| Author | Post |
|---|
donbgoldwing
Member
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 21st, 2006 09:38 pm | 1st Post |
|
Has anyone thought of making a kit to change the older goldwings from a timing belt to the newer chain setup as on the 1800 goldwing.
It seems to me it would last the life of the bike and be a boon to the people that have the older goldwings and not have to worry about checking and changing the belt all the time.
Just a thought in time
|
Rudy
Forum Ferret
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 12:04 am | 2nd Post |
|
Don,
That's a thought but I wouldn't classify once every 70 to 120 thousand miles as all the time. Most people change them to get peace of mind so that they will KNOW the history of these critical items. It's really not that difficult to do if you like messing around with your bike.
What I see as a flurry of changes is more due to older bikes being bought without knowing the maintenance histories on the bikes, as it was in my case.
I hope to make that process a lot easier for people tonight when I post the third in a series of photo guides I have been putting together. Ironically, tonight's topic is Changing Timing Belts and Tensioners.
I think it would take more work getting the chain drives installed and set up than several sets of timing belts would be, but maybe not. What lubricates those chains, might I ask?
Thanks
____________________
Rudy
'89 GL1500K 96k - http://goldwingtech.info
http://glhelpers.com
http://RudysBackyard.com/
http://annualssgwrally.us/coppermine/
SaberCycle: The lesson that just keeps on getting learned.
A DBA is a Computer Programmer who has simply gone SQL.
|
donbgoldwing
Member
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 05:57 am | 3rd Post |
|
I keep seeing people saying to change the belt every 20,000 miles or was just to check the belts. so that was my problum with it, further since the motor is 0 tal. I would think the chain as the better setup, as with the 1800, apparently the honda engineers thought so when they designed the new motor that way.
Seems there should have been an inspection hole to check the belts without taking the covers off, since this is so critical.
Only just a thought in time.
|
Rudy
Forum Ferret
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 05:44 pm | 4th Post |
|
Anyone who changes their belts and tensioners every 20k miles, please send me the parts you took out.
Thanks
____________________
Rudy
'89 GL1500K 96k - http://goldwingtech.info
http://glhelpers.com
http://RudysBackyard.com/
http://annualssgwrally.us/coppermine/
SaberCycle: The lesson that just keeps on getting learned.
A DBA is a Computer Programmer who has simply gone SQL.
|
exavid
Top Poster
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 09:01 pm | 5th Post |
|
| Chains have their problems too, leaks with a chain are more of likely. Since belts don't run in oil that's not a leak source. Also it's easier to get to the water pump on the older bikes since there's no timing chain and it's oil in the way. A bike that's ridden fairly steadily probably won't go through more than 3-4 belt sets in it's lifetime and that's not bad.
____________________
If you can't ride, fly or sail it, why bother?
Paul W.
|
donbgoldwing
Member
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 09:46 pm | 6th Post |
|
Since the 1800 goldwing has a chain, has there been any leaks in the area of the chain drive, also what is the situation with the water pump on tham.
Further I have not been changing my belt at 20,000 miles, this was just something I had seen on one of the goldwing sites.
What would one look for in a bad belt verses a good one? Do you have A pic of a bad one to get an idea.
Last edited on Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 09:48 pm by donbgoldwing
|
Rudy
Forum Ferret
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 11:18 pm | 7th Post |
|
Don,
We knew you were speaking hypothetically from info you picked up elsewhere.
It is a good suggestion to bring up.
I can't speak for the chains except those I've had in the air cooled 4 cyl hondas and they all got loose and rattly after a while and you had to pull the heads off to change them.
Several items of concern with belts and their purpose: The belts themselves can get old and cracked, the edges can fray and the teeth can become distorted. That is the problem with aged bikes even with low mileage as I believe may have been the case of the 20k mile changes you may have seen suggested.
Another area of concern is the bearings in the tensioners for the belts. If they are getting chatty and resistive instead of smooth running, belt damage can occur. Of course as you mentioned, the 0 tolerance for timing errors between the pistons and valves is what drives the concern for most people. Not knowing and not being able to see in there is what drives a lot of this. Your viewing hole idea is ok but you would need two, one for each side and you would still have to remove tupperware to get to them anyway.
If you know the age of the belts and condition of the tensioners and belts, this allows for long term use without much concern, I wouldn't personally feel it would be that much advantage for the viewing holes. Besides, I like to get my hands on things like tensioners, bearings and belts first hand since they are so important.
____________________
Rudy
'89 GL1500K 96k - http://goldwingtech.info
http://glhelpers.com
http://RudysBackyard.com/
http://annualssgwrally.us/coppermine/
SaberCycle: The lesson that just keeps on getting learned.
A DBA is a Computer Programmer who has simply gone SQL.
|
exavid
Top Poster
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 22nd, 2006 11:48 pm | 8th Post |
|
| I think the main thing is that both systems work well and each has advantages and disadvantages. I liked timing gears to turn a cam, but overhead cams kinda put the kibosh to that.
