Ducati Monster Forum

I don't need belts just yet
 but thinking about ordering some and putting away for later as they are on sale  
at CA Cycelworks . DS1000 quoted price is US$42 each seems like a good buy. [thumbsup]
What say ye on non genuine parts?
I did read on a previous thread with mixed feelings .
Also gives me a chance to throw one of these on for peace of mind and at $20 bucks well worth it .After reading some horror stories of damage from a broken chain   :o
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff57/ohana181/case_saver.jpg)
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff57/ohana181/1288567022381.jpg)

Maybe a group buy ?

For what it's worth, Chris Kelly (CA Cycleworks) is a real stand up guy. I always shop from them when in need of OEM replacements.

I think I remember quite a few people on the DMF who have posted about the exact-fit belts and have nothing but good to say about them. Try doing a search.

Top idea  [thumbsup]

I think we tried some time back to do something similar, but with the Aussie Dollar at or close to parity I think its time to have another look





                                       Mmick

Okay I did some searching and reading as duc750 suggested .
I am going to order sets of belts for both my bikes oops sorry mine and the Missus
early next week as both bikes have similar Ks and will both be due before too long.
I am also going to grab case savers.
If anyone is interested PM me we can exchange banking details and I can maybe save us some shipping charges the more the merrier . [thumbsup]

I have just put a set on - I am taking the bike back to the guy who serviced it at about 5000km.  This is just a precautionary measure as he has never used them and just wants to check the tension (I like that kind of customer service [thumbsup]).

The only other thing to consider is warranty.  If there is a failure of the belt it is obviously easier to get Ducati OEM warranty here than CA - but I would hope never to experience that!!

Oh yeah isn't there a shelf life for belts anyhow?  I mean they normally have a life of 2yrs or 10000km.  They have a manufacturing date on them so I would assume it would be bad to have them hanging around for too long?

I am quite obviously far from an expert on these things ... and I don't for a minute think that these things don't have a 'shelf life' ... but I thought the biggest issue (in terms of life expectancy) was having them held in tension as opposed to sitting on a shelf. Even worse if they sit tensioned without moving for long periods of time.

Dez, do you plan on doing the belts yourself ... or fronting up and hoping your friendly mechanic is not offended?

i would guess they do have a shelf life, but as betty has said, they suffer most when on the bike under tension, particularly on 2 valve bikes with just one pulley to sit over, meaning a tighter radius, and if left in the one place they can/sometimes do, crack causing failure from time to time.
   Some are still fitting genuine belts with white lettering (red lettering signifies kevlar in the woven belt) and they haven't been sold by ducati in yonks!

paul.

ok so you have them sitting on a shelf in the shed, but wouldnt environmental conditions also come in to effect?  I mean you would put them in a cupboard in the dark and cooler conditions.  Exposure to light and heat would effect the life?  Wouldnt the rubber age? Or would that be such a minor variance that you could buy them now and still be confident using them 2 or more years down the track?


How long ago was that and does that mean they are still good to use after so many years?

I am only asking as per the original post I too was thinking as the Aussie dollar is good value, however, I have just replaced mine and dont want to buy belts now that in either a year or two will be crap?  Sorry if this seems to be annoying questions... :)

I do believe there is a shelf life but as mentioned before it's much worse to have them tensioned on a bike than to have them on a shelf. If you're changing your belts every 10k/km you should be fine. Afterall, they don't make the belts to order, they have them sitting on a shelf until someone orders them.   [thumbsup]

I'm in for a set of belts, if there's a group buy on.
 [thumbsup]

If going ahead with group buy
I'll go for belts & case saver thanks

If i can't ride it I might as well work on it [bang]

I've just changed my belts using the CA exact fit belts not a big job at all, so much easier than car timing belts.

main thing is read/watch how to do it mark the points, and check the tension Chris's vid give you a great method to do this:

Ducatitech.com "HowTo" Ducati Timing Belt Change (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vzPZ84ZRjU#normal)

Also if you in doubt about the strength check this out:

Ducatitech.com: ExactFit Timing Belts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5ZCZ5DqgL4#normal)
and
Ducatitech.com: ExactFit Timing Belt Tensile Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80yCiFkOB9g#normal)

FYI the check out process on the CA sites shop is a little clumsy but the delivery cost are fair.

oh and look out for your Chocolate ;)

Okay we have a couple of  DMF's interested
I don't mind organizing a group buy so easiest way would be go to the
C.A. Cycleworks site here  https://www.ca-cycleworks.com/exactfit/ (https://www.ca-cycleworks.com/exactfit/)
pick your belts ,have the part number ,your postal address on paper, cash to cover the
cost plus $20 to cover post to Australia & currency conversion and say $ 7-9 for me to send them to your house.
If you can let me know well before the next group ride 5th December for ordering then payment.

