Hi all. Got a bit of a problem. I drained the oil to find this. The alternator nut was loose in the windings but i think i miraculously got away with it, after having just come from a 20 blast to warm the oil up. The alloy casing has some slight wear where the bearing retaining circlip clips into the groove, but there sees to be enough alloy to retain this low thrust fitting. I suspect the washer to be the one that fits between the crank gear and the flywheel. As you can see from the photos, the diameter of the washer seems quite large. I rang a ducati mechanic and he said that there was 3 different size shims in the spares system, whereas Nichols Superbikes in America, where i purchased my locknuts from, said it was a spacer, not shim, and was only one size. Any part numbers or views on whether I have it right.? Also, this was what the clutch pushrod looked like?? I'm sure that it operates on the clutch on the other side of engine and therefore should be 6-8 inches long. Has this snapped. A tuner once told me he removed the bearing in the crankcase/pushrod tunnel as they siezed. Thanks in advance for any help. Just had a thought. Is there a clip/ washer to hold the sprag clutch in?
The shim/spacer is as you suspect the one that sits behind the flywheel. It is a larger diameter than the crank as it fits over a bushing that runs in the starter clutch bearing. there have been a few different thicknesses and also changes to the assembly design. It depends on year as to what's fitted. the clutch rods do break usually due to the bearing in the pressure plate seizing as well as the small needle bearing in the gearbox shaft. It's cracked along the undercut where the o-ring sits which is the weakest point. The rod is about 300mm long, again depending on year as there are two lengths. Id have a good look at the threads on the crank as that nut doesn't look too good. I've seen many get away with the nut coming loose but I'd check the windings on the alternator as well as the insulation and/or windings can get damaged.
I had exactly the same problem, and it's quite easy to fix. If found roughly the same parts in my oil just before a trackday. After sending a picture to Nelly he replied straight away - it's the washer behind the flywheel and it made its way out through the gearbox, hence the "bite" marks in the pieces. Mine did quite a bit of damage to the side casing, not just when the flywheel fell onto my foot, so I had to replace that. £50 for a second-hand one. It did the same damage and wore away the retaining lip for the circlip to almost nothing, and a couple of grooves in the casing itself. The nut ended up rounded too, but I replaced it with Nichols double-locking nuts instead as a permanent fix. I checked my alternator coils while I was there and found one coil to be o/c. I'd spotted that it was a different colour around the ring and it looks like the half that doesn't sit in the oil gets way too hot and had burnt through. I took a gamble on a much later Monster 695 set and they fitted straight in. The only other damage was that the flywheel shaved a few grams off itself and I've lost my timing mark, but that's not a problem! I found all the other parts of the washer and it all went back together and runs just fine now. You will want to get yourself a flywheel locking tool so you don't stress the engine when you put the rotor nut(s) back on. I'd also recommend switching to the Nichols double-locking nuts as there's no guarantee that it won't happen again as it is a design fault with the thread and nut assembly. As for your clutch push rod, it should be a lot longer that that as it should go right through the engine from one side to the other! I've heard stories of them snapping when the bearing in the clutch pressure plate seizes, but yours doesn't look like it has snapped? Have you taken the rest out from the clutch side? Here's some pics of my stuff... Bits I found ... (unintentional unhappy smiley!) Case damage Coil damage - left is old (kind of upside down... top left is the bottom that runs in oil, bottom right is top and out of oil) Replacement nuts -> Nichols Sport Bikes | Products | Flywheel Nuts Where that damn washer comes from! This is what your clutch pushrod should look like!
I read of a mod somewhere, cant find it now , where the push rod was cut and shortened and a ball bearing put between the 2 halves
Its a 2000 BIP and i have checked the insulation and it seems good. will i have to remove clutch pp and how do i get the bearing out of the gearbox channel. The crank threads seem undamaged and i feel that the nut had come off entirely and was spinning around the smooth bit if the shaft? I don't feel that it had been off for long judging by the minimal damage.Thanks for the response.
How do i test the alt? Got nichols nuts and clutch operated well, but lost pressure. I Have a new clutch slave to put on.
A good idea would be to test the coils themselves with a multimeter and read the resistance of them between the yellow wires. I can't remember what the figure was, but I'll look it up for you if you don't already have a manual. I think it was about 0.2 - 0.4 Ohms or something. One of mine read as open and there were tiny hairline marks on the coils that you could only just see, probably from the wire fusing. Get the clutch pressure plate out and take a look. It's only 4 bolts for the clutch cover and 6 to take the spring caps off. No locking tools required! Hopefully you won't need to get at the bearing in the engine - Nelly will advise on this one! Sounds like your nut did exactly the same as mine - MY2000 748S - and the threads stay undamaged.
Pics look good to me. Slide that big gear off (starter gear) and there is the bearing, top-hat spacer behind it... your missing washer goes behind them!
cheers, off to bed now. Thanks for confirming position. ps where are the timing marks you rubbed off??
Little punched dots out the outside rim of the flywheel - I can see yours in the picture at the 3 o'clock position! The woodruff key should be fine as there is minimal clearance between the flywheel and casing, and there's the coils to keep everything in place. Mine was a lot more damaged than this and the woodruff key was unmarked.
As its in bits take a GOOD look at the starter sprag and inner and outer surface that the sprag grips on in the two gears. brian.
Thinking about an EPROM and a lightened flywheel, probably have funds for EPROM at the mo. As seen from the photo, it seems that the majority, if not all or the washer has been flushed out. Are you on about the sprag clutch or gear?
Nice one Antonye. I have the 999rs manual(but it doesnt have a washer) but when i rang ducati wolverhampton they said that there were 2 sizes? when fitting the flywheel, is there only one keyway (bike in my friends garage) and do i need to change any seals??ie gearshaft seal? got threebond and nichols nuts. Also, got a later slave cylinder. the one with the the recess in the middle and want to swap it with the original shit one it's off a 996. Do i still need that rubber seal by the chain. Sorry to be so needy. I'll measure the two pieces of my pushrod and get back to you. any info on removing the roller bearing from the gearbox tunnel would be appreciated. One again, thanks for the help so far.
got a New bigger pushrod that didnt come with a bearing. mine seems fine, so will do for now. Shal i graphite grease the shaft, or do i risk contaminating the plates? come with 2 o ring seals at the slave end, just worried about the internal bearing, although the shaft spins freely when inserted. Also thinking about machining my flywheel down< as per FE's instruction. After mailing him, it became clear that the holes on the outside of the circumference would disappear. will this tool, that i have just bought TODAY still hold the flywheel?? Cheers
Looks a bit small to fit over the flywheel . Here my home made flywheel holder with a lightweight aluminium flywheel that does have the holes .
