Timing Belt Replacement 2/1/2003

The top fairing doesn't have to be removed for the job.

Draining the radiator so it can be removed.

Radiator removed. The timing belt cover needs to come off next.

As Jeff Bertrand said, the cover can be removed with a 'little' cursing and prying
without removing the clutch cover. Prying with a screw driver as shown just 'barely'
allows the cover to pass between the clutch cover and the bolt seen in this picture.
I'll have to Dremel the cover as Jeff recommends to make it easier next time around.

The old timing belt about to be removed.

It's a <little> hard to get the timing belt out with the clutch cover still installed,
but a pair of needle nosed pliers did the trick for me freeing it from the driving
pulley, (the lowest pulley shown here).

Timing belt removed. The driven pulleys on the cams moved about 1/2 of a tooth
when the belt was removed.

New belt in place. You start at the driving pulley, the the right driven pulley, (the
one on the left in this picture). Then to the other driven cam pulley, then around
the last smooth pulley.

You can just make out the punch mark on the driven pulley lining up with the mark
on the case.

I was pretty lucky and got things all lined up on the first try. The right driven
pulley shown here moved about 1/2 a tooth clockwise during the removal/install
of the belt, but lined right back up when the tensioner was let loose.

The left side driven pulley all lined up. The 'up' indicator on the pulley points to
the tooth with the alignment mark that should point to the mark on the case.

The manual tells you to put the retainer back on before you crank the engine over
about 4 times. This prevents you from being able to see the timing mark. I just put
a little black mark on the retainer and lined it up with the timing mark before I
tightened the bolt. This allows  you to make sure the timing remains correct.

You can see the Dremel job I did to the cover , (just below the driving bolt), per
Jeff Bertrand's instructions. This made it much easier to re-install the cover.

There are some great instruction on replacing the timing belt by Martin Brunner,
(STOC# 637 PanEuro# 42), over on John Parkers web site.

Pertinent link to Mike Martin's web site. Good stuff!

Return to ST1100 Farkels page.
Return to Motorcycle  links page.