Timing belt change

02-06-2016, 09:27 PM

Time for change again as its two years since I had them done. How big a job is this to do yourself. My bike's a 95 600 monster.

Zimbo · 02-06-2016, 11:00 PM

Pretty simple, should take you around half an hour. Mark the cam pulleys and crank pulley before removing the old belts so you don't disturb the timing, and make sure you get the belt tension correct, I use the 5 and 6 mm Allen key method.

utopia · 02-06-2016, 11:30 PM

Its pretty easy really.
Its often said that the hardest part is getting the belt covers off ... but that's because the oil cooler lines are in the way, and you don't have those.
If you're reasonably confident doing general maintenance on the bike you should have no problem.
Actually changing the belts is virtually foolproof. The only real tricky part is setting the tension as this requires a bit of mechanical "feel".
Chris Kelly shows you how in this video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vzPZ84ZRjU

Another popular (?) method to set the tension is to measure the frequency of the belt when you twang it, using a guitar tuner or suitable phone app.
I use the allen key method that Chris demonstrates.
Whichever method you use, I would say that, if in doubt, make sure that the belts are a little loose rather than too tight.
Check that the idler and tensioner rollers are smooth running while you're in there, as failure will be devastating.
And you'll probably need a torque wrench.
Be a little wary of the tensioner bolts .. some folk are ham-fisted enough to chew those up.
Turn the engine over to the correct position by selecting a gear and turning the back wheel .. so you'll also need a paddock stand. For fine adjustment I find that its best to "knock" it into the final position using the slack in the transmission rather than use a steady turn on the wheel, which invariably overshoots.
I always mark the position of the tensioners before I loosen them (using a fibre tip pen). That way you can be reassured when you tension the new belts and are then able to observe that the marks line up roughly as before.
I would also recommend having a good fiddle with the old belts before you disturb anything, twisting them at their midpoint and observing that they (should) twist to 45 degrees (another method for setting the tension actually .. and I use both).
I would also test the tension of the old belts using the allen key method before loosening anything, particularly if its your first time, just to get a bit of practice and a feel for the method.
Your old belts should look perfect .. anything less and you need to investigate why. I mark them vertical or horizontal before removing.
Oh and I always fit them so that the part number etc is the right way up to read .. it may help as it identifies the direction of rotation.
Can't think of any more.
I've done mine 5 or 6 times now. At first I was daunted as I was new to Ducatis and there is a bit of hype about the need for costly professional maintenance ... but its balderdash as far as belts are concerned.

Flip · 02-06-2016, 11:51 PM

Great advice already there but first of all of you haven't already get yourself a Haynes manual- we all joke about them but they do give you a good idea of whether you actually want to embark on any particular maintenance procedure before you start wielding the spanners.

There are a few ways of checking the belt tension but I think the Allen key method is probably the most popular (I favour the spring balance but probably as it was the first I found out about), but as Uptopia says there is nothing really mysterious about these motors. As well as marking the tensioners to get a rough idea I also put a little bit of white paint (or Tipex will do) on the pulley timing marks and their reference points just so it's easy to see that you're not a tooth out before you tighten it all up.

Just take your time, be methodical and check until you're happy it's right.

Another worthwhile read along with Chris Kelly's excellent info is here:
http://www.ducatisuite.com/belttension.html

Blah blah · 03-06-2016, 03:22 PM

The hardest part of changing belts is getting the covers off and back on again without scratching them...

Take your time, watch the you tube stuff and it's not that difficult

Wasta · 04-06-2018, 04:33 PM

Did mine on Friday, not to bad a job. As said, the covers are the hardest bit.

21-06-2018, 07:36 PM

Two years later and they’re due to be changed again. I didn’t do it myself last time after all and paid a trusted mechanic to do the job. I’d like to repaint the covers now and they’re tricky to get off as the oil pressure switch cable is really tight to get the top cover past. My question is......can this be removed from the casing to allow the top belt cover to be removed ? Thanks in advance for any advice on this guys.

Rally · 21-06-2018, 08:30 PM

Remove the two peep holes first, it makes it easier to remove the main covers. I did mine last week, it took about 45 mins in total. It's an easy job and no special tools needed.
The cheapest genuine belts I found were £75 including postage from Riders in Cardiff off eBay.

Flip · 21-06-2018, 08:53 PM

Don't forget there is the Exactfit option where the costs have become more attractive now the VAG group have put up most of the service item prices for the older bikes.

£67.95 a pair for the 600 plus if you pay by PayPal friends and family option Stu will knock 10% off that for you including signed for postage.

http://www.exactuk.com/exactfit-belt...price-payment/

I'm not on any kind of commission by the way

, just very impressed with the service and prices so far. Plus they are reputed to of better quality than the Ducati items.

