Timing belt change...

Joined
Jun 13, 2015
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80
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Graniteville, SC
My 1999 has 69,500 miles on it. I am 3rd owner or more, not sure.
I was curious what you guys think.
The manual says to inspect at 60k and change at 90k. I bought the bike with 64k and don't know if it's been inspected or not.
Is the inspection of it that hard that I should just replace the belt while I am inspecting it? I have the knowledge, but not really the free time to do it this now/ spring.
One shop has quoted $308 to change the belt, plus $100 for coolant change. No charge for oil if I provide it.
Another shop quoted similar pricing
Or $225 to inspect it only.
What's the recommendation by you guys with tons of miles and belt swaps and inspections.
Should I just ride and do it later or do just an inspection. Or pay for all at once now and be done.
Or, wait til later in the year when I have free time and do it myself?
Of course if I don't do it now the oil will be changed soon.
I have a big ( for me ride) to the NC/Tennessee mountains in mid April, probably 1500 ish miles over a long weekend.
So, ride and check/replace later, replace now?
Thanks for the guidance!

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kiltman

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8826
I'd wait till you hit 90K. If you want a shop to do it, consider taking off the Tupperware yourself, that saves about an hour in shop time. You can ride a naked bike to the shop. Well that's what I did with my 1990 ST.
I recently purchased a '97 with 77K I will have the timing belt changed next winter.
 
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British Columbia
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Do you have the shop manual for your bike? It details the inspection procedure, which is quite easy, but you need to pull off some plastic. It only involves taking off the left side cam pulley cover, not digging right into the heart of the beast itself. $225 just to inspect at the shop seems a bit rich. Maybe they aren't aware of the proper inspection procedure. However, I concur with others that you could leave this until later, as virtually everyone who changes out their belts at or near the recommended mileage has found that it still looks like new.
 
Joined
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Paris, TN
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'99 ST1100
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8606
I've got 96k on mine and plan to change the belt before the next riding season. I've heard that most of the old belts taken off look brand new.
 
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Fort Worth, Texas
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91 ST1100/06 ST1300
This is a wonderful opportunity to inspect, clean and perform loads of preventative maintenance. There are several threads here related to belt replacement, including a video of the change with the engine out of the bike. It's easy enough to perform with the engine in place, but the clarity of the video covers all the details. Use a Honda manual as a go-by.
I bought a garage queen 1991 with just 17000 miles on it...hadn't been ridden regularly for 20 years, so I took it all apart and did the job. The old 24 year old belt was in perfect condition so, in spite of its age, it could have gone to 90000+ miles with no problem. Unless there is a pulley or guide failure, early belt replacement simply is not necessary. I cleaned everything I could reach with a long handled parts cleaning brush, cleaned all the electrical connectors, replaced suspect tubes/hoses/thermostat/radiator cap, checked valve adjustment, lubed everything that required lube under the plastic....While it was apart, I removed the rear wheel and drive shaft, cleaned and lubed per the manual and did the drive splines with Honda moly paste. Parts are still available from Honda, Partzilla, Bike Bandit, Ron Ayers, Ebay...etc. I got a Gates #325 belt from Amazon for just $39.95. I've seen them for up to $110 on Ebay and Amazon. Shop wisely.
The PO had the carbs rebuilt, brakes rebuilt, fluids changed and new battery installed just before he put it up for sale. That certainly eased my workload. I did the fluids again with the belt maintenance. On the plus side, I found loose water hose clamps, partially plugged water hoses, completely plugged overflow hose, one loose spark plug, a decayed little air filter (in front of the main air filter) and an oil filter that was seeping due to being barely finger tight (made the whole effort worthwhile). Look carefully and be thorough...no telling what you may catch. Many faired bike owners simply don't look under the plastic work.
After all that work, some of which turned out to be unnecessary, I have a bike that I ride regularly and anywhere with no qualms. Sometimes there's no substitute for peace of mind.
 
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OP
OP
CoopST
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Graniteville, SC
Thanks guys! Yes I have 2 manuals actually, a Honda and Haynes, they are for older models but it's the same I think....
I'll wait til later !

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ad1993pan

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Aug 26, 2015
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Netherlands
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ST1100
CoopST
i have a 1993 witk 75 miles on it, wenn we opened the front the belt looked new.
But wenn you take the old and new in each hand and twist them the new one was stronger.
The old one kept wobling.
My sugg. if its open change it, takes appr. 4 hours

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John OoSTerhuis

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Bettendorf, Iowa
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1991 SSMST1100
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1058
The timing belt inspection is easy enough to do. BTDTx4

FirST remove the Lower Fairing and then the Timing Hole Cover over the crankshaft bolt. Look for oil or coolant contamination, and any fraying of the belt. The very few ST1100 belts that have failed or were about to, had a 'birds nest' of belt strands accumulated and visible there. Caused by failure of high mileage Idle Pulley or Tensioner Roller bearings. That might be enough inspection for some folks, but...

