My fix for the infamous ball and rod problems.

[105laptimes]

So after quite a bit of sweat and stress and mesquito bites, I made a decision to go with my instincs and do a bit of fabrication.
So here goes, I had broken my clutch cable and ordered a new one from Steve he suggested that I take the plates out and check each one out as well as tighten the nut in the center of the clutch basket and puch teh ball and rods out scotch brite them and put some new fresh grease into the cavity they are held in I used Bel-Ray water proof grease. when I removed the shifter box side cover there was a piece similar to a thick washer inbetween the actuator arm and the rod that sticks out, the pice didnt look Ducati so I figured why not remove it well in doing so I lost all adjustment in my clutch. I look online, I looked in the manual I looked everywhere to see what it was that my bike was missing and still to this point I never found it. so in order to componsate I took out the 6mm x 6mm rod on the clutch side and replaced it with a 6mm x 18mm dowel pin purchased from Mcmaster Carr i payed 7.99 for a bag of 25 and they were at my doorstep within 3 days. I am not really sure what the problem was but it is fixed and teh clutch works better than it ever has. Just for the record the pressure plates and friction plates are in stellar shape as well as the springs are still regulation length, all the rods and adjust ment screw were still the right length and had not been ground down. I really really dont know what was the problem but it is fixed and all is amazing.Ryan

[wdietz186]

If they aren't greased and the rider sits alot with the clutch pulled in the "bullet" that sticks out of the mainshaft will burrow into the release arm.The grit that collects in the chain/shift box area acts like valve grinding compound and wears both components.If the bullet wears too much it can come out of the end of the shaft and jam things up. Something to look at to be safe.

[machten]

If they aren't greased and the rider sits alot with the clutch pulled in the "bullet" that sticks out of the mainshaft will burrow into the release arm.The grit that collects in the chain/shift box area acts like valve grinding compound and wears both components.If the bullet wears too much it can come out of the end of the shaft and jam things up.

YEs, I totally agree. In the Perth, Western Australia environment, where the city is basically built on sand, and is one of the windiest cities in the world, this is a common maintenance task. I have gone through a number of these levers over the last 30 years. Now I tend to overfill with very sticky trailer wheel bearing grease - not because it is a great lubricant, but it will stop the sand getting into the contact surface. The fact is that the soft alloy lever is the greatest sacrifical part of the mechanical thrust, so you need to protect it.

Kev