Old Bike, new timing belts and stuph

[Greenwinger]

Hi yall. Am planning a big overhaul of the bike next winter and want to have all the parts I need on hand. Among other things it's time to change the timing belts again. The bike is a 97 SE with about 200,000 Km on it.( That's about 125,000 miles, 656168000 feet and 7874015800 inches. gota love that google ) Was wondering if I should replace the idler pulleys and springs because of age and millage. And while I'm in there should I replace the pulse generators too? again due to age and millage. Do these things ever fail? Am I wasting my money to replace something that is bullet proof?

Any ideas or suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated

Am also planning to do SS brake and clutch lines, new tires, install front and rear cameras and relocate my Garmin GPS. and hopefully address a long standing small exhaust leak where the mufflers plug into the collector box. I have reclamped and regasketed this leak 3 or 4 times and it still has a small leak. I don't want anybody to think I'm driving a Harley.

[thebruce]

Nobody will accuse you of riding a harley. You will have to ride it for a few winters to let the exhaust rot off completely.

I want to say the pulse generators are going to be one of those bulletproof parts, as long as they are installed exactly as they were from the factory. No moving parts to break, and extremely low current/voltage items. The wires are probably the most vulnerable components. Very little vibration on these bikes...

The pulleys and springs are subjective, but it can't hurt to replace them with OEM parts. I had 260k km on mine when I changed the belts. I spun the pulleys and they seemed smooth and quiet so I left them, I can't say if they have ever been changed or not. The springs, if I am thinking correctly, only tension the belts when you are installing them, otherwise they are dead weight.

It really comes down to your disposable income and how you sleep at night. If you will be kept awake for half an hour wondering, change it out and be sure! Just don't use substandard parts...

[Sadanorakman]

Just don't use substandard parts...

I second that: you stand the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

I swapped a water pump out for new when doing the cam belt on a previous car, as the original water pump had 170,000 miles on it, and was weeping just a little. After putting the whole thing back together, the new 3rd-party replacement turned out to weep more than the original, even after bedding in!

If the idlers are spinning smooth as butter, with no slop, I personally wouldn't touch them (if it ain't broke, don't fix it), but hey it's not my bike! If you do swap them, then I'd go for top quality replacements, and keep hold of the ones you take off.
I'm aware these are expensive items though, and there are places that offer rebuilds, where they take your old ones, and re-use the backing plates to build new ones.
Let us know what you end up deciding to do.

[Greenwinger]

Thank you gentlemen. On internals like that nothing but OEM. Silly me, I still use motorcycle tires on my baby.

[Sadanorakman]

Silly me, I still use motorcycle tires on my baby.

Me too, but that's because UK Insurance wouldn't cover me for any accident if I chose to 'modify' my vehicle outside of its manufacturers specification by fitting a car tire.

[Rednaxs60]

Nice winter project being put in place. If you are going to keep the bike, good maintenance and replacing specific parts/pieces due to age never goes unrewarded.

Picked my '95 1500 up two years ago with 155,000 Kms and did the maintenance required plus some extras. Did a 7500 Km trip to Dawson City and back, used 1/2 quart of oil, very impressed.

You mentioned that you are going to relocate the GPS. I made brackets for the handlebars, don't like putting holes in plastic if possible. Use 3/16 aluminum and used the clutch and brake MC bolts to secure the brackets - needed longer bolts. Went to Princess Auto and got some brass bushings and cut to size, just enough for the brackets to clear the handlebars. Here are a couple of picture of the install:

You can make these as long as you want. Gives a place for at least 4 accessories to be mounted.

Nice area Newmarket. Grew up at Alcona Beach, left in 1973. Family still in Ontario. Area has changed significantly, always surprised when I return to visit family.

Cheers