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replace belts at X mileage?

J

jdot1981

Joined Jul 2015
96 Posts | 0+
Charleston, WV
Hey all,

I have a 2013 hyperstrada with very low miles on her. I'm talking like 5,000 or so. That's shameful... stressful job and new baby, etc. kept me from riding.

I'm in the process of getting back into riding and want to make sure the bike is good to go. I didn't ride at all last year.

Thoughts on whether the belts need to be replaced? The owner's manual says 60 months or 18,000 miles. I'd really like to avoid doing this, especially since nearest dealer is hours away. Maybe I can put it off until next year?

Thoughts? I think the valves should be fine. I can change the oil, brake fluid, etc. by myself.
 
Belts are fine. Even my belts after 4 years and 15k miles look fine. Getting a little sloppy, but still in great shape.
 
kuksul08 said:
Belts are fine. Even my belts after 4 years and 15k miles look fine. Getting a little sloppy, but still in great shape.
Click to expand...

Awesome. I'm willing to take *some* risk anyways. If 5 people hopped on here and told me I was insane for considering not replacing, I'd replace so figured I'd check.
 
Five years and I'd change them. is it worth the gamble??
I have seen belts snap, low mileage but over time. The belts looked new!!!
But try telling that to the valves and pistons that kissed.
Not worth it IMHO
 
It's true if a belt fails ... it's expensive. I had a failure at 20K miles but not sure if it was the belt or a seized Cam bearing that was the initial cause of the problem.

But, in any case, the damage was done and it took out the front head. Piston and cylinder were OK, everything else replaced. Total cost? (warranty) $8000!!!! Yes, more than the bike is worth. Absurd!

I bought my bike used with 19K on the clock and dealer "claimed' the 18K service had been done. Either they were lying (quite possible) or the service work was done WRONG, which led to failure. (this also possible)

Getting a qualified Ducati master mechanic to do the work is just as important was doing the job in the first place. Find someone GOOD to do this job, even if far away. Worth it IMO.

Important to have the belts "Tuned" properly. Yes .. they actually use a tuning fork to set the tension. But lots more subtle things involved too. Not for amateurs.

All that said ...
At 5K miles I would not worry much. My failure was unusual on a high miles bike that was worked on by an unqualified mechanic. (he was fired after working on my bike)

You should be FINE to at least 12K miles. You could have your mechanic check belt tension and condition for you. Much cheaper than the full 18K service with belt replacement.

I honestly believe many Ducati dealers totally skip the actual belt replacement ... and only check belt tension and belt condition ... and if all looks good, they button it back up. Same true (in some cases) with valve adjustment.

Sad but too true. (inside info from one former and one current certified Ducati mechanics)
 
I'm with mentalist. Rubber degrades over time - it's not that expensive to have done and you'll sleep better at night.
 
Thanks everyone! Maybe I'll ride it this season and change belts at end of this season or start of next. I'll check manufacturer bike date as well. It's a 2013 model so I assume it's right at 60 months.
 
ha. yes I am in the same boat. I just picked up a '13 Hstrada with 800 miles. looks like it was just off the showroom. I'm going to ride it this season and just do the belts over the winter.
 
I have a 2013 with 7200 miles on the clock. I will be taking mine in this spring for belts, brake flush, tires, coolant change and plugs since the tank will be pulled for the belt change anyway. Don't want to risk a belt failure due to age.
 
Interesting discussion as I have fiber belts on my car which are replaced per the Owners Manual by miles and not time. Every 90,000 miles.

I take my Hyper to the dealer and ask if there is anything they want to do. Open checkbook. Belts aren't mentioned as I'm still shy of 18,000 miles.

But then, I would never ride 9,000 miles with the same oil.

So, if it make you more comfortable, change that which offers more comfort.

Valve check
Oil and filter
battery
timing belts
clutch
brake pads and brake fluid
air filter
clutch cable

All sorts of wear and consumables.
 
Stradasphere said:
I have a 2013 with 7200 miles on the clock. I will be taking mine in this spring for belts, brake flush, tires, coolant change and plugs since the tank will be pulled for the belt change anyway. Don't want to risk a belt failure due to age.
Click to expand...

I highly recommend you do as much of the work as you can by yourself. For example, a ducati dealership will charge you about $40/sparkplug not including labor. (I'd suggest pulling the front plug - easy - it's probably fine and no plug change is necessary.)