Rally · 21-06-2018, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flip

Don't forget there is the Exactfit option where the costs have become more attractive now the VAG group have put up most of the service item prices for the older bikes.

£67.95 a pair for the 600 plus if you pay by PayPal friends and family option Stu will knock 10% off that for you including signed for postage.

http://www.exactuk.com/exactfit-belt...price-payment/

I'm not on any kind of commission by the way

, just very impressed with the service and prices so far. Plus they are reputed to of better quality than the Ducati items.

For that difference, I'd still go genuine. If wanted, apparently you can buy Gates belts that are the same but with Fiat printed on them for £15!

Flip · 21-06-2018, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rally

For that difference, I'd still go genuine. If wanted, apparently you can buy Gates belts that are the same but with Fiat printed on them for £15!

Yep I get it, assuming you're buying fresh belts and not just old stock the difference isn't so great on the 600- it's almost £30 difference for the 900's now which is ridiculous.

Before the VAG takeover the Exact belts were more expensive than genuine.

When I first changed them on my bike back in 2002 they were £25.00 a pair from a Ducati main dealer!!

Jez900ie · 21-06-2018, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flip

Yep I get it, assuming you're buying fresh belts and not just old stock the difference isn't so great on the 600- it's almost £30 difference for the 900's now which is ridiculous.

Before the VAG takeover the Exact belts were more expensive than genuine.

When I first changed them on my bike back in 2002 they were £25.00 a pair from a Ducati main dealer!!

I agree, Ducati & the Diesel scandalmongers are just gouging us for no good reason other than they can.

Flip · 22-06-2018, 12:22 PM

Genuine Ducati belts are no longer made by Gates apparently- make of that what you will but I bet it has to more with profit margins than quality hence them keeping to the two year change interval thus reducing the likelihood of belt failures.

Nickj · 22-06-2018, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscotland

Two years later and they’re due to be changed again. I didn’t do it myself last time after all and paid a trusted mechanic to do the job. I’d like to repaint the covers now and they’re tricky to get off as the oil pressure switch cable is really tight to get the top cover past. My question is......can this be removed from the casing to allow the top belt cover to be removed ? Thanks in advance for any advice on this guys.

The sensor wire clips into the top of the sensor so comes off easily, else I think there are connectors where it joins the main loom.
It is a remarkably simple job to do. On my old 750's even with the oil cooler line in the way it usually only took half an hour.

04-05-2019, 07:25 AM

Did the belts on my 1100S yesterday (first time on a Ducati).
When checking the service book, I found the belts were last changed by Ducati in 2014, for some reason I thought it was 2016.....
Anyway quick call to Ducati Glasgow -service kit ordered, and promptly changed following the info in this thread. Bit of a faff getting the vertical belt on, putting it on the at the crank pulley first and a bit of wiggling at the cam pulley and all good!

02-06-2016, 09:27 PM	#1
tomscotland Guest Posts: n/a	Timing belt change Time for change again as its two years since I had them done. How big a job is this to do yourself. My bike's a 95 600 monster.

02-06-2016, 11:51 PM	#4
Flip Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Beachtown Bike: M900 Posts: 2,188	Great advice already there but first of all of you haven't already get yourself a Haynes manual- we all joke about them but they do give you a good idea of whether you actually want to embark on any particular maintenance procedure before you start wielding the spanners. There are a few ways of checking the belt tension but I think the Allen key method is probably the most popular (I favour the spring balance but probably as it was the first I found out about), but as Uptopia says there is nothing really mysterious about these motors. As well as marking the tensioners to get a rough idea I also put a little bit of white paint (or Tipex will do) on the pulley timing marks and their reference points just so it's easy to see that you're not a tooth out before you tighten it all up. Just take your time, be methodical and check until you're happy it's right. Another worthwhile read along with Chris Kelly's excellent info is here: http://www.ducatisuite.com/belttension.html __________________ You're perfect, yes, it's true- But without me you're only you!

03-06-2016, 03:22 PM	#5
Blah blah Upsetting normal people.. Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Portreath Bike: S2r Posts: 833	The hardest part of changing belts is getting the covers off and back on again without scratching them... Take your time, watch the you tube stuff and it's not that difficult __________________ Power is nothing without control... I have neither !

