Cambelts

buzby · Post by **buzby** » 29 Apr 2006 18:46

I have two queries regarding cambelts,NLM charge Â£29.50+vat for these but bearing suppliers can sell you one which looks the same to me for less than Â£10,are we being ripped off or is the NLM one superior in some way? Secondly has anybody actually measured the belts marked A,B or C, if so whats the difference?

Post by **SteveMRC** » 29 Apr 2006 20:07

Apparently there is 0.3mm difference between each of the belt sizes. The engine tolerance was measured at the factory and an A,B or C was stamped on the pulley.
Belts from a bearing supplier do not have the A B or C markings, maybe they are standard B sizes, who knows.
Some owners tell you to buy several belts and use the one that gives the best fit.
However, if you need 3 at Â£10 each to get one that fits correctly, you may as well get the correct one from NLM, but yes, I agree the price is very steep.

Steve

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 05 May 2006 14:57

a guy on e bay is offering them for less than that !
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

bimsb6 · Post by **bimsb6** » 05 May 2006 15:00

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ooops forgot to log in

buzby · Post by **buzby** » 06 May 2006 19:43

Could this be George Lane who advetises in "A tutto gas"?

SupermotoDave · Post by **SupermotoDave** » 08 May 2006 19:03

I use pattern belts at well under a tenner, at that price you can afford to change them regularly. I would be interested to hear when the last batch of genuine belts were produced for Morinis and how long they have spent on the shelf. Most engines now will have accumulated some more tolerances and so reduce the validity of the ABC sizes.
The main problem with the belts is with bikes that sit for months without being used, this can cause the belt to take on a "set" round the crank pulley which can cause greater chance of failure. if this is your bike then a new belt every year at Â£6 is cheap insurance.
These "pattern" belts are standard engineering components, produced to a standard spec, much like roller bearings. We are not talking of cheapo chinese copies here but a part much like an SKF bearing, that's the part code and it is made to a certain specification, the same as is marked on the factory original belts.

David

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 09 May 2006 20:21

care to share part numbers with the rest of us dave?

SupermotoDave · Post by **SupermotoDave** » 09 May 2006 22:37

It's no secret, I think its in the manual, and it says it on the original belt.
124 L 075
Incidentaly, Morini belts can be dated, the one I have here says D5, which if I recall corectly from when I looked it up on the net was 1983, same age as the bike which I bought in 1999?
The teeth came off this genuine one, not really surprising as it was 17 years old. I got the replacement from BSL, it's a Goodyear and the cost was Â£8.60 plus vat in 2000, mind you that was for 2

David

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 06 Aug 2006 18:49

SupermotoDave wrote:The main problem with the belts is with bikes that sit for months without being used, this can cause the belt to take on a "set" round the crank pulley which can cause greater chance of failure. if this is your bike then a new belt every year at Â£6 is cheap insurance.

This sounds like good advice. Thanks for that and the other info in the thread.

I suppose the likelihood of it taking a set would be reduced if you took the trouble to turn it over with th ignition off every couple of weeks?

Nige.

SupermotoDave · Post by **SupermotoDave** » 06 Aug 2006 20:35

Yes absolutely, and that was also the advice of "The guru" Phil Smith who claimed that regularly used bikes could go for years and thousands of miles without belt changes.

Ballacraine · Post by **Ballacraine** » 23 Sep 2006 17:55

OK..I am kind of comitted here as I perhaps rashly, in restrospect, tin snipped off the old cam belt after changing the oil and firing her up to get the new oil around..

Now I will admit to not checking the tension, but the new belt did push on easy with thumb pressure. I put copper slip on...Is this not such a good idea?

Now when I kick over everything feels different.....Very tight like I have significantly upped the compression ratio.

It has not fired up yet....Perhaps thankfully! :0/

I think I will take it down again in the morning and check, but has anyone else come across this phenomenon?

An early response would be helpful! ;0)

TIA

Nige :0)

Post by **SteveMRC** » 23 Sep 2006 18:13

If it was mine I would take the belt off and remove all the copper grease from it, it doesn't need any lubrication.
I have always managed to remove belts and install them with finger pressure only.
Can't think why the engine feels harder to turn over, did you move one of the pulleys when the belt was off ?

Steve

Ballacraine · Post by **Ballacraine** » 23 Sep 2006 18:19

Thanks for the swift response, Steve..Much appreciated.

Not consciously....

I marked everything before I disturbed it,...... that is why I was surprised at the change.

Even if the belt was a little on the tight side, I wouldn't have thought it would have made that sort of noticeable difference. :0/

I think I'll take the cover off and see if anything is fouling.

Nige. :0/

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 23 Sep 2006 18:45

When I did my first ever belt change, many years ago, I was very careful not to move either of the pulleys. Put it all back together and then spent the next 30 mins trying to get the engine started.
I removed the cover again and noticed the two dots on the pulleys where not where they should be, one was a tooth out.

I'm not sure how I did that but I put it back on again in the correct position and it fired up first kick. No harm done, just another lesson learned the hard way

btw - talking about learning the hard way, I jacked up the car today to remove a rear wheel to clean the brake pads. When I put the wheel back on the car and was trying to line up the stud holes, the car rolled backwards off the jack and trapped my fingers under the wheel

I was trapped for about 30 seconds before I somehow managed to pull my hand out. Apart from a very sore finger tip and one small purple mark on my finger nail no harm done. I'm sure it's gonna hurt tomorrow. A few minutes earlier I had my head in the wheel arch to refit the pads.
I always chock the wheels before jacking the car up, today I only did one and obviously not very well.

Steve

Ballacraine · Post by **Ballacraine** » 23 Sep 2006 19:02

Ouch!

That sounds painful, Steve!

Right a little progress to report.....

In my usual fastidious manner, I had been replacing the fasteners with stainless, including the somewhat mangled cheese heads holding the stator...The replacements I had used were allen screws and had a 2mm deeper head!

They were fouling the rotor...

A cautionary tale there for like minded folk!

It kicks over normally now but won't start.....I'll check your last tip in the morning....

Many thanks for your prompt assistance!!

Nige.