Any of you guys ride your Ducs without the Timing Belt Covers???

Is there any danger to doing this? I know it allows the belts to breath. But do road debris pose any threat???

Sorry if this is a stupid question.

you answered it yourself...

i wouldn't because mine is a daily driver, and who knows what you'll hit - some dust, gravel, etc., why risk getting it into there?

if its track only though you'll be fine.

simply the possible bad things that can happen outweight the good things.

if you want to get creative, make fiberglass vent covers, and make vents so air could be vented "out" but not vented in.

Yes, but only on my race bike, and then only because I have oversize rollers and the stock covers don't fit anymore - if I wasn't really, really tired of throwing money at the bike I might hunt around for aftermarket covers that fit, but instead I just run without them. It's a hassle because you have to be very careful to check the area around the belts and cable-tie anything that might possibly come in contact with them. I don't see any advantage at all in taking them off, especially for a road bike where you're more likely to fling gravel in.

I have seen a infrared picture of a 996corsa engine running in a bench.. the only parts hotter than the belts where the exhausts..

Well then, is it okay to drill holes in the stock covers?

Why would you want to?? Are those few ounces of material that you would drill out make you faster, all at the expense of possible high $ damage to the motor??

Jeff, I want to hear more about the oversized rollers. What's the advantage? Where do you get belts? I am thinking that the lower bend radius would help with the reliability. Are the cam mounted rollers larger?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ductedfan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why would you want to?? Are those few ounces of material that you would drill out make you faster, all at the expense of possible high $ damage to the motor??

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Not looking to get more power. Looking to keep the belts cool without spending $$$ on the carbon timing belt cover with integrated ram air.

Some people will disagree with me here, but my bike's gone 13000 miles with no covers. I agree that there is a possible danger there, but I bought the bike last year and the previous owner took the covers off the day he bought it in 99. I haven't gotten around to scrounging up some used covers to put on it. There's not a knick in the belts whatsoever, and I can check the belt tension and condition each time I get on the bike. Do what you want, but thats my experience.

Brennan

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLZ2DWL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some people will disagree with me here, but my bike's gone 13000 miles with no covers. I agree that there is a possible danger there, but I bought the bike last year and the previous owner took the covers off the day he bought it in 99. I haven't gotten around to scrounging up some used covers to put on it. There's not a knick in the belts whatsoever, and I can check the belt tension and condition each time I get on the bike. Do what you want, but thats my experience.

Brennan</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks,

That's the kind of feedback I'm looking for.

I have 7,000 miles with this set-up:

http://users.adelphia.net/~inf....html

No inner or outer covers, and no problems. The belts look brand new. The teeth on the alloy V2 pulleys are starting to get shiny, but that might happen anyway...

Rick, check with Bruce on the details, but he installed Corse tensioners and as I recall those were the main problem in getting the stock covers to fit - I don't remember if the cam pulleys are still stock. I've got VeeTwo cams, and I know VeeTwo makes cam pulleys too (http://veetwo.net/mainpages/ProductD...able%20Pulleys). Apart from forcing me to run without covers, the other disadvantage is that there's essentially no adjustment room on the belts, and minimum tension is still on the high side - maybe someone makes slightly longer belts that would help this.

Turbo, I actually know of a guy who wound up with engine damage after a piece of gravel made it's way under one of his timing belts while running without covers, and threw off his timing. Unlikely, perhaps, but possible. You just have to weigh for yourself the advantages (easier access, instant visual check of belt condition, that cool "race bike" look ) ) vs. the risk.

Jeff, just wondering, why would you run corse tensioners if they don't allow belt adjustment and you can't run with covers?