04-06-2018, 04:33 PM	#6
Wasta Registered User Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Durham Bike: M900 Posts: 386	Did mine on Friday, not to bad a job. As said, the covers are the hardest bit. __________________ 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100RR 1998 M900 monster

21-06-2018, 08:53 PM	#9
Flip Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Beachtown Bike: M900 Posts: 2,188	Don't forget there is the Exactfit option where the costs have become more attractive now the VAG group have put up most of the service item prices for the older bikes. £67.95 a pair for the 600 plus if you pay by PayPal friends and family option Stu will knock 10% off that for you including signed for postage. http://www.exactuk.com/exactfit-belt...price-payment/ I'm not on any kind of commission by the way , just very impressed with the service and prices so far. Plus they are reputed to of better quality than the Ducati items. __________________ You're perfect, yes, it's true- But without me you're only you!

02-06-2016, 11:00 PM	#2
Zimbo Too much time on my hands member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Stonehouse, Glos Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 2,078	Pretty simple, should take you around half an hour. Mark the cam pulleys and crank pulley before removing the old belts so you don't disturb the timing, and make sure you get the belt tension correct, I use the 5 and 6 mm Allen key method.

02-06-2016, 11:30 PM	#3
utopia No turn left unstoned Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: leicester Bike: M750 Posts: 4,545	Its pretty easy really. Its often said that the hardest part is getting the belt covers off ... but that's because the oil cooler lines are in the way, and you don't have those. If you're reasonably confident doing general maintenance on the bike you should have no problem. Actually changing the belts is virtually foolproof. The only real tricky part is setting the tension as this requires a bit of mechanical "feel". Chris Kelly shows you how in this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vzPZ84ZRjU Another popular (?) method to set the tension is to measure the frequency of the belt when you twang it, using a guitar tuner or suitable phone app. I use the allen key method that Chris demonstrates. Whichever method you use, I would say that, if in doubt, make sure that the belts are a little loose rather than too tight. Check that the idler and tensioner rollers are smooth running while you're in there, as failure will be devastating. And you'll probably need a torque wrench. Be a little wary of the tensioner bolts .. some folk are ham-fisted enough to chew those up. Turn the engine over to the correct position by selecting a gear and turning the back wheel .. so you'll also need a paddock stand. For fine adjustment I find that its best to "knock" it into the final position using the slack in the transmission rather than use a steady turn on the wheel, which invariably overshoots. I always mark the position of the tensioners before I loosen them (using a fibre tip pen). That way you can be reassured when you tension the new belts and are then able to observe that the marks line up roughly as before. I would also recommend having a good fiddle with the old belts before you disturb anything, twisting them at their midpoint and observing that they (should) twist to 45 degrees (another method for setting the tension actually .. and I use both). I would also test the tension of the old belts using the allen key method before loosening anything, particularly if its your first time, just to get a bit of practice and a feel for the method. Your old belts should look perfect .. anything less and you need to investigate why. I mark them vertical or horizontal before removing. Oh and I always fit them so that the part number etc is the right way up to read .. it may help as it identifies the direction of rotation. Can't think of any more. I've done mine 5 or 6 times now. At first I was daunted as I was new to Ducatis and there is a bit of hype about the need for costly professional maintenance ... but its balderdash as far as belts are concerned.

21-06-2018, 07:36 PM	#7
tomscotland Guest Posts: n/a	Two years later and they’re due to be changed again. I didn’t do it myself last time after all and paid a trusted mechanic to do the job. I’d like to repaint the covers now and they’re tricky to get off as the oil pressure switch cable is really tight to get the top cover past. My question is......can this be removed from the casing to allow the top belt cover to be removed ? Thanks in advance for any advice on this guys.

21-06-2018, 08:30 PM	#8
Rally Taking life easy........ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Wiltshire Bike: Other Not a Ducati Posts: 1,969	Remove the two peep holes first, it makes it easier to remove the main covers. I did mine last week, it took about 45 mins in total. It's an easy job and no special tools needed. The cheapest genuine belts I found were £75 including postage from Riders in Cardiff off eBay.

22-06-2018, 12:22 PM	#13
Flip Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Beachtown Bike: M900 Posts: 2,188	Genuine Ducati belts are no longer made by Gates apparently- make of that what you will but I bet it has to more with profit margins than quality hence them keeping to the two year change interval thus reducing the likelihood of belt failures. __________________ You're perfect, yes, it's true- But without me you're only you!

04-05-2019, 07:25 AM	#15
Recardo Guest Posts: n/a	Did the belts on my 1100S yesterday (first time on a Ducati). When checking the service book, I found the belts were last changed by Ducati in 2014, for some reason I thought it was 2016..... Anyway quick call to Ducati Glasgow -service kit ordered, and promptly changed following the info in this thread. Bit of a faff getting the vertical belt on, putting it on the at the crank pulley first and a bit of wiggling at the cam pulley and all good!