[africajim]

Hi all, well, with having a bit of spare time on my hands as I wait for my new job to start I've been busy with the Garden, getting my Africa Twin back on the road and now I've moved on to my old Cagiva Elefant! The bike has sat for over a year with very little been done to it so thought I'd make a start at these damned Ducati timing belts! I stripped the bike down today and found you don't need the engine out, just needs an engine mount removed to get into the belts. Unfortunately the pulleys are rusty with sitting for almost a decade in storage so I've stopped while I decide to try cleaning the adjusters or replace them. Just thought I'd share a couple of pics from today's caper! Here's the old Elefant in bits, a nice bike to work on really! Here's a pic showing the dreaded timing belts everyone goes on about Amazing how the bike shines up, that belly pan's no stranger to a tube of Autosol! It must have been loved at one time! Check this box to be notified of replies to this topic. Note: BBcode and smileys are still usable.

Honda, the power of dreams.

 

[Paul-S]

Stan's just had his MOT'd

 

[africajim]

Hi Paul, yes Stanbloke told me on Facebook yesterday, that sort of spurred me into getting on with mine!

 

[Mahout]

@Africajim,

From personal experience I would replace the belt tensioner rollers, idler rollers and the bolts which secure the tensioners to the barrels. My local Duc dealer had the bits in stock, not that expensive and it's peace of mind once it's been done. Are you doing the shims as well??

regards

Mahout
(ex E750 6B owner)

 

[africajim]

I plan to give them a check while I have the tank off, the bike is just getting a quick service, a set of tyres and put back on the road, I'm not sure if I'm keeping the bike so don't plan on spending too much on it.
I only bought it as a project to get it back on the road rather than break it. These old bikes cost so much to restore and you never get your money back on them so I'm unwilling to spend a fortune on it. I'll price the rollers but the originals just have surface rust on them and are cleaning up ok.
We'll see!

 

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Nice project Jim.
Is it feasible to fire the bike up & take for a run before deciding on the pulleys?
A light spray of wd40 can soften the outer slightly (used it on big combine V belts after the winter lay up to stop them screeching & squawking on the dry rusty pulleys)

The pulleys may clean up ok but what about their bearings?

Phil