When I installed the SBK heads I have on my bike, the belts were too tight. Ok, but with no adjustment possible (like the situation you describe with the Corse tensioners). I'm guessing the S4 pulleys I'm still running are a larger diameter than the stock SBK pulleys that didn't come with the heads when I bought them. I solved this problem the easy way---I milled the heads and lowered the squish for a +.7:1 compression bump

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by infoage1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Jeff, just wondering, why would you run corse tensioners if they don't allow belt adjustment and you can't run with covers? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Excellent question. Bruce had a good reason for installing them, I'm sure, but I never asked why. I didn't know he was going to install them, and didn't see them until I opened the crate containing my rebuilt motor. It's not a big deal, the belts are on the tight side but o.k. - and on that bike it is nice to be able to check the belts regularly at a glance. I'm pretty-well compressed out at a claimed 13.5:1, so milling the heads is out - in fact after my cracked case fiasco, it was rebuilt with a thicker shim to give slightly more squish than it originally had.

Being the tinker-aholic I am, I’ve kicked the idea around myself. With the skins off, I could see the cool “in your face� workings of the engine.

But on the SBKs, you lose that visual once you cover things back up and I don’t know that heat is a real problem for the belts. Plus, there is no appreciable weight savings... the covers weigh less than a good beer fart... so it seems the benefits are nil.

I could get out my Sharpie and draw a picture of a cat with a dog behind it on one of the belts... that way it would look like the dog was chasing the cat while the engine was on.

Well, that's curious, to be sure. I remember an "Index" post by Doug Lofgren and his comment that the only reason to use the "corsa" tensioners was to alleviate a slack belt condition caused from milling one's heads...

Too tight squish caused the cases to crack? What was the squish then? What's the squish now?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mental998 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Plus, there is no appreciable weight savings... the covers weigh less than a good beer fart... so it seems the benefits are nil.

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The inner covers and their fasteners weigh somewhat more...probably a little over a pound.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo329 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there any danger to doing this? I know it allows the belts to breath. But do road debris pose any threat???

Sorry if this is a stupid question.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I used to run no belt covers, an open clutch cover, and no air filters on my racebikes until the first time I hurled one into a gravel trap and spent the rest of the day picking sand and gravel out of the belt area, the airbox, and completely disassembling the clutch to clean it. Oh, and replacing the pistons and replating the cylinders shortly thereafter. Now it's belt covers, a closed clutch cover, and air filters for my racebikes.

On my 900SS/SP streetbike, however, I run no belt covers and a milled aluminum open clutch cover. I do run an airfilter, however. My streetbike is mainly a playbike (it's not like I'm commuting to work on it), and I think the open belt covers with the VeeTwo gold cam sprockets, the clutch cover, relocated oil cooler and braided hoses, etc., all look pretty cool. That's why I usually run the short CR fairings on the bike, to better show off the motor.

I'd say the odds of a rock or some sort of debri getting thrown up from the front wheel and somehow wedging itself between the cam belt and the sprocket and causing the belt to skip is somewhat less than, say, getting hit by lightning. Lots of Harleys and Buells have belt final drives (and even belt primary drives, in some cases) and there doesn't seem to be much of an issue there.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by infoage1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, that's curious, to be sure. I remember an "Index" post by Doug Lofgren and his comment that the only reason to use the "corsa" tensioners was to alleviate a slack belt condition caused from milling one's heads...Too tight squish caused the cases to crack? What was the squish then? What's the squish now?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's probably why Bruce installed them. The case fiasco was described here, http://speedzilla.zeroforum.co...28039. The motor has lots of mods, including ported heads and valves, Pistal pistons, Ti rods, balanced/lightened crank, VeeTwo Stage-II cams, lightened flywheel/primary drive gear, 54 mm throttle bodies, deep airbox, tail-mounted crankcase breather box, etc. And now, Corse cases. A hoot to ride, but the motor spent most of last year in pieces while I rode the bike with my old 748 motor.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffKoch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Turbo, I actually know of a guy who wound up with engine damage after a piece of gravel made it's way under one of his timing belts while running without covers, and threw off his timing. Unlikely, perhaps, but possible. You just have to weigh for yourself the advantages (easier access, instant visual check of belt condition, that cool "race bike" look ) ) vs. the risk.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hey, I know that feeling... I had a belt jump one tooth while running without the covers. Man, did I feel stupid.