Timing belts photos

[..]

Recent posts here and elsewhere have got my tin foil hat slightly skewed.
I decided to take a look at mine.

After thoroughly cursing whoever last put the cover on the belts were revealed.

Are these Honda original belts?

They appear to be in pretty good condition?








As others have mentioned the inside of the cover had a thin black coating.

Good opportunity to give the cover a much needed clean in the usually inaccessible parts. Those areas will get a wax schmearing before reinstallation.

[Jess from VA]

Most belts, even used (like mine) are black.

I don't know where you can buy desert tan belts.   

That looks like the famous GA red clay. 

I can't tell if they are original or not.

As far as I know Honda OE and Gates are the same belts.   

[..]

Most belts, even used (like mine) are black.

I don't know where you can buy desert tan belts.   

That looks like the famous GA red clay. 

I can't tell if they are original or not.

As far as I know Honda OE and Gates are the same belts.   

Some dust seals are better than others. Added up it's been on about 250 miles of forest roads.

[CoreyP]

That belt looks perfectly good to me. I'm also thinking you got some red clay there, stuff gets everywhere. Looks like the tension is right.

My 2001 is up to about 40K and I think it has the original timing belts on it. I'm wondering if just because of age I should replace the belts. Looks easy compared to a car to change out. I did some reading on this forum and the answer were all over the place.

I'm going to check the belts just in case but I probably won't change them out?

[..]

That belt looks perfectly good to me. I'm also thinking you got some red clay there, stuff gets everywhere. Looks like the tension is right.

My 2001 is up to about 40K and I think it has the original timing belts on it. I'm wondering if just because of age I should replace the belts. Looks easy compared to a car to change out. I did some reading on this forum and the answer were all over the place.

I'm going to check the belts just in case but I probably won't change them out?

I've been told by one person that tan was the OEM color.???

[Valker]

That belt looks perfectly good to me. I'm also thinking you got some red clay there, stuff gets everywhere. Looks like the tension is right.

My 2001 is up to about 40K and I think it has the original timing belts on it. I'm wondering if just because of age I should replace the belts. Looks easy compared to a car to change out. I did some reading on this forum and the answer were all over the place.

I'm going to check the belts just in case but I probably won't change them out?

I've been told by one person that tan was the OEM color.???

Nope. Mine were black.

[Relax]

If any doubt at all, replace it to get peace on mind 
 

[DGS65]

My 98 tourer had black belts from the factory I replaced them with black gates belts.  I still only have about 5000 miles but I changed the belts based on the age of the bike.

[Jess from VA]

It looks to me like they used to be black.

[98valk]

age has zero to due with replacing the belts, if it did, Honda would have required them to be changed. The belt materials do not degrade with age.

I believe this is the family of Gates belts the timing belts are.

https://www.gates.com/us/en/power-transmission/synchronous-belts/rubber-synchronous-belts/powergrip-gt-3-belts/p/9356-000000-000000

[Grandpot]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

[..]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

Yep, I need to get those ordered.

[Jess from VA]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

Yep, I need to get those ordered.

There is apparently a way to rebuild the pulleys for a quarter or third the price of new ones.  Big BF did that at my house on both bikes a few years ago.  I watched him do it, but probably could not do it right myself.  There may be some info on this on here, somewhere.  

[98valk]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

Yep, I need to get those ordered.

There is apparently a way to rebuild the pulleys for a quarter or third the price of new ones.  Big BF did that at my house on both bikes a few years ago.  I watched him do it, but probably could not do it right myself.  There may be some info on this on here, somewhere.  

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,103544.0.html

[98valk]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

not your average timing belt,  they are the powergrip belts which are designed for 24/7 industrial operations.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=295870

Construction consists of these components:1.  Fiberglass Tensile Member — Provides high strength, excel-lent flex life and high resistance to elongation.2.  Neoprene® Backing — Strong Neoprene bonded to the tensile member for protection against grime, oil and moisture. It also protects from frictional wear if idlers are used on the back of the belt.3.  Neoprene Teeth — Shear-resistant Neoprene compound is molded integrally with the Neoprene backing. They are precisely formed and accurately spaced to assure smooth meshing with the sprocket grooves.4.  Nylon Facing — Tough nylon fabric with a low coefficient of friction covers the wearing surfaces of the belt. It protects the tooth surfaces and provides a durable wearing surface for long service.

[Grandpot]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

not your average timing belt,  they are the powergrip belts which are designed for 24/7 industrial operations.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=295870

Construction consists of these components:1.  Fiberglass Tensile Member — Provides high strength, excel-lent flex life and high resistance to elongation.2.  Neoprene® Backing — Strong Neoprene bonded to the tensile member for protection against grime, oil and moisture. It also protects from frictional wear if idlers are used on the back of the belt.3.  Neoprene Teeth — Shear-resistant Neoprene compound is molded integrally with the Neoprene backing. They are precisely formed and accurately spaced to assure smooth meshing with the sprocket grooves.4.  Nylon Facing — Tough nylon fabric with a low coefficient of friction covers the wearing surfaces of the belt. It protects the tooth surfaces and provides a durable wearing surface for long service.

Are you saying these belts will never fail?  Nothing lasts forever.

[John Schmidt]

As I've stated on here in the past, an old Wing mechanic once told me the belts are guaranteed for the life of the engine.....you break a belt, that's the life of your engine. Personally I've always followed the 50K miles approach for replacement unless I happen to be in there for some other reason, at which time I'll switch them out. Generally speaking, these belts are designed for heavier duty application than their function on our motors. That still doesn't keep me from changing them as stated.

[98valk]

Unless there is a tooth missing, the appearance of a belt does not reveal its true condition.  They go from looking good to being broken without warning.  It's a good practice to replace them periodically.  The other piece that needs changing is the idler pulley.  They only fail when they are working.  Change them when you change the belts.

not your average timing belt,  they are the powergrip belts which are designed for 24/7 industrial operations.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=295870

Construction consists of these components:1.  Fiberglass Tensile Member — Provides high strength, excel-lent flex life and high resistance to elongation.2.  Neoprene® Backing — Strong Neoprene bonded to the tensile member for protection against grime, oil and moisture. It also protects from frictional wear if idlers are used on the back of the belt.3.  Neoprene Teeth — Shear-resistant Neoprene compound is molded integrally with the Neoprene backing. They are precisely formed and accurately spaced to assure smooth meshing with the sprocket grooves.4.  Nylon Facing — Tough nylon fabric with a low coefficient of friction covers the wearing surfaces of the belt. It protects the tooth surfaces and provides a durable wearing surface for long service.

Are you saying these belts will never fail?  Nothing lasts forever.

nope. they are just made to last. they are really low stress and low heat for the application in our engines. When Honda spec'd them out in '88 for their flagship motorcycle, offering a seven yr warranty, and only require an inspection at 100k miles, I think they knew the belts would last long. they are not the horror belts used by American cars in the '80s that needed change out at 50-60k miles which were more stressed and subject to underhood temps. higher temps can destroy many things much faster.

https://assets.gates.com/content/dam/gates/home/resources/resource-library/catalogs/powergripdrivedesignmanual_17195_2014.pdf