Parts For Timing Belt Replacement

[Woton]

Plan to be a bit proactive on the 97 Tourer at 52K during this coming off-season and hope to do a timing belt replacement.  Am planning to purchase 2 belts, 2 tensioners, 2 tensioner springs.  Figure I probably should purchase a cover gasket, and Partzilla says it takes two of these.  That doesn't seem right - is this correct?

I understand many folks use aftermarket belts.  I've made no decision yet on this, and comments on ALL of the above are welcomed.

[Rio Wil]

Don't bother....save your money for gas...... These engines are very easy on timing belts, easily last 100K and even then show little wear or cracking. I replaced mine at 100K out of guilt and not necessity, the manual says "check" at 100K. Idlers and tensioners last forever, don't replace unless you have a noisy bearing. Might take a look just for peace of mind, maybe clean off the little particle of rubber that might be clinging to the surface of the idlers. As I remember, one of the bolts in the cover requires a sealer on the threads.......careful on the bolts, you can break them.....when you do replace the belts, buy them from Napa Auto parts for about $15 bucks.......search the archives for the Napa number...

[98valk]

EPA regulations have required since 1997 that ANY engine part which would affect the efficient operation of the engine so that emissions stay as designed MUST LAST 100K miles.
this includes timing belts.
Under hood heat and exposure to environment helps to deteriorate a belt. The Valkyrie engine sees neither.
This is a bullet proof engine as proven by Goldwing riders for yrs, follow what they do. Same for oil changes, honda reccomends 8k miles changes using regular oil. Why would Honda reccomend this if they warranty the bike for 7 yrs?

[R J]

Here is a list of generic items that can be substituted on the Phat Guhl.

I have 243K+ miles on my belts.     I check them every 100K.

       http://www.jkozloski.com/generic_parts.htm

[wingrider02]

Something I have often wondered about the timing belts on these engines....in a car, it seems you have a mileage or time frame, yet on the bikes, it is 100k.  I personally have never seen a belt fail due to age, but why wouldn't it be the same as a car? 

I only have 40k on my 01 that I just picked up, but have thought about doing the belts...maybe it has just been drilled into my head from the old Wings that I run.

[Woton]

Great input, Guys...  I know that Daniel Meyer also agrees with those saying to hold off.

Just FYI... The wife cut down a rear tire on her 2009 Yamaha Stratoliner at this year's Inzane in Asheville, NC.  We went to the event-sponsoring dealership for the replacement.  VERY impressive shop with several Valks in their showroom display area for sale and some they said "you don't have enough money to buy"  - and they even had what I recall was a 1999 black Standard still in the crate which I had never seen before

Anyway, while the guys were replacing the wife's tire I was chatting with the owner about my Valk.  He told me specifically that "If you do ANYTHING to this bike you need to change the timing belts."  He said it wasn't the mileage but simply the age of the 17+ year old belt.

Again, I try to be proactive - ordering parts during the year on a monthly basis to spread costs and then having work done during the off-season by my moonlighting Honda shop buddy.

But, it sounds like the consensus is that this is money that does not need to be spent at this time...

[Lyle Laun]

I did the belts on 3 of my Valks. On one the belts looked bad and needed changed (50,000 miles). The second one also needed belts (120,000 miles). The third one maybe didn't need the belts replaced but one belt was so loose it was almost falling off (55,000 miles). The tensioners were good on all three bikes. I'm now of the opinion that belt replacement is a cheap way to get some piece of mind.

[Brian]

Tensioner pulleys can be rebuilt for around $25 each. I did one 8,000 miles ago and no problem. Check the search section here. I have pictures posted. The Gates pulley is by far better made than the OEM they sell for around $80 each. You can google search it too. The article I used was written by a Goldwing owner. I did this rebuild just for grins and took off a new replacement OEM. I bought my gates pulleys thru amazon bought two at $17 each and got free shipping. I have tensioner parts that will outlast me and/or the bike what ever comes first. 

[gordonv]

I bought my Goldwing last year Feb. 60K miles. Only changed the belt because of their age, and unknown history on a 25 year old bike.

Used Gates belts bought from NAPA.

Removed belts. No sign of wear, cracking or anything. Looked almost as good as the new belts, just a little dirtier.

I agree with the others. Wait till you hear noise with regards to the pulleys. The Valk is easier to do than the GW, no plastic to move first.

The choice is all yours.

As for what should be done on a New To You Valkyrie, I would say the FIRST thing any new owner should do is the rear spline greasing (drive shaft back).

[R J]

As for what should be done on a New To You Valkyrie, I would say the FIRST thing any new owner should do is the rear spline greasing (drive shaft back).

I totally agree on the above suggestion.

As far as belts go, I have only changed the belts so far once, in 243K+ miles.

That was at around 190K, had a tensioner start to squeal, and like a fool, I ordered a new tensioner, big bucks from HDL.

If another tensioner goes out, I will rebuild it.