Timing belts

[Canwegoridenow]

Hello everyone! I'm a new owner of an 1988 Goldwing and have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to. My issue is, the bike currently does not run but I am working on getting in running condition. I want to change the timing belts, and already have the belts in hand. The issue is I am waiting for a new fuel pump to install. If the fuel pump works and the bike starts, will I be in any immediate danger considering I don't know when the belts were last changed? I know I won't need to run it for long, I just need to make sure that it does run after the pump is in. Do you guys think running it for a minute or two would be too much of a risk?

[Rambozo]

Just cranking it over with the starter is a risk. I'm guessing you have already done that. The smart thing would be to change the belts before you turn the engine. Not that I haven't always followed that advice. The problem is that you can't really tell if a belt is good by looking at it. You can see a real bad belt, but even a belt that looks great can break in a second and bend all the valves at best or mess up a piston and basically junk the motor at worst.

And as someone once said; "You've got to ask yourself one question, do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk?"

The longer the bike has been sitting the more risk, and if it has been sitting a long time, getting fuel to it will probably be only the first step in what it takes to get it running. Doing a basic mechanical inspection should tell you enough to decide if the motor is worth saving.

[Canwegoridenow]

Thank you. Yeah I didn’t much about the bike and still don’t but I figured it would be a good project or a waste of money. It’s been kinda fun so far but I guess I know what I’ll be doing asap, changing those durn belts. I guess we’ll see how lucky I am after all! Thanks for the response.