Ducati Monster Forum

I keep seeing the comment that Ducati belts have kevlar

I have a new pair of belts (for 800cc) marked Ducati, and Gates Powergrip HTD.

Gates says they are fibreglass reinforced.

?

Greetings ducatiz!

Before I bought my 796, had a long chat one quiet afternoon with Donnie just before closing time. As part of the pitch and general discussion, he mentioned both Kevlar belts and harder valve shims as reasons for the longer service intervals on the newer bikes. Possibly he got that at a dealer meeting, so no idea either whether it's true or whether these belts fit older bikes.

As a matter of interest, my owners manual still lists belt renewal at 2 years, but now 15,000 miles. Why they couldn't extend the interval to three years is beyond me if they really were Kevlar. Back in the day, I always changed mine at about three years anyway when black "powder" started to collect under the covers; (600 SL, 750 Paso Limited, 851). Go figure!

Regards,

William

Donnie just happened to be working on a race bike today for next weekend and called me back on another matter..., so I posed your question.

He says, "The new bikes have the Kevlar belts and are called Red Letter belts because they have red lettering", so that's the way you can tell.

Hmmm.. red letters you say?

(http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/ducatiz/DMF/1f4b9ab9.jpg)
(http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/ducatiz/DMF/61a14ae6.jpg)

"Gates Powergrip HTD"

http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?domain=gates.pt&command=locate&category=htd_pg (http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?domain=gates.pt&command=locate&category=htd_pg)

lol so there!

Go figure! Is your 800 belt the same part number as the newer bikes? Is yours there a Ducati factory-supplied belt?

If not, maybe plug the new bike part number into the search and see what comes up? I see Gates DO make SOME Kevlar belts!  ;)

Regards

the 796 abs's belt part number is 737.4.024.2A

no idea where to look to find out the construction though.

Do they have a manufacturers name on them?

sorry, didnt pull the belt covers off, just pulled the parts numbers out of the parts manual.

ive heard the same thing with kevlar. Red lettering are the newer models. you should ask chris kelly he would defintely know.

You're comparing regular over-the-counter Gates HTD belts with Made-for-Ducati-ONLY belts.

No reason to assume much of anything is the same.

I disagree.  Gates does have similar spec kevlar belts.  Why would they put the Powergrip HTD logo on them?

This is OT (weird) but these belts are the same kind that go into sewing machines. I am guessing Gates has the timing belt market cornered in the EU.

Gates is only one of a half dozen companies that make these belts.

Goodyear Veyance also makes similar belts.  They are used on a variety of machines.

Powergrip and HTD are trademarks owned by Gates:

http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/powergrip/29238685 (http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/powergrip/29238685)
http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/powergrip+htd/29436631 (http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/powergrip+htd/29436631)
http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/htd/29282376 (http://manufacturing.zibb.com/trademark/htd/29282376)

Why would they *not* put the Powergrip HTD logo on the belts?

You're saying the equivalent of "Every box that has 'Band-Aid' on it has the exact same contents".

I've dealt directly with Gates on belts and pulleys, they strictly control who is legally allowed to manufacture them.
They are protective of their trademarks.

I've dissected an OEM Ducati Gates belt, IMO the fibers are Kevlar or the like, not fiberglass.

Of course it's a trademark, but it's a trademark of a particular product they offer.

Because the Powergrip HTD is a fibreglass belt and therefore, inferior to a kevlar braced belt.  That's why.

Why not put the Powergrip GT logo on it?  Or Powergrip GT2?  Those are also trademarks owned by Gates and the GT2 is actually a kevlar reinforced belt.

It's really academic, I think.  I'll just call the Gates rep.  :-)