I have sent them an email for an estimated shipping cost before I go any further with this
to make sure I do not charge you to much or too little..
Dez

you can also get the same belts from brad black

http://www.bikeboy.org/products.html (http://www.bikeboy.org/products.html)

depending on what the exchange rate is at the time as stuff i have bought in the last couple of weeks has been between 95 and 98  and what the shipping is , there prob wont be much in it

Brad may give a group discount ? ;)

also remember your total spend including shipping must be under $1K or you could cop import and gst

My bike has belts from CA they were put on at the last service by D-Moto and came from Brad Black who as far as I know is bringing them in at a fair price.
I have no problem having them on that they are not OEM can't really go back to Ducati and say my bike is screwed cause I didn't use OEM belts it's a little bit out of warranty! 

I had some of these put on at my last service just before MotoGP Phillip Island trip. I'm sure my mechanic got them from Brad Black. Mechanic has no concerns at all.

My belts were changed after 2yrs and 10K and according to my mechanic, could have stayed on their for a lot more.

I think the 20K / 2yr rule is overkill but keeps us buying belts out of fear of what might happen if we don't.

I had a car with these type of cambelts once. Manual said to change them at 100K.

I like the Brad Black idea, the price seems more than fair, and we support local supplier.
What about a group buy off Brad?
If thats ok by you Mr Two Dogs





                              Mmick

No drama  [thumbsup]
Brad have a price list available online ?

erm in the link i posted previous

Ahhhmm well now don,t I feel foolish  [roll]
Brads web site on page one reveals all  [thumbsup]

So there appears to be no great saving in my project of a group buy direct from CA Cyclworks
by the time shipping and exchange rate and re posting so this thread appears to be a time waster.
I will leave it up to interested parties to pursue there own..........so you can all go and belt youselves  [laugh]

Brad Black is in Vic-bloody-toria isnt he?

Why not organise a group buy for NSW or even Sydney area?

Does Brad have those case savers?





                                        Mmick

Hey everyone!

I just found out about this thread - - lots of great questions and thoughts in here! :) I hope you don't mind if I reply with some of my thoughts and experience.

We are buying the belts from a US Company with decades of experience in the automotive and industrial belt industry ( V-belts and timing belts ). The president of their corporation has been to our facility 3 times over the past couple years. Del's experience with timing belts is much more than mine is with Ducatis and his depth of knowledge is incredible. Bringing our ExactFit belts to market has been quite the journey! He is overseeing their manufacture at the world's largest belt manufacturing facility, which is in China. They have the capacity to make 80,000 timing belts per day as well as a staggering 800,000 V-belts per day.


If belts are stored in a dry place without exposure to sunlight, they have an infinite shelf life. Every year, Del will store away belts (in plastic) so that he can test and re-test them every following year. He said that after doing this for the last 9 years, the belts will eventually “cure” and he is quite pleased with their construction. The fibers in belts absorb water, but on a very small scale. This will cause the belts to become longer.

There have been some long conversations about this. The belts are “supposed” to lose their tight spots within 30 seconds. The belts do not (or are not supposed to) be affected by sitting in an engine with tension, not running.

That is my plan, actually. I want the belts to help support local dealers. My aim is that the belts are the same price no matter how or where purchased.

We have a Multistrada customer who rides all the time, so we got back his first set of belts and sent them in to our man...

. . . and this customer says his next set is going 20,000 miles.


This is the biggest topic with our belts:

I absolutely agree. I have NO reason, cause, belief, factual idea, or clue why the belts should be changed with such an aggressive interval.

But. . .  What if? Timing belts are unbelieveably strong. Much much stronger than they need to be to run our cams. BUT until I can understand more about how and why they fail, I am recommending factory maintenance intervals. I believe that everyone agrees 2 yr / 12k miles to be very safe.

Thanks for reading all this. We very much appreciate everyones' support,
Chris

for some reason my link to the dmf is no longer working so in addition to having no internet access for two weeks after moving house i had to google the forum to find it again.  so i'm coming in late.

most of my belt sales are wholesale, so you may find the belts local to many of you anyway.  people who i sell them to are as follows (in no particular order).  the top 7 buy in "stock on the shelf" quantities.

d moto
desmo clinic
gowanlochs
moto italia
italspares
ducati brisbane
road and race
ross allison
coast yamaha
bike factory

i'm more than happy to sell retail (as i make more money that way!), but i will sell to any bike shop if you want to directly support the person who is working on your bike.

sell to anyone else in brisbane brad? i refuse to put one more cent in that guys pocket.

paul.

buy em straight from Brad and he'll ship em to you!

my bikes got em....and the wheels still turn so everything is  [thumbsup]

thanks to both Chris and Brad weghing in on this topic! Awesome to have your input

Thanks Chris for that well timed information, er..sorry about the pun.

Its good to get reliable information about a product.

And Brad too  [thumbsup]





                                       Mmick

paul

i'll wholesale them to anyone who is a legitimate business.  the pricing is as attractive as i can make it and still have it worthwhile, altho with the lower than genuine retail price the margin per belt in $ terms is less for some than the margin a shop would make selling genuine belts. 

no worries brad, not too concerned about the price, i haven't been in there to ask (and never will!) i'll be buying them at retail so i'll call you and buy direct, if you're happy to post em to me.

paul.

will post no worries, but my point was i'll sell to your shop of choice if you'd like to support them too.