At this point I do everything, including tires, with the exception of belts and valves.

The other thing about doing your own maintenance is that you become familiar with the bike, you may find loose parts, and you may find wear items you hadn't suspected etc... For me, it builds confidence in the machine..... and I'm a cheap *******. win/win.
 
Stradasphere said:
I have a 2013 with 7200 miles on the clock. I will be taking mine in this spring for belts, brake flush, tires, coolant change and plugs since the tank will be pulled for the belt change anyway. Don't want to risk a belt failure due to age.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan. My buddy and I can do all of that but the belt. (translation, my buddy can do all of it but the belt)
 
I've done most of the work on my bikes and cars since the early 70's. I've done belts on my Monster and years back on a Porsche 944 I got as a car to work on with my son. I'm getting to the point where I sometimes just decide to let some one else do the work if I have trust in their abilities. I did do the clutch upgrade this winter and replace the clutch cable which included pulling the tank. While in there I changed out the air filter. I don't have the tools to tune the belt tension and figured just let the shop do it. Have done tire changes in the past too, but my friend sold off his equipment. Its a 3 hour drive to Bellevue Ducati so figured I would let them handle all the work while I run to the corporate office for meetings which is near by. Some of you have seen my toy I rebuild a few years back.

I questioned the time duration on the belt change but have decided just not to risk it.

Cheers
 

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Bones302 said:
ha. yes I am in the same boat. I just picked up a '13 Hstrada with 800 miles. looks like it was just off the showroom. I'm going to ride it this season and just do the belts over the winter.
Click to expand...

Just curious. How much did you pay for her?
 
Stradasphere said:
I've done most of the work on my bikes and cars since the early 70's. I've done belts on my Monster and years back on a Porsche 944 I got as a car to work on with my son. I'm getting to the point where I sometimes just decide to let some one else do the work if I have trust in their abilities. I did do the clutch upgrade this winter and replace the clutch cable which included pulling the tank. While in there I changed out the air filter. I don't have the tools to tune the belt tension and figured just let the shop do it. Have done tire changes in the past too, but my friend sold off his equipment. Its a 3 hour drive to Bellevue Ducati so figured I would let them handle all the work while I run to the corporate office for meetings which is near by. Some of you have seen my toy I rebuild a few years back.

I questioned the time duration on the belt change but have decided just not to risk it.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Nice photo! Trust me, I'm not being critical, and I hope I didn't come off that way. Confession- I just spent like nearly 2 hours just to change the battery. (not my fault!... I think) I like to try to do stuff myself, but in realty, it's not what I do for a living. If I did every piece of maintenance on everything I owned, I still would not have 1% the experience of someone who does it for a living.
 
No problem, all good. I didn't take it as you being critical. I use to love to wrench, I'm a mechanical engineer by trade. But I find as I have gotten older the body gets mad at me if I get to contorted. haha. Bikes aren't too bad, but pulling motors, trans or front end rebuilts on cars really takes a toll. Oh one other minor detail, Bellevue Ducati is actually Redmond Ducati now. Bellevue sold out and relocated to Redmond Town Center.
 
I thought moving to Italy was going to drain my wallet when the heavy lift MX came do. Couldn't have been more wrong. While price tags on bikes and OEM parts is pricey, labor is downright cheap. I paid a little over $36 USD per hour for labor.

Had a long business trip so took her in for leaking radiator (US shops wouldn't repair on bike - had to be removed and then no guarantees) and Andreani strut inserts (already had parts). When I pointed to the leaky bung on the radiator, the tech just replied "No Problem". Also had a few minor stripped bolts to replace.

5 hours of labor and associated parts = $367 USD. And I didn't have to replace the radiator, which most likely would have happened state side. They also performed 3 recalls under warranty, one being the CAN BUS filter issue. The other two I have to investigate as there were some language barrier issues but sounded like they did the TPS (which had already been swapped years ago) and the other had something to do with the clutch/ brake lines. Not sure about that last one but my clutch engages much better and they bled my front brakes, which were getting quite mushy.

Long story about saying I'm no longer worried about 18K mi service coming up. You guys have me a little worried about the belts but I'm going to hold out until next winter when the 18K will probably be due.
 
Big shout out to Motoshop 2000 in Capua, IT! 4 gorgeous floors of Bimmers and all Italian makes.
 

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