821 Timing belts

[GreasySnipe]

Well, I had a really weird suspicion something wasn't right about my Monster 821's timing belt that the dealer reportedly replaced before I received the motorcycle. No they were never replaced and no RTV is not a good replacement for the horizontal head exhaust gasket. It also helps if the nuts are tightened down all the way too- that really cuts down on exhaust leaks..
New belts, I felt very little tension(no hz reading) and the edges kinda don't look healthy


New vertical belt with the alignment tool


New horizontal belt with the alignment tool


Hz readings, I use the gates app, pluck the belt like a guitar string and get the average that is in spec.


Horizontal exhaust rtv mess from dealer, yep fun to clean but motorcycle ran wonderful after it was fixed.


An example of why you don't just follow the paint marks and know where the cams should be- cam slots should look like this on both heads if correct. Paint marks/dots are not aligned. refer to the tech manual and do yourself a favor and get the right tools- Yeah it can be done without but yeah its harder and takes more time.

[Howie]

Disaster avoided