Timing belt

[watfordwolf]

Hi I am a new menber and I recently bought a 350 Strada, which has not been used for quite a few years.

I am going to change the timing belt and remember reading somewhere that this could be done by cutting the old one in half lengthways, sliding the new one on and then removing the remains of the old one. This sounds almost too good to be true. Are there any problems in doing this?

Obvoiusly I am going to change the oil but is there anything else that I should do?

Lastly does anybody have any suggestions for tyres? Something reasonably good but not too expensive.

Thanks

Derek

[hendre]

When you change the timing belt you only have to make sure the marks on the rollers stay where they are. Before you take off the old belt line up the marks on the rollers with the marks on the casing, I usually rotate the engine pushing the belt outwards untill 3/4 of the belt is off and then line up. The last 1/4 you can do by pulling the belt carfully off the upper roller. then you repeat this the other way around, push on the new one for 1/4 (light taps with a rubber hammer may help) and then rotate pushing the belt inward. Check afterwards if the markings line up just in case something went wrong.

As for fluids the fork oil and brake fluid seem things to relplace. Maybe it is also a good idea to clean out the carbs including filters on the side and the fuel taps by removing them from the tank. use the old gasoline to flush out any remaining debree and after reinstallign fill 'r up with fresh gasoline. Also check the fuse box and earth connections on the frame for corroded connections and clean if nessecary. Replace the spark plugs with new ones.

This will get you on the road, carb balancing may be a good idea if it is running rough or underwpowered.

Happy riding, André

This should get you on the road

[SupermotoDave]

It was me that identified that a mechanic had told me about the method he used to change belts(on cars) by using a stanley knife to cut the belts to half width. I have always found that marking the old belt against both pulleys with a bit of tippex(white, it shows up a treat) gives enough peace of mind to allow you to reassemble with the old belt if you have a problem. Changing a belt is quite easy and you should not be intimidated, we have done it in pub car parks on club nights as a demo!

David