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Ducati Timing Belt

Discussion in 'Other Motorcycles' started by Franz, Aug 7, 2019.

  1. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Just wondered if anyone had seen this, if anyone has a Ducati?

     
  2. Dave in Ireland

    Dave in Ireland Well-Known Member

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    I'd simply trust a Gates belt, for half the price.
    Never been let down by a Gates in any application.
     
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  3. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Timing chain, or even better gear driven timing!!!

    (Our chocolate machines use V belts, we get them in Kevlar, sometimes from the V belt manufacturer......they break......eventually!!)
     
  4. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    I always thought what if they ( Yamaha) had done a gear driven cam set up.....and maybe even gear driven alternator...., this motor might TRULY be just about unburstable!!, .but then again, I'd always hoped the XJ would have evolved into a better 3 pot XS......instead of 4!!
     
  5. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Yes I fitted a Gates timing belt kit on a Vauxhall Astra recently. There is a opening betweeen the grarbox and flywheel so I could fit a locking tool into the flywheel teeth and lock the crankshaft and then lock cams with another locking tool. Easy job that was. I think Gates supply belts for INA kits too.
     
  6. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    On the newer machines with the cam chain on the end of the crankshaft I assume the chain can be changed with minimum work and with an endless chain?
     
  7. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Not even 'newer' my '84 900R Kawasaki 'Ninja' had a side cam chain, and yes, it could be easily changed without having to 'split' the soft link....!!
     
  8. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Is that the one that did around 140 K miles? Great setup with the chain on the end of the engine.
     
  9. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    YES, but the design of the cam chain/rotating cams wasn't the reason it 'died' at 140K

    Firstly....it also ate it's inlet valve guides/head at less than 100K miles.....( but this was replaced, by Kawasaki UK)

    Secondly.....I was a motorcycle courier, for some 15 years, and this particular Kawasaki, whilst not used exclusively was in my 'stable'...it was abused, crashed, track and road raced, both in the UK and abroad, maintained ( In a somewhat mechanically sympathetic fashion) by me....and others .......but often , you would find yourself running...12-18 hour days/nights, with little 'downtime' for maintenance.....especially in the Winter months.

    It also got FULLY used, meaning it did spend a good amount of its time close to the redline...even in 6th, weather/police/road conditions notwithstanding < the nature of the job, often, Time x The Amount of 'Jobs' you could process in a day = Money, whether you had earned enough for crashes, maintainence, bills, food, etc, etc....you didn't HAVE to always ride at 8 to 10/10ths......but sometimes you were 'obliged' to!!

    Yes, it certainly could be a completely 'crazy' way to earn a living, but often ( we had people as diverse as .....criminals and college lecturers working a bike couriers) 'needs must when the devils drives' was most of the riders/drivers unofficial mantra...

    I'd always assumed, if it was a 'normally used' motorcycle it would probably have gone around the clock, twice ( SOME of my despatch/courier bikes did, most noticeably my XJ's)

    It ate its crank in part because I had become perfunctory in cleaning out the sump (oil pan) strainer (it had also continued to run, on its side, after crashes MORE than once!!)
     
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  10. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Yes l know it didn't die because of the design of the cam chain etc. The fact it did all of the running you refer to just demonstrates how tough the Kawasaki engine is. You must have covered lots of miles doing that job.
     
  11. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Well.....we did have ONE courier ( well, more than one, in my 15+ years) who was a bit of a 'pedantic'?, he reckoned he'd done well over a million miles......in about the same time frame.....I once did a 1200 + mile day, that was a non stop '24' hour run, which one of my comrades did, for another desptach co, about 4 years later.......he fell asleep, literally 5 miles from his house, hit the back of a lorry (truck) and died........

    4-600 mile days were all too common, usually Nov-April.....when the warmer weather came, lots of companies closed down, for summer hols' etc....