Next would be to remove the Maintence Covers over the valve covers; and the Front Head and Reduction Holder Covers; and have a look at the belt exposed/visible on/around the Driven Pulleys. You do not have to remove the Middle Fairing to do this. BTDT (pics avail)

At this point, if you want to rotate the crank to inspect the entire belt, you need to remove the spark plugs. HTH

John
via iPhone 6
 
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Joined
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'98 ST1100
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8470
Wait and do it yourself.
+1 . I changed mine last year at 75K miles on my '98 . The old belt looked almost new. I'm pretty sure it was the original belt. It said "Made in Japan" on it. you can get a Gates belt from Rock Auto and save some bucks. They list parts for MC's.

You may want to consider replacing or rebuilding the water pump at the same time, since you will be in there anyhow.
 
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Do this if you decide to change the belt yourself, or ask the mechanic you choose to do it for you. Measure the play in the belt between the two cam pulleys. Just hold a 6 inch scale beside the belt and lift up and pull down on it. Write down that measurement. Install the new belt and after tensioning it, recheck the play. See a difference? That is how much the old belt is worn. I saw 5/8" on a 50,000 mile, 16 year old O.E. belt. The new one measured 1/4" with the same amount of force on it. I don't think these belts can stretch by their design but they can wear out from the contact with the pulleys. Sure the old belt looks like a new one. But, are the ones telling you to keep riding willing to chip in if your belt breaks and damages your valves and pistons?
 
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The teeth on my old belt looked like new, too, BTW. I couldn't see any wear. And if the belt is stretched a bit, it can always be re-tensioned. I don't think there is any risk of the belt breaking and wrecking the engine.
 
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Donegal, Ireland.
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Vstrom 650
My 01 has 54000 miles now approx., if I wait and do the timing belt at 90k it will be another 6 years before I hit the 90k mark with an avg of about 6k miles per year.
By that time the belt will be 21 years old!!
 
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soCal
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'97 ST1100
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687
I don't think these belts can stretch by their design but they can wear out from the contact with the pulleys.
I'm not clear about exactly where you are suggesting the belt will wear. My old belt still had the original honda ink/paint markings visible and clearly readable, there was no wear on that side of the belt. The tooth side also looked like new, so it didn't appear to have any visible signs of wear either.
 
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Fort Worth, Texas
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When Honda first used timing belts in production..the GL1000's, the pulleys and belts had actual teeth that resembled meshing transmission gears. The recommended belt life was 5 years or 50000 miles. There was obvious wear where the abrupt edges on the pulley teeth met the belt teeth. I had a failure after 2 years and under 20000 miles on my 1978...three teeth on the belt were sheared off and the left side exhaust valves bent. You have no idea how long a belt sat on a distributor's shelf prior to your buying it 'new'. There are companies that reproduce the GL1000 belts now.
The system in the ST series uses rounded 'teeth'. Little to no abrasion from sharp edges will occur....there are no sharp edges. The Gates 325 belt is still in production so the 1100 is in little danger of either mechanical wear or shelf life issues.
I'm assuming that the 1300 belt situation is similar.
 
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I'm not clear about exactly where you are suggesting the belt will wear. My old belt still had the original honda ink/paint markings visible and clearly readable, there was no wear on that side of the belt. The tooth side also looked like new, so it didn't appear to have any visible signs of wear either.
I was referring to the inside of the belt, not the outside.
 
Joined
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Location
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4138
When Honda first used timing belts in production..the GL1000's, the pulleys and belts had actual teeth that resembled meshing transmission gears. The recommended belt life was 5 years or 50000 miles. There was obvious wear where the abrupt edges on the pulley teeth met the belt teeth. I had a failure after 2 years and under 20000 miles on my 1978...three teeth on the belt were sheared off and the left side exhaust valves bent. You have no idea how long a belt sat on a distributor's shelf prior to your buying it 'new'. There are companies that reproduce the GL1000 belts now.
The system in the ST series uses rounded 'teeth'. Little to no abrasion from sharp edges will occur....there are no sharp edges. The Gates 325 belt is still in production so the 1100 is in little danger of either mechanical wear or shelf life issues.
I'm assuming that the 1300 belt situation is similar.
I contend that there is SOME wear. Otherwise, explain why you will find more play on an old ST1100 belt compared to the new one you install.
Microscopic dust particles get between the belt and the pulleys. They polish those pulleys so they shine nice and bright.
Now a new belt will stretch a wee bit as it breaks in. This is until the teeth, or bumps, on the new belt match the wear on the pulleys.
Honda should maybe have put a one way adjuster mechanism on the adjuster pulley so that constant tension would always be present.
But, as long as these belts last as many years and miles as they do, it isn't a big problem.
 
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I contend that there is SOME wear. Otherwise, explain why you will find more play on an old ST1100 belt compared to the new one you install.
I didn't check the tension on the old belt to compare it with the new one, but it would seem reasonable that some belt stretch occurs over time. Given that the tensioner is bolted down, its not free to remove any additional slack that occurs as the belt stretches, so an old belt will probably have a bit more play unless you go back in and re-tension it later (which nobody ever does).
 
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