____________________
If you can't ride, fly or sail it, why bother?
Paul W.
|
2wings
Senior Member
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 01:07 am | 9th Post |
|
Surely with the chains there is a possibility of noise level increase and vibration, I guess 
There have been several post about the how-to of changing belts, I think one had pictures but I cannot find them. I need the pictures since I am a visual learner.
I never read the direction when I put the kids toys together for Christmas, I just looked at the picture on the box. My kids were the only ones on the block that had bike part scattered up and down the street Not really but I still need the pictures.
Keep on winging 
____________________
John "2wings" Young
'92 GL 1500
On the hunt for a Red 2005 1800 with all the fixings
'49 Wife ....Keeping the Wife, to much invested
'01 Minature Doberman
Skype:shuckyducky2
|
Rudy
Forum Ferret
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 02:06 am | 10th Post |
|
http://www.nonads.dyndns.org/murdercycles/guides/guides.htm
Photo guides
____________________
Rudy
'89 GL1500K 96k - http://goldwingtech.info
http://glhelpers.com
http://RudysBackyard.com/
http://annualssgwrally.us/coppermine/
SaberCycle: The lesson that just keeps on getting learned.
A DBA is a Computer Programmer who has simply gone SQL.
|
exavid
Top Poster
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 03:28 am | 11th Post |
|
Pretty good Rudy! I don't usually remove the hot air tube or the radiator hoses to get at the belts. You can work a little slack in the air hose to pull it forward a bit at the bend and it's not difficult to remove the covers with the radiator hose in place. Not having to drain and replace the coolant saves a bit of time and work if you don't need to replace it.
Those little plastic screw caps on the Baker Wings screws and on the marker light accent usually are held on by friction, not glue. They just snap on. If you break one or lose one they are available at most auto supply stores. There should be a nylon cup under the head of the screw that grips the caps from the inside. I have the Baker Wings, the two piece units
Good write up and photos.
____________________
If you can't ride, fly or sail it, why bother?
Paul W.
|
2wings
Senior Member
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 08:40 am | 12th Post |
|
Thanks for the pictures Rudy, this has been a project that I have wanted to complete but needed the visual to get a good idea of what to do. You gave detailed written info which is very helpful.
Keep on winging
____________________
John "2wings" Young
'92 GL 1500
On the hunt for a Red 2005 1800 with all the fixings
'49 Wife ....Keeping the Wife, to much invested
'01 Minature Doberman
Skype:shuckyducky2
|
Rudy
Forum Ferret
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 11:20 am | 13th Post |
|
2wings, thanks. I hope it helps you.
Paul,
Thanks for the feedback, it will help me refine the page to be more accurate. I was wondering if any guru crowd would chime in to help.
I suspected that the glue in the screw caps was a PO thing but was not sure. You may notice some bluish color inside the caps. That is some real crap he used before and it never dries and is sticky as hell. I'll probably replace those and the screws with SS too. The heads are rusted most likely from the acetic acid in the silicone adhesive. The glued on caps work ok but would most certainly improve things if the adhesive weren't needed. It's hard to see but the nylon cups are there but the have been partially melted from whatever the OP put in there before me so I think that's why he went with the silicone. Snap on caps without silicone would be the way to go for sure.
Good advice on the heater hose although getting it on and off isn't too hard and I wanted as much out of the way of the operator as possible, especially first timers.
I was not able to get the covers out with the rad hoses on, especially the one next to the hot air hose. I agree that not having to do the rad stuff would be a lot easier and faster. Knowing what is under the timing cover makes the hoses trivial but for newbies, it's more confusion and interference. I wanted to encourage the coolant be looked at on any newly acquired GL where the owner does not know the true maintenance history on the bike, which appears to be the norm.
If you don't mind, I'll add your comments to the pages in the appropriate sections.
Thanks again. Based on the number of hits on the webserver I'm seeing, I suspect your advice will be helping a lot of people by helping to make the photo guides more accurate and easier. Other gurus and experiences from bikers are encouraged to provide any feedback as well.
See any tensioners you recognized in there?
____________________
Rudy
'89 GL1500K 96k - http://goldwingtech.info
http://glhelpers.com
http://RudysBackyard.com/
http://annualssgwrally.us/coppermine/
SaberCycle: The lesson that just keeps on getting learned.
A DBA is a Computer Programmer who has simply gone SQL.
|
exavid
Top Poster
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Mar 24th, 2006 05:37 pm | 14th Post |
|
| I'm glad they found a good home!
____________________
If you can't ride, fly or sail it, why bother?
Paul W.
|
Grouchomax
Very Active Member
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Apr 26th, 2006 08:59 pm | 15th Post |
|
donbgoldwing wrote: What would one look for in a bad belt verses a good one? Do you have A pic of a bad one to get an idea.
Unless the old belt has tears or cracks, you just can't tell. An old belt well past changing time can still look good and just break one day without warning.
____________________
Max
|
Current time is 06:30 pm | |
|
