ST1100 Timing Belt, Upper Fairing

[paulcb]

While you are in there, you might as well do an @Igofar tweak of the whole bike. Give him a PM and I'm sure he will tell you what to check.

I've had several phone calls with Larry in the past... was afraid to call him this time... might not ever get it finished, he'd find too many things for me to check!

Actually, I called John O. once to get tips on getting the TB cover off. Other than that, it was pretty straight forward. All my timing marks lined up well, before and after, although getting the new belt on, even with the tensioner relaxed, was a challenge. Got it on the first time and the left cam was off about 3 teeth, so had to redo it. Came out well in the end... all line up perfectly.

 

[SMSW]

I've had several phone calls with Larry in the past... was afraid to call him this time... might not ever get it finished, he'd find too many things for me to check!

Actually, I called John O. once to get tips on getting the TB cover off. Other than that, it was pretty straight forward. All my timing marks lined up well, before and after, although getting the new belt on, even with the tensioner relaxed, was a challenge. Got it on the first time and the left cam was off about 3 teeth, so had to redo it. Came out well in the end... all line up perfectly.

I consider myself to be a halfway decent amateur mechanic. For about 30 years I did everything on all of our cars, and once I got my financial feet on the ground, I started paying mechanics to do some of the work. Yet, I would not hesitate to call someone like Larry or John to talk through a major project before I started. I'm older now and don't really want maintenance to take up a lot of riding (or potential riding) time because I made a stupid mistake or have to wait for parts that a more experienced guy would have ordered before the work started.

 

[beemerphile]

... once I got my financial feet on the ground, I started paying mechanics to do some of the work.

I'd love to lose some workload. My wife's new Honda Pilot is the only thing in the fleet that gets dealer serviced. But when bikes get to the age of our machines (as it was with my airhead BMW's) most of the dealer shops don't want to mess with them any more. The newer "computer age" techs are unqualified to do the work and certainly lack any model specific experience. All's good if you have an independent shop around with a tech that you know and trust. Further, you can generally be sure that any paid tech is only going to rip it open, do the specific items on the work order, and close it up as fast as he can with out even casting a concerned glance at peripheral items to see if something needs attention.

When I get to where I can't or don't want to do the work, if I am still ambulatory, I'll ride a newer bike with a warranty. This assumes I can afford to pay over $100 an hour for a young kid who was flipping cheeseburgers last week to work on it.

 

[paulcb]

Well, got it all done, valves, timing belt and forks. Buttoned her up and took a test ride... all's good. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Well, got it all done, valves, timing belt and forks. Buttoned her up and took a test ride... all's good. Thanks for the help guys.

Whaa hoo! Way to go, Paul!

So... who’s next for the STOC loaner valve check/shim R&R kit, and the fork seals R&R Kit?

Regards, John