Rebuilding 2009 Monster 696 vertical head

[CshwartZ]

New to the forum. I was riding my M696 recently when the engine suddenly gave up and when I first checked the timing belt covers, I saw both tensioners were broken, though the belts themselves only frayed.
When I took the horizontal head off, everything looked surprisingly fine in there. But the vertical head is a mess because one valve broke, the piston has a hole through it, and the spark plug is ruined. Now the engine is on my workbench and I know I have to rebuild the entire vertical head. Meaning... a new piston, cylinder, valves, maybe rocker arms, and the head itself. I plan to check the connecting rod and crankshaft for damage too but since I'm already this deep, is there anything specific or common for this engine that I should make sure to inspect while it's completely taken apart? Also, are there any aftermarket piston or cylinder kits that people recommend for this rebuild? Thank you, everyone.

 

[bigbrain$]

Did you also check the camshaft journals and rocker arms? since they can show scoring if lubrication was interrupted.

A lot of riders rebuilding these engines go with aftermarket kits from brands like JE or Wiseco for pistons and cylinders since they’re tough and sometimes give you higher compression. The OEM parts are still the safest bet if you want factory level reliability.