    After I'd done it,( the 24 hour run) I swore I would never do it again......though yes, I do have some horrible injuries sustained....ahem, testicles/stitches (courtesy of a Nurse pulling out on me, of all people!), Lorry 'floated' my knee cap once, when it too pulled straight across me on a roundabout....I had right of way, but....a few were sadly 'self inflicted' too, lol!

    It was a then....very different 'job' from anything I've ever done.......a lot of us stepped in to cover 'between' real jobs.....and simply got sucked in to the general environment, the camaraderie was mostly great, the money COULD be amazing.......but the attrition rate on both bikes and bodies was horrendous !!, I'm glad I did it though, looking back..... it was the most ridiculous, most dangerous, most tiring, most satisfying,.... most fun job I think I've ever had !!

    PS where in Jockland are you, I used tae live in Dundee?......in fact after my (first) divorce my kids were still there for a number of years, so I'd often be 'gifted' North> Scotland jobs by one of my (female, as it happened) bosses, so I could 'kill two birds with one stone' so to speak!!
     
  12. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Yes dangerous job you did l am the construction industry had a few dangerous instances. Shame about you mate. I am near Glasgow. I used to go up north for fly fishing and did a bit of shooting too but that was a long time ago. A wee escape from my wife lol. I used to go to Knockhill to watch the motorcycle racing years ago but l have never covered the distances you have done. Hope you have a safer job now.
     
  13. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Construction can be bloody dangerous mate!!

    Yes, been to Knockhill a bunch of times, some bloody good races up there !!

    The wee lassie is in Kirkcaldy, t'other one is in Port Jefferson, NY !!

    You have the XJ900F??, looks like it....?
     
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  14. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Yes it's a 1991 bike currently in bits until l get the time to rebuild it. Got a cousin in Kirkcaldy he has a Yamaha too.
     
  15. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Why in bits??
    Sincerely hope its NOT an ex despatch bike!!

    Wait.....'91....when did the Divvy come out? ( Diversion 900)

    Don't think the Yanks < us lot, lol, ever got that one...?
     
  16. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    I took the bike apart to clean the frame and repaint it. It all started when a careless driver hit me at 2mph picking away at a roundabout and the bike suffered minor damage. So I decided to dismantle it and fix it up which is time and money dependent. I thing the Divvy was launched in 1996. Here is my XJ.

    1991 Yamaha XJ 900f resized.jpg

    You have probably seen my bike on the forum before. It's getting a new cam chain, starter clutch, alternator chain guide, and possibly the alternator chain too. Better doing everything when I split the cases. I am sure it is not an ex dispatch bike, it has been looked after and the engine internals look clean from what I can ascertain so far. No the Diversion 900S was not imported into the US as far as I know.
     
  17. Dave in Ireland

    Dave in Ireland Well-Known Member

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    Did exactly that, and got sucked into it for 8 years and more.

    A friend in the same game got a low-milage XJ900F, covered it in gaffer tape and ran it for four years. When he traded it in for a new-(er) Concourse he took all the tape off and it was like new underneath, which helped with the trade-in price. He'd always been very particular about servicing and repairs, using only Mobil-1 for example, so the high mileage wasn't showing in any of the mechanicals.
    The only thing that went wrong was the usual starter chain, but he sorted that in a weekend.
    A couple of years later, he met the new owner - another courier, who'd put another 100K on it, and it still looked and ran well.
    The mileage on it when he'd traded in was about 250,000, but the 200 didn't show. The dealer simply sold it off as a 'high-mileage' cheapy. Made me snort a bit.
    Anyway, that thing did to our reckoning at least 350,000 miles, plus whatever mileage wasn't recorded during times of broken speedo cables, etc.

    Btw, the Concourse was a bag of nails, which he regretted buying. Needed a complete top-end on it, due to bad oil gallery design wrecking the cams. Later ones sorted it out, but that one was on the verge of trouble and he didn't spot it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2019
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