My own personal change interval for time is 5 years anyway. What I don't want to see are belts getting a few hundred miles, sit for 2 years, repeat. I'd prefer if someone were to see the belts and verify the tension. That's how I feel about my own motorcycle. I am in total agreement. We are having some sent to the engineers at our manufacturer / importer in Nebraska. Stu or I will update with the results. This will be moving at the speed of business, so probably 3 weeks. We had a set before and when held against our TB696 belt, I could find no dimensional differences. The belt felt of similar stiffness. Looks to me like Ducati changed the manufacturer for the 70T belt. We have previously noticed the part number update for items where the part is essentially the same and the assumption was a different manufacturer. Thanks, Chris
I'm pretty sure the belts are made near my local Chinese.....they have very similar markings against the King Prawn balls with Hot n Sour sauce. If the Prawn balls are anything to go by they'll be very tasty, but don't get on the M25 in rush hour the next morning!
Why not indeed and that applies to the old belts and especially Chris's/Exige's belts as well. A good quality, properly aligned, properly tensioned belt is not going to break just because it's been on the bike for more than 2 years. A Fiesta belt is good for 100,000 miles.
I am worried about the exact belts? 1st problem; i think they could run hotter because the have a thicker root, from the bottom of the tooth to the back of the belt? Ducati understands this and the BSB 998 RS bikes had modified radiators and ducting taking cool air to the top sprocket, the 2002-3 bikes had fo2 fairing ducts to cool the top belt? it was decided that the reduction in reliability was a consequence of belt over heating the overheating is produced by the cyclic bending happening as the belt travels around the pulleys. just as the rigid structure of "rag" tyres produces more over-heating than radials do, and are less tolerant than radials are to running under inflated 2nd problem the aftermarket belt starts of with a short pitch? ( according to the video),then optimizes to the correct pitch as the belt conditions, (stretches) We all know the belt stretches the most on the start of its service, then stretches less durin the middle of its service life, then starts moving again as it approaches failure. The excact belt will condition then will have a long pitch; started exact then went long??? The after-market will start short then go exact for a longer period of its service life? Do not assume that the after market belt is low quality or cheap in design I think (my opinion) is that "Exact" didnt think it through? I would like to know about climate and life-duty services of exact belts before I buy them The belt is one of the most critical parts of a Ducati; ENGINES COST MORE THAN BELTS? i know
I have no intention to denegrate any person or company,my loyalty is only to fellow riders. I try to keep an open mind, and will take advice if i piss people off? If I am wrong tell me Peter
So your first post is the worst 'unfounded and technically wrong post' that Exact Fit timing belts have had thrown at them in their 8 years of unprecedented history & service to the Ducati community. It is full of inaccurate speculation and false facts. It is your first post on this Forum so clearly is aimed at rubbishing an excellent and long standing product. Are you connected with the new timing belt company that Ducati has sourced in the Far East perhaps? They started manufacturing Scrambler belts first as you will be aware.
You don't happen to be a rep for a Chinese belt company by any chance..... I've never read such dribble on here; well not for a long time. If you seriously believe what you have written then please return here in a years time and let us know how you got on with your chinese belts. Hopefully your future posts may contact verifiable facts, rather than fanciful speculation. I was also going to welcome you to the forum, but I think we've got enough idiots on here already.
I have seen to many vertical cylinder heads destroyed on race engines, (which over-stress the belts to a much greater extent than do road engines) to be aware that the end mode of failure is properly through the same mechanisms; just the time frames are a lot shorter on the race engines, to be afraid of;, time expired, overheated, and incorrectly tensioned belts, to know I dont want to take the same risks with cheaper engines and belts, having said that i would be interested in the recommendation of any riders who have used various aftermarket belts and got good service reliability? I just dont know which ones because i havent brought any. Breakout998 ps I have a few boxes of new belts now more than 15years old, kept in airtight plastic boxes; belts are new, but i am sh.. scared to use them? any body know if they would still be good?
I am wrong accept my apologies, I have no intention of denigrating any product, let alone an excellent one, I stand corrected, i buy some? cheap and test them for you, lol put them into my 748R? anybody interested in Ducati mechanical systems, I would be interested in talking and collaborating with you to increase my knowledge and share resources with you
Your thoughts on the pitch were totally erroneous. When Chris manufactured belts he had to ensure they could not be engineered any better due to the scare stories and people saying you should only use OEM belts - so he made them to a higher spec in every area possible. The pitch error was a true error mainly in 1 specific Ducati Belt. The size for size variation (Range) was 10 times greater than the new Exact Fit belts when tested. OEM stretch more, ours tension @ 99Hz due to this. If you have been hibernating for many years it is very strange you come on here with an opening post that appears to attack the unparalleled reputation built up over 8 years. With you being based where you are and your servers from the far east I remain sceptical of who you are and what your motives are but here are a few points for your 'interest'. . Why Exact Fit? Launched and specified by Chris Kelly (an internationally renowned Ducati Technician / Racer from the USA) A chance meeting with an ex Director of Gates lead to a project to manufacture timing belts for Ducati’s that were better than OEM: to a quality & specification not constrained by large business accountants & price pressures Specified to the highest possible criteria: with a much greater attention to dimensional tolerances / stretch / stiffness / loop joining method / construction & coating. Manufactured by ‘the’ global leader OEM factory in the far-east with the latest Western Equipment and run under strict Automotive Controls. The plant that supplies just about all global brand OEM timing belts. A little known fact: Ducati now source timing belts from the Far East (2016) but not to Chris’s stringent specifications. Exact Fit: Originally launched as a premium brand timing belt: as a real alternative to OEM Ducati Belts in 2009 – due to the specification some of the Exact Fit belts were more expensive than the OEM belts. It is only since VAG group took over Ducati and the OEM prices started to climb that Exact Fit timing belts became more cost effective due to Chris being true to his customer base by keeping his margins the same. We are still the premium brand! Quickly established in the USA as the leading brand and used by Ducati main dealers, some fitting as their default! – we have no known belt failures in all the years since!!! Here in the UK and the rest of the world some Ducati Technicians still advise to (and only use) OEM belts: they do not know the full story and are advising away from the highest specification belts available! We even have a Ducati owning Formula 1 technician as customer, not because he can't afford OEM prices.
Peter, thanks for your note on my page. Link here as promised: If you Subscribe to the Forum (see Premium button) you get 15% discount. https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/exact-fit-timing-belts-forum-subscriber-discount.38123/ You might be interested also in www.exact-start.com if you have been away from the scene for a while - same discounts apply for Premium Subscribers. Stu
I could understand this posting if ExactFit belts had suffered a spate of premature failures and a possible explanation was being offered. However, ExactFit belts are extremely reliable, so why come up with this mischievous speculation??
ok RETRACTION I proberly made a mistake? done some more research looked at the videos, I withdraw all questions from my previous posts I re-watched the videos with earphones in! i was wrong about belt thickness so that problem goes, sorry. and the only belt that has a short pitch appears to be the "regarded as reliable" after market belt? as was pointed out the OEM belt looked to have good exact pitch ratio as did the EXACT brand. I am sorry and withdraw my comment/ questions as per my previous posts on this subject. I stand by my comments regarding belts, but it appears they arent appropriate to Exact brand of belts. I hope now Exact will sell me some cheap ones to try on my bikes? lol CAN YOU GUYS GIVE ME SOME POINTS FOR TRYING sorry guys
