Un like a chain drive, if a belt snaps, it's not likely to whip out and splitting things in 2... very important things.  The worst case is a nasty welt.

Although if you get caught up in the front pulley, you will loose things.  So leave that gaurd in place.

Serowbot just want's a sleeper bobber cafe racer chopper track bike...

Some say the left front bolt that holds on the decorative chrome head cover (the bolt that sticks up out of the head) is necessary for proper sealing of the head.

There are at least two solutions. The first, if you don't want to disassemble the head, is to stack twenty-something washers on the bolt and then tighten it down with the stock nut. I suppose a section of steel tubing could accomplish the same thing. Either way, it looks funky but it's functional.

But if you're going to have the head apart, you can replace that long bolt with a short one, like I did.




Or you could go with the group that says that bolt isn't necessary for proper head sealing and just cut it off/leave it out.

Following up on MotoBuddha's comment; I removed both chrome head covers and developed a small oil leak on the left side as I didn't secure that bolt.

Instead of taking the head off (at that moment) I cut a small section of iron pipe to use as a spacer and bolted that down with a few washers to solve the problem. twenty washers might be an understatement, the pipe section wasn't far from 2.5".


belt guard... eh, people say they protect from rocks in your belt, others say they direct rocks to your belt. i think my state (PA) requires a belt guard for passing inspection so i keep mine around (not on, mind you) and toss it on for the one day i need it inspected.

pulley guard. I rode without mine for a few months, tore a good bit of my jeans up near my left foot. Kind of glad i was in old worn down jeans and didn't have shoe laces. that guard went back on. Some people 'round these parts cut holes in them or slots or fab up some lightweight business out of wire mesh to prevent your pants from being ripped off.

There was a thread a few weeks ago about extreme weight-loss for our bikes if you care to search for it, though getting rid of the head covers for me was just aesthetic (aside from being able to get at the spark plug a touch easier).

I just chopped that bolt off this weekend. I thought a read a thread a while ago where a lot of people say that the bolt does not effect the engine, cause leaks, etc if you remove it. I Hope i didnt cause an oil leak by cutting it off!

Mine's never leaked... 25k miles... ...