Yep....you're both pretty much ignorant.....
There's nothing wrong with the non-metal gears for most applications. They're some sort of ceramic FRP. I'm not sure of the exact material it's made of, but it's plenty capable of standing up to the test of time.
Running without timing covers is asking for trouble. Doing it for the simple fact that you like to watch the pulleys run around shows alot of ignorance. Things that are done on a track driven (swept track at that) motor should not be considered cool for a daily driver, where rocks/debris can get get caught in the belt and causing it to shred. That is just stupid.