Quote:
Originally Posted by crust
As the others have said, once you've done them you'll be laughing at how much thought you've put into changing them.
As above, use a good condition allen key to undo the tensioners - not a ball ended one.
I undo the oil cooler mounting bolts, it's only two bolts, it makes it easier to thread the covers. I take a piece of cardboard, draw a rough L shape and poke the cover bolts through it so I know which one came out of where.
Plugs out, bike in a high gear and rotate engine until the marks line up. Twist the belts so you get an idea of how much you can twist them, use a 5 + 6mm allen key to get an idea of how easy it is to slide them past the tensioners.
I use the allen key method, but there's nothing wrong with other methods, more than one way to skin a cat etc.
Getting the belts on can be fun, I use a small flat blade screwdriver to tease the belt on a little at a time - do this gently, they will fit - honest.
I would advise against loctite on the tensioner bolts as they can be a pig to get undone without any extra help.
When you've tensioned them as said above spin the motor over a few times and check the tension with a twist and the allen keys just to re-assure yourself.
With belts its better to be a little loose than too tight.
Takes about 30mins and a mug of coffee normally. Don't forget to write in the front of your manual the date and mileage you changed them, saves a lot of head scratching in a couple of years time.
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Thanks - and to all other posters. I'm extremely confident once my mate has shown me I'll be able to do them easily enough myself.
I'm fairly anal about keeping records-to the extent of doing a rough mpg check after each fill up of fuel .Goes back to the distant days of points ignition and two stroke engines I think.
What was mainly worrying me was if i stripped a thread on a tensioner bolt or the bearings were on the way out.
Everything you've said above sums up nicely what I've discovered about this job.
TBH I can't wait to get out on the bike now. Apart from the belts it's ready to go .I've tidied up a few corroded fasteners ,polished up everything I can, changed the oil and filter ,cleaned out the gauze filter ,re-gapped the plugs, checked the air filter (which is a K & N foam type)had the worn seat recovered and put on a CF hugger. It was tidy when I bought the bike so I'm very pleased with how it looks now. Some patina, fairly original and not too bad at all for a 25 year old bike.
I've tried to post a pic as my signature but I think there are too many pixels (not very PC literate I'm afraid).