Riding home from work today my Paul Smart made a loud thump kathump from somewhere inside the motor. I grabbed the clutch, the engine died, and I parked the bike. Took the the cam belt covers off and discovered a nasty mess was all that remained of the lower belt.
The bike has only 10K miles on it. Had its recommended services since new. The top belt was still tight. I ride this bike nearly every day and it's not abused. I'm really surprized that this has happened. I'm also pretty concerned that there may be more serious damage to valves/cylinder/other as a result of this mishap.
Any thoughts? What are my chances of coming out of this lightly?
At the very least, you'll have to change the valves, and possibly do a valve job. You'll be lucky if this is all it is.
It's likely you'll need a new piston as well.
If you're unlucky, it damaged the bearing on the rod, which requires bottom end (crankcase) disassembly. At that point, it starts to make sense to replace other things in the motor to renew it back to almost new status, such as the crank bearings, rod bearings, cam drive bearings, and transmission bearings.
Minimum is probably $500 up to crowding $1000. Maximum is thousands of dollars.
Maybe in the future you could check your belts and tension yourself with all the advice on the net. There may have been signs this was going to happen but you just didn't see them.
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It could be any of the above, but I fixed one recently that just needed one valve, a guide, and a valve seat. But, of course, while you're in there.............................
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Bummer. I thought as much. Actually, there were no signs in terms of the bikes performance, and the other belt was still tight. I checked the belts after the last service and was surprized at how tight the belts were. But with no experience with the belts myself, all I could do was trust the mechanic. The top belt is still tight. I can barely jam a 5mm hex through the gap, and this is 4000 miles after the last adjustment.
Lesson learned, though. I'll check the belts myself more often. But I'm still not certain that they weren't too tight, which, from what I've read is the major reason for belt failure.
While you are checking your belts, make sure to check the bearings that the belts roll on!! I have seen several near misses where belts have shredded and been on the verge of breaking. These bearings fail often! (2 of them are the same bearing that you use on the clutch pressure plate)
sometimes excessive tension causes belts to stretch, and weaken. When you hear a "whinning" sound from the belts, chances are they have been tightened too much (they also tighen as the motor heats up and expands). Its much more difficult to accurately tension the belts on the 2 valve motors due to the lack of an eccentric roller (like the 4 valve motors have). Sometimes people also create "tight spots" when they tighten the 3 locking bolts on the cam. There are numerous reasons for failure, however, the number one cause is just neglecting it. It is as vital of a component as your chain, but people seem to overlook it. A quick 5 min "once over" can save thousands of dollars and lots of headache.
ok....most people just hop in their car and their off....with a bike, that could be dangerous. Take 5 mins, check your chain tension, check your tire pressure, give your brakes a quick squeeze and make sure they aren't spongy...etc. Its more of a set of guidelines...chech anything that could lead to a potentially dangerous situation. I can't tell you how many customers have brought bikes into me complaining about the bike "feelin funny" only to find 8psi in their tires, or the clanking is thier chain smacking thier swingarm and engine case under accell/decell or even due to a tight spot in their chain or misalignment. I've even seen brake pads about to be thrown because the pins have been lost (i have NO idea how this happens, but i have seen it) Sorry to be so long winded, but what would be a minor inconvience to you in a car could mean serious injury or death on a bike. Along with this, it is a good idea to periodically "nut and bolt" your bike. Before i send a rider out on the track, i check every moving component to make sure a clip on, or rearset will not come loose. I do a quick visual on all parts safetywired, and check brakes, tires and chain. It only take a few mins, and will make the difference between winning a race, or watching someone get seriously hurt! Regular service intervals (oil changes) are a great time to check belts, chain, tires, etc. If you are not capable or comfortable, take it to someone you know and trust. An ounce of prevention is worth pounds of cure!
have heard of the cams being set with the lock tools then the belts were not readjusted to cold tension
also have personally seen one beairing fail on the tensioner and locked causing belt failure
no warranty?
how old were the belts, and were they tightened to 140 using the mathesis/dds? (you can't get anything between belt and pulley pretty much).
never heard of a 1000 doing a belt.
The bike is 3 yrs old this month. Original belts. I know that some people suggest they have a 2 yr life, but when I took the bike in at two years, then again at 10K miles the Ducati dealer said not to worry till 12K. Should have worried!
I don't know if the harmonics method was used, or the spacing method. I suspect the latter, but I'm gonna talk with the mechanic tomorrow.
have heard of the cams being set with the lock tools then the belts were not readjusted to cold tension
also have personally seen one beairing fail on the tensioner and locked causing belt failure
no warranty?
I checked the bearings (it's easy now with no belt! ) They're fine. The warranty ran out a year ago.
Good to know. I didn't find that in the owner's manual, although I don't dispute that it's there. All I can say is that my Ducati mechanic didn't know that either. When brought the bike in 6 months ago he told me no maintenance was due.
Broken cam belt
) They're fine. The warranty ran out a year ago. 
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