Ya better give it at least TWO full turns at the crank, one turn won't take the valves through the full cycle.Time to change is RIGHT NOW!!!
you will also note an inprovement in performance.
Don't forget to turn engine over 360 by hand before trying to start after changing belts
If you mark the position of the two cam wheels accurately with a felt tip marker and mark the engine adjacent to the cam wheels that's really all you need. The crank pulley won't move on you, there's plenty of friction to hold it. When you put the new belts on just make sure the marks are all still the same as when you took the belts off. I usually turn the crank until the two pulleys have the UP marks right side up and at 10 and 3 O'clock, but it's not important. One caution, this method is assuming the bike is running fine and the valve timing is correct to start with. If you suspect otherwise set the timing by the book.Hi,
By all means, remove the radiator.. I changed belts on a1100 once with it in place.
On my 1200, i wanted to change the coolant , and clean evrything I could..
I didn't follow every step in the book. I never removed the timing cap on top of the engine. Just lined up the timing marks and pulleys. As the cam on the right side wanted to rotate, I put the belt on while holding it in place with a box wrench, a third hand would have been nice!! I tried 3 or 4 times before I had it right. Take your time. Turn the engine over a couple times to make sure nothing binds, if it does, start over.
TOJ
Are you saying---Where is the timing cap, on top of the engine?? The answer is yes, it is in there at about the center on the flattish section of the engine----about the size of a Canadian Toonie (if you have ever seen one)and it has a slot in it for a screwdriver. Rotate the crank until the T1 mark appears and then try to line it up with the marks on the side. be aware of parallax error.Where is the timing cap on top of engine, is that where I will find the T1 mark the book talks about, someone had felt tipped the camshaft sprockets and the crank but I removed the crank bolt as I am converting to a alternator and belts were right there so why not, but the felt mark on the crank was on the front beveled guide which does not have a keyway notched out so not sure of posistion