Scud

Here is Chuck's drawing. I thought it would be worth having this in the "permanent record."

Ha... that was great.

I think it might be fuel supply. I wanted to clean the fuel-level sender anyway (because it's not accurate), so I took out the whole pump assembly to get at the fuel-level sender. I found a lot of junk on the fuel pick-up screen. I had the tank propped up for a while, and I suspect that every bit of loose junk in the tank settled around the screen. So I'm gonna replace the filter, pump, and submersible hoses. Hopefully that does the trick. Parts were cheap too - the ducati.ms forum had all the compatible parts identified, for much lower than the dealer prices.

I noticed the bent long arms as well. The manufacturer is Jones Spring Company in Kentucky. My contact there has been good so far. I'll ship the remaining springs back tomorrow. Once armed with a new drawing, I'll talk with them about a re-run. They've been responsive so far, and didn't put up any resistance when I claimed a problem - they just want the springs back so they can see the flaws for themselves. It will either work out (which I expect) - or we will find another manufacturer.

Ok - so I just need to be sure they understand the min/max on the ID. That wasn't clear to me, but I don't know the "secret handshake" of engineering drawings. And I'll strike the strike that.

Nice one scudd, but I'm not sure about the green vents. Up there with Chucks red fork gators I think. The Ducati gods may take revenge on you:) Ciao Hmm... perhaps I have angered the duck-gods. She gave me a crank-but-no-start right after this. Hopefully fixable this weekend, parts have been delivered. I'm not "sure" about the green vents either. But it's just a wrap that I could remove easily if I want to. Plus, I think it's a better idea than buying a Benelli Tornado. As for geniuses... they don't always dress well.

I had a shifting problem once because the nut on the forward heim joint was hitting the starter. I turned it around so the screw head faced the starter and the problem was solved.

Ok, sounds like we are close to taking the next step. On the inside diameter... If I recall correctly, the drawing gave a minimum, but not a maximum, diameter. I can send the springs back in a few days - I'm away from home right now. Chuck, I'll need a revised drawing, you can e-mail a pdf to me. waar gewerkt wordt vallen spaanders.

Weak springs would result in clutch slippage under heavy loads. I replaced a slipping clutch that probably still had some life in it - would have gone longer with stiffer springs. Broken springs would probably cause irregular engagement, but I'm just speculating and have never experienced that.

Worth doing that, for sure. Especially if the bike's been sitting a while. Probably worth flushing the front and rear brakes while you're at it. The clutch is needed more on downshifts than upshifts. In fact, these transmissions do pretty well on upshifts without using the clutch at all.

A lot of shifting issues get solved by adjusting the linkage, without getting into the transmission. Make sure everything is snug and has enough free travel (no interference). If that doesn't solve it, you could pull the pre-selector off and polish all the contact surfaces on the shift arms.

I did suck down a cold can of apricot nectar at the top of the mountain while talking with the Ducati and Aprilia guys (animals?)... Geese, Ducks, and Apes... and various other American, Japanese, and German bikes on top of the mountain today. Then I visited some other tight and twisties... Couser Canyon... West Lilac... Olive Hill... and saw a lot of EXTREME FIRE DANGER signs and flags on this hot and windy day. Gotta slog to LAX at 0-dark thirty tomorrow. The K75s gets freeway duty and airport parking duty.

Great bike. If you pull the clutch in with engine idling, and it gets quieter, you have a single-plate clutch. Most likely that means you have an original clutch and flywheel. Remember, the clutch itself is not the problem; the original aluminum flywheel is the problem. If you pull the clutch in with engine idling and it gets noisier, you have a standard, twin-plate clutch like most V11s. The noise is caused by the pressure plate backing off and allowing the many parts to rattle around inside the flywheel. I am not sure what causes the noise at idle on the single plate. But we do know it's a risk factor. It's a relatively low probability that your aluminum flywheel will explode, but the consequences are potentially very bad. There's lots of information and speculation about the single plate clutch/flywheel. Now if you're wondering if the bike was updated with a Ram single plate clutch and steel (not aluminum) flywheel, you'd need to get a magnet on the flywheel. I think this could be done with some sort of magnet on a flexible stick. You could try through the timing hole... but it might require removing the starter to get access. Also, the aluminum flywheel is round, while the Ram steel flywheel has three arms.

Went for a romp up Mount Palomar.

Swooshdave: "I assume you just provided them the drawing?" No, I sent the drawing and one of the springs that Chuck made. The manufacturer messed up the angle, but we may have messed up the spec on the arm length - or the wrong angle had something to do with the way the length was measured. I'm sending Chuck a few of the new springs and the two parts that the spring fits into. Chuck will figure it out and we will persevere till the springs are right.

I think the manufacturer will work with us. The rep responded by e-mail that they have a 10 degree production tolerance. I measured that they were off by 15 degrees, so they are beyond their own stated tolerance. He offered to rework the original material, but I don't think we should accept that - I think we need to prove this design with material that has been shaped only one time. I'll try to talk with him tomorrow and figure out the options. Given the difficulty of replacing this spring, and the "chronic" nature of the problem, I think a re-run with new material is our best bet. Perhaps we should be prepared to pay a little extra if we also want the arm shorter.

I think the arm is 0.7 inches as you specified, but the hand-made ones you sent me were closer to the 0.62" measurement that you originally had on the drawing. However, the angle is 30 degrees on the new springs, not 1 degrees as you specified. The caliper is open to exactly 0.70 inches. I think we would be justified in refusing these springs just on the basis of the angle - and asking for another batch. But if we do, should I change the length specification back to 0.62"? Or maybe the 30 degree angle (vs 15 degree as specified) has contributed the issue. From what I can see, the spring will work. The short arm doesn't move around on the stamped piece - and so long as it can't slip off the shoulder it should be fine. (and it cannot slip off the shoulder - I tried). Chuck - it might be good to talk this through. I'll be available this evening.

I fitted one of the newly manufactured springs to the spare pre-selector. It shifts well. The short arm of the spring is noticeably longer than the original, and contacts the stamped steel part further out, by the shoulder (rather than in the curve). Here's pics of how the spring fits.

Yes, after I am sure about postage cost I will give prices and payment options. I think I might put some of the details in my profile, since that is only visible to members.

I have to review my various messages to see who was interested in taking a batch in which countries. I'll assume your question is an expression of interest to take a batch into the UK.

Just caught up to this thread... To answer questions from the last page: I thought the quality of the rebuild kit was quite good. The brakes felt superb after the rebuild (and after the initial seating of the new pads on the new rotors). Sadly, the LeMans has "left