Alternator belt on 1200 sport replacement

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Does anyone have a short description or video of the procedure for replacing the alternator belt on a 2008 1200 sport 1200cc 2 valve engine?. I would like to do that over the winter. I would like to find out how I can do it myself. Thanks

[guzzisteve]

This has been covered a bunch, a search may find something. I think there is something out there, somewhere.
BUT Take off front cover, on upper left is a lock bolt 5 or 6mm allen. Loosen it. THEN behind the R/H coil is an adjuster w/locknut. This makes belt loose or tight, you go up or down with it. THEN you have to loosen the other side of alt for the pivot, you need to catch the nut on the inside behind alt and in front cover. GOOD LUCK without pulling tank & airbox. It takes longer but doable. GOOD LUCK

I made my own tool for tension identical to factory. Service book has good write up w/pics.

[Mackers]

I recently did my Breva 1100: https://motoguzzimackers.com/2020/09/14/breva-1100-alternator-belt/

It's a straightforward job if you're not scrambling around on the floor, and if you have a range of tools for some tight spaces.

[Bulldog9]

What's the recommended service interval on these?

I think my 1200 Sport has about 20,000 mi on its belt, and the Griso still has the original belt from 2007.

I would just pull the tank and take it as a good opportunity to clean things up. The 5 minutes it will take to do that will be gained back very quickly when trying to adjust and move the alternator.

[Huzo]

I did my Norge at 60,00 and 120,000, it’s due again now at 180,000, but I’ll do it at 200,000.
I have the forks out each 20,000 k to empty and replenish them, so is a great opportunity to sit at the front and you can get at everything..(sort of like a Gynaecologist..)
This is the view..


This is further in than you need to go, but for the 20 minutes it takes to get the forks out, it makes the job a lot easier.
You won’t lose the alternator pivot bolt nut, because you only have to back the bolt of a touch.

[Bulldog9]

I did my Norge at 60,00 and 120,000, it’s due again now at 180,000, but I’ll do it at 200,000.
I have the forks out each 20,000 k to empty and replenish them, so is a great opportunity to sit at the front and you can get at everything..(sort of like a Gynaecologist..)
This is the view..


This is further in than you need to go, but for the 20 minutes it takes to get the forks out, it makes the job a lot easier.
You won’t lose the alternator pivot bolt nut, because you only have to back the bolt of a touch.

That's a great Idea, though I will likely never get to 60K miles unless I go down to one bike, and well, that's not likely to happen...... ;-)

[Huzo]

That's a great Idea, though I will likely never get to 60K miles unless I go down to one bike, and well, that's not likely to happen...... ;-)

My distances are quoted in kilometres.
So in that case you’ll not need to do the belt.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I did my Griso deliberately using only the tools I normally carry on a trip, I did a tutorial somewhere.
Carry the old one as a spare, if you don't need it someone else might, its not the sort of thing you can pick up easily.

This is specific to the Griso, there may be more or less junk to remove depending on your model.
Although I was in the comfort of the garage I deliberately restricted myself to the tools I normally carry on the bike.
Allen Keys, 4,5 & 6mm (these have a ball end but it's just a nice to have)
Ring/Open end wrench 13mm, a small adjustable would do at a pinch.

Remove bottom 4 cover screws
Remove ECU cover and ECU holding bolts, swing it out of the way.
Remove the 5th cover screw and the breather box standoff which also acts as a cover screw.
Loosen the 6mm clamping screw at about 11 o'clock with regard to the alternator pulley.
Remove the cheek from the right hand side of tank
Loosen the locknut on the belt adjuster, easily accessed once the cheek is out of the way.
Back off the belt adjuster until at least 1/2" of thread is exposed
Squeeze the belt together so the alternator swings down, if the belt is broken lever the alternator down

Place new belt around alternator pulley, start it around crank pulley
Turn the crank with a wrench or crank it with the starter and the belt will pop on.
Re-tighten the belt tensioner and the locknut. I just put it back where it was but also noted it was easy to twist the belt through 90° in between pulleys. It should also be possible to turn the motor over using a small wrench on the alternator pulley nut, a little slip would be ok.
Re-tighten the 6mm Allen clamp screw
Refit cover
Bolt back the ECU and cover.

The original belt at 40,000 km has a few small stones embedded in it probably from the Dempster trip but still has plenty of life left, I will carry it as a spare.

I probably missed a step or two, I will review the notes I made this evening\


Showing the breather standoff bolt/cover screw.


Cover removed showing top two fasteners


Showing the Allen key in alternator clamp bolt
You can also see the Belt tension adjuster


It's much easier to access the adjuster if you remove the right tank cheek


Back the screw off at least 1/2" (15mm)

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Thanks for the great information! I can understand why taking off the front tank shroud and moving the oil cooler out of the way would greatly help. How does taking the entire gas tank off help in getting to the alternator belt?

[bad Chad]

I did it last year.  I too was a bit concerned if I had the ability to do it without mucking it up.   But it turned out to be a pretty straight procedure.   I think I needed to take off the plastic spontunes from the tank, that was the most labor intensive part.  I’m not a good wrench, but if you can adjust your valve lash, I think you can do the belt, just take your time.

[Huzo]

Thanks for the great information! I can understand why taking off the front tank shroud and moving the oil cooler out of the way would greatly help. How does taking the entire gas tank off help in getting to the alternator belt?

Much easier to get to the nut on the end of the alternator pivot bolt..
Just do it..

[bad Chad]

I didn’t need to take the tank off, I recall sliding it back a couple inches and tilting it to one side. This way I was able to gain the clearance needed, without getting into all the extra bs that comes with tank removal.    To your question, I can’t recall exactly what it was that needed to have the tank moved a bit to get to, but I know it made the job doable.

[Huzo]

I did it last year.  I too was a bit concerned if I had the ability to do it without mucking it up.   But it turned out to be a pretty straight procedure.   I think I needed to take off the plastic spontunes from the tank, that was the most labor intensive part.  I’m not a good wrench, but if you can adjust your valve lash, I think you can do the belt, just take your time.

Just take the tank off...

[bad Chad]

Huzo is way more mechanical than many of us.  I have read far to many times about the difficulties involved with tank removal to want to deal with both belt change and tank removal.

But on the other hand, if you have the time in a warm garage , the tank is certainly doable.  I just didn’t want to take on both jobs at the same time. 

[willowstreetguzziguy]

This past year I changed the inner plugs, and  I tried to remove the tank and the “push pull” connector underneath of it. I’ve did it three other times successfully before but this last time I buggered up the connector and it won’t come off. I had to drain the tank and flip it onto its back off to the side. I may have to replace that “connector” mechanism under the tank at some point but I was hoping to not have to do that for now. I have a friend that’s a great mechanic that helped me earlier last year with the tank/innerlugs and air box so I might ask him to help me with this job as well.  All your advice has been helpful. Thanks

[Kiwi_Roy]

Huzo is way more mechanical than many of us.  I have read far to many times about the difficulties involved with tank removal to want to deal with both belt change and tank removal.

But on the other hand, if you have the time in a warm garage , the tank is certainly doable.  I just didn’t want to take on both jobs at the same time.

Did you see what a good fit the door is on Huzo's garage
This is the view..



Not too much insulation either lol