Timing belts

[OldGoldie]

Ok, quick backstory. Engine in my bike needs work that I don’t feel like doing right now, so I’m doing an engine swap. Donor bike has 48k and some change on the odometer. Timing belts are Honda and appear to be in decent shape. No cracks or splitting. Bike has been sitting for an unknown period of time. I’ll post pics. I feel comfortable with running these belts maybe the rest of the season at least. Let me know what y’all think. I have no service records for the donor bike, so I do not know at what mileage these belts were changed, if at all. They are parts bikes, I did not even get a title for them.

[winguyjo]

those belts look old to me. you have the engine out already so the job will never be easier than that. $19.95 each from rock auto and you won't have to be wondering.

[WingAdmin]

Serpentine drive belts start to crack as they stretch and age. Timing belts, with their special fibers inside, don't stretch, so they don't crack - so a timing belt that is 20 years old with 80,000 miles on it can look virtually identical to one that was put on six months ago and has 500 miles on it. Honda's service schedule says to "inspect" the timing belt - but there is no practicable way of doing this, other than looking for broken teeth on the belt itself. A timing belt wears on the inside, where you can't see it. A timing belt that is about to break can look exactly like one that will run for another 50,000 miles.

So what to do? Simple - if you don't know how long the belt has been on your bike, or how many miles are on it, it's time to change it - now, before you start the engine again. Spending $80 and an afternoon replacing your timing belts is cheap insurance, and a great alternative to spending weeks and thousands of dollars on a new engine.

How long is a belt good for? It varies. Honda's official word is to "inspect" the belt every 24,000 miles, and replace it every 100,000 miles. It doesn't speak to belt age. A more realistic belt life schedule is 50,000 miles or every 10 years, whichever comes first. Personally, I replace mine at around half that: every 25,000-30,000 miles or every 5 years, whichever comes first.

More important: Belts that have been in an engine that has not been run for years will have taken a permanent "bend," with associated weak points and should be replaced BEFORE the engine is run. If you are buying a bike that has sat in a garage for a couple of years, replace the timing belts BEFORE starting the engine!

Doing them during an engine out is easy and inexpensive: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRBRZI/?tag=goldwingdocs-20 ... ingdocs-20

Find This Item on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRBRZI?tag=goldwingdocs-20

[OldGoldie]

Serpentine drive belts start to crack as they stretch and age. Timing belts, with their special fibers inside, don't stretch, so they don't crack - so a timing belt that is 20 years old with 80,000 miles on it can look virtually identical to one that was put on six months ago and has 500 miles on it. Honda's service schedule says to "inspect" the timing belt - but there is no practicable way of doing this, other than looking for broken teeth on the belt itself. A timing belt wears on the inside, where you can't see it. A timing belt that is about to break can look exactly like one that will run for another 50,000 miles.

So what to do? Simple - if you don't know how long the belt has been on your bike, or how many miles are on it, it's time to change it - now, before you start the engine again. Spending $80 and an afternoon replacing your timing belts is cheap insurance, and a great alternative to spending weeks and thousands of dollars on a new engine.

How long is a belt good for? It varies. Honda's official word is to "inspect" the belt every 24,000 miles, and replace it every 100,000 miles. It doesn't speak to belt age. A more realistic belt life schedule is 50,000 miles or every 10 years, whichever comes first. Personally, I replace mine at around half that: every 25,000-30,000 miles or every 5 years, whichever comes first.

More important: Belts that have been in an engine that has not been run for years will have taken a permanent "bend," with associated weak points and should be replaced BEFORE the engine is run. If you are buying a bike that has sat in a garage for a couple of years, replace the timing belts BEFORE starting the engine!

Doing them during an engine out is easy and inexpensive: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRBRZI/?tag=goldwingdocs-20 ... ingdocs-20

I’m gonna go ahead and change them. The belts on the engine I’m removing are brand new so I don’t even need to buy them, just swap them over to the engine I’m putting in. I was basically just wondering if I could save myself some work, but based on the advice given here, I’ll go ahead and swap them out.

Find This Item on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRBRZI?tag=goldwingdocs-20