM   #10
damien666
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Leeds, West-Yorks
Bike: S4Rs
Posts: 497
My TPS ( throttle position sensor) was playing up a few years ago. I got one from exactfit and it’s been spot on.
damien666 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-04-2020, 12:25 AM   #11
Jez900ie
Pleasantly surprised!
 
Jez900ie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Stoke on Trent
Bike: M900ie
Posts: 780
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Gazza View Post
Yes I paid about the thirty quid mark only 6 years ago, they have more than doubled in price since then!

I'm already impressed with the Exactfit belts, only 350 miles in. They seem to run quieter if that is possible? My Monster seems to have lost an ever present little clatter which I used to attribute to valve or clutch noise, apparently coming from the nearside?
I also polished the clutch drum slots with Graphite at the same service as the belts, so I don't know if that's made a difference?
Do you have a clutch basket maintenance tips threat Mr Gazza? What is this polishing the drum slots of which you speak? What graphite is used? How about anything else that should be done to a basket whilst apart?
__________________
Monsters don't hide under the bed, they sleep inside the shed
Jez900ie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-04-2020, 08:39 AM   #12
The Clockie
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Introducing graphite into a dry clutch seems a strange idea, even if initially it's restricted to the (?48) grooves of the super-clutch drum.

Of course, there are other things you can do with an OEM clutch in terms of betterment and longer life, but am I right in detecting a certain resistance/lack of interest within these portals?

Today, it's two-stroke fire-up day. Enough of these meaty four-stroke vee-twins, or singles even...

Nick
  Reply With Quote
Old 19-04-2020, 09:21 AM   #13
Mr Gazza
Lord of the Rings
 
Mr Gazza's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Norwich
Bike: M900sie
Posts: 5,766
I haven't really got a tip as such Jez, but I'll tell you about my experiment.

I opened up my "new" EVR 48 tooth clutch for inspection after about 6000 miles (I think). I was pleased with the lack of wear, which amounted to a slight witness on the inner drum from the steel plates.
Having often wondered if it would be possible to protect the slots and plates in some way, I thought I would try Graphite, which is a very good friction reducer. Significantly it is dry and unlikely to contaminate the plate surfaces.
Graphite is the main constituent of stove or grate polish. It used to be sold as "Zebrite" in black and yellow striped tubes, but I haven't seen it on the shelves for a very long time. I just buy generic grate polish.
With the drums as clean as possible, I got a blob about half the size of a pea on a toothbrush and brushed it onto the drum slots, easy on the Z48 as the slots are closed semi circular grooves. Half a pea does about a quarter of the outer drum. the trick is to keep polishing with a dry toothbrush after the whole drum is coated, to remove any excess and reduce the amount of the greasy medium of the Graphite paste. I did the inner drum too.
The hope is that this will load the plate tangs with graphite at their contact points and help with wear?

As mentioned, I do seem to have a reduction in clutch noise and the clutch works beautifully. I have also have a habit of sometimes just pulling the clutch lever in when I pass in the workshop, this used to produce a grate and squeak as the pressure plate rose, but now it's just a silent ascent.

I've only done 350 dry miles since the (anti) grate polish, so the jury is still out, but it seems to have at least done no harm. I might make this an annual practice.

Nick I think there are plenty on here using your quiet clutch mod, unfortunately it won't work on a Z48.

Footnote; I also use grate polish on the exhaust clamps to blacken them. I've used it on scruffy black anodising on a calliper and coffin reservoirs with success too. I like the polished Graphite colour.
Also very good on threads and cast iron sliding gibs on my woodwork machines , as it's dry and doesn't pick up dust.
__________________

Last edited by Mr Gazza; 19-04-2020 at 09:29 AM..
Mr Gazza is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-04-2020, 01:39 PM   #14
utopia
No turn left unstoned
 
utopia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: leicester
Bike: M750
Posts: 4,543
"Anti grate polish" ..... very good ...made me chuckle.

On the belts, I too remember with fondness the days when I could get a pair of belts for my M750 for around fourty quid.
On the good side though, I bet the ones from VW/Audi produce much less pollution so maybe they're worth the extra cost, eh ? ...

Anyway, I thought I'd investigate a set of these cheaper belts.
Looking through the various ebay listings from Ducbikeparts and checking compatibility using their data, it would seem that none of the belts that they supply are suitable for my motor.
I wasn't convinced by this so I investigated a little further.
Now I dunno why but I have kept all my old belts. It makes little sense I know but it does mean that I can compare part numbers over the years.
So I dug them out and listed the various part numbers .... it turns out that there are a total of four different numbers on the five sets of old (genuine Ducati) belts in my possession and some pairs use up to three of these part numbers on the same belt (or its packaging).
Nice and straightforward then.
The good news is that one of the cheap belt sets on ebay claims to replace Ducati part number 73710051A, which is one of the numbers on my collection of used belts.
So it seems that they do sell belts compatible with my 750 after all.
According to the ebay listing, these belts are suitable for 600, 620, 695, 750 and 800 motors ... though you should make your own assessment as to the compatibility with your particular model rather than take my word for it.

Sorry if that's all a bit boring but maybe it might help others identify belts for their monsters.
My various interchangeable part numbers were ...
73710051A
73710021A
73740071A
73740072A
utopia is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-04-2020, 01:54 PM   #15
Joshua Brew
Registered User
 
Joshua Brew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Wrexham
Bike: M1100evo
Posts: 55
Hi, after countless hours of research for the last 2 months, I decided to go for exactfit belts taking into consideration the price, quality and reviews. They seem ok as belts are concerned. The fact they reckon they haven’t had one fail in 6 years or so is good enough for me ��
Joshua Brew is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:05 PM.

vBulletin Skins by vBmode.com. Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.