Belts.....

I know that belt tech has been getting a lot better in recent years. Polaris has been reinforcing their belts with carbon fiber to enhance longevity. They are pricey, but if you don't have to do major surgery as often, that is way better right?

From everything I've read and from talking to a buddy with a 796 Monster the belts shouldn't be a huge issue. Service says to check for slack at 7500 miles and replace at 15000 miles. For both belts I believe replacement service is less than $1000.

I too had a similar concern... most other manufacturers have much longer service intervals... 7,500 miles I am not excited about.

I'm at 6500 mi and haven't had to change belts on my 696 yet. The service intervals are reasonable if you ask me.

Been looking into this a little more, clicking thru the Monster forums. Sounds like checking/replacing the belts isn't too bad of a job, about an hours work and $40 for the set of belts. If it only has to be done every 15K I'm not so worried. Adjusting the valves on the other hand sounds like a bit more of an undertaking as these mills don't have the usual buckets and shims. Learning how to maintain a new bike is part of the fun of owning it.

I've had several belt driven cam ducs it's really not an issue especially the 2 valver,,, I got the cam lock tool for the 2&4 valve engines on eBay very inexpensively,,, and the biggest deal with the shims was buying the big shim kit( $220 or so) kevlar belts $45-50 ish,,, not to shabby,,, if you don't work on your own machine then it can get a little pricey,,,

And one of the reasons a belt is better in the duc mill is there are no valve springs,,,