He everyone. I’m looking to replace the belts and adjust the valve clearances on my Cagiva Elefant 750. It has a Ducati 750ss engine so the parts are not specially Cagiva and from what I’ve seen are actually common to many engines. Does anyone have experience of non Ducati parts and / or where to source them in the UK? Sorry if this has been asked before but a search on the forum did not show up anything specific and it’s maybe been a while since the question was asked. I understand the need for quality parts, but am really uncomfortable with the notion of paying 4x what they cost to make.
For shims I don’t know anyone but you could ask a dealer / independent for a ‘swap price’, i.e. get one of their shims for yours + money. Generally speaking the closers tend to loosen and the openers tighten as valves and seats wear so you may get away with sanding down the openers if that’s the way they’re going.
Thanks for the link Michael, yes the ExactFit belts are probably a good option based on what I’ve read elsewhere but still £40 for a pair last time I looked. Gates UK are telling me that they don’t sell aftermarket belts for this engine, but that’s not the case in Germany, the US or Oz/NZ so I’m not sure what’s going on with them. I’m currently looking at some Dayco belts which vary enormously in price. I’ve read that Dayco are a good alternative on 4V engines but not seen too much about them on 2V’s. If anyone on here has used Dayco on a 2V engine, it would be good to hear their thoughts.
As for shims, I need to check in a bit more detail, but I expect it’ll be as you say with the openers needing to be smaller, but I’m guessing the closers will need to be changed too. I had a problem with cold starting a few years ago which turned out to be the valves not closing, hot starting was fine. There was also rattle at about 6000 rpm which went away when I sorted out the clearances. I’m in no particular hurry so will see what’s needed and maybe buy some from the US or Germany if I can’t find someone local for a good price or who’s willing to exchange.
I don’y know of anyone doing aftermarket shims?
You could try some of the independents though, probably a bi cheaper?
Try http://www.mdinaitalia.co.uk/
Thanks for the link to Mdina, interestingly they are selling Gates belts by the look of things. Aftermarket shims are available in the US, and possibly from Stein-Dinse in Germany, although SD may be using Ducati parts.
I have been reliably informed that the Club has a shim kit as part of its Tool Hire service. Worth contacting the Tool Hire Secretary. See Desmo for details as I don’t know more than that.
Yes we do have a shim kit in our tool hire, this service is only open to fully paid up members, Graham Stoppani looks after this, his contact details are on page 2 of Desmo.
Not got around to the shims yet, after spending most of this week looking for alternative belts for my 750.
I had a few conversations with Gates about their belts, who tell me that the belts they have in stock in Belgium are not going to be sold due to ‘quality issues’, all the belts that they have will be destroyed and no more will be manufactured. This relates to part number 5141NS (NS= Non Standard) which is the closest match to the T819 part that I could find in Europe. Are these the same as the belts with the part number T819? I don’t know, but T819 is not a part number recognised by Gates in the UK, whereas 5141NS which has 68teeth x 3/4" (same as T819) is recognised by Gates UK.
Elsewhere I came across this part number which seems to tie the 2 together: GATES, T819, BELT-TIMING 68T-19MM TRAPEZOIDAL 5141 - 68 x 3/4".
The Ducati branded belts are apparently made by Gates, even Gates say this is true. But they are made under licence so may well not be the same as those above.
On to Dayco who make a belt with part number 94820, which according to their catalogue is for Ducati engines, it also seems to go by the part number 068RX190, I’ve seen pictures on Ebay with both part numbers on the same item so I’m assuming they’re the same thing. I’ve ordered some Dayco belts and will report back.
That is a really impressive find, many thanks for posting! A quick update on the Dayco belts, rode from the uk to italy and back, plus a fair amount in the uk with no apparent issues. Must confess that I did not yet take the belt covers off to check, but will do so at some point and update again.
The following comment is not addressed at the original poster but meant to be a general observation based on lurking in various Ducati forums:
I am slightly perplexed by the amount of effort people put into saving a few quid on essential items while spending hundreds - if not thousands - on bling.
Given that most Ducatis only infrequently require shimming (clearances need to be checked during services but the frequency of changing shims is much less) and that belts only require changing every 2 years (in practice they last much longer), you’re talking saving maybe £50 over 2 years (less than 10p a day). Yet I see endless bikes dripping with after-market exhausts worth many hundreds of pounds, magnesium, titanium, carbon, etc. not counting the cost of polish…
One observation on the Alfa shims: if I understand correctly they’re only openers, so the saving is pretty small.
Branded parts like filters, belts & shims simply cost too much to buy in relation to what they cost to make. In short, we are often being fleeced. That’s why there’s a section on most forums about many alternatives to branded parts. In the end, it’s up to the individual, but having the choice is important and to some extent keeps the branded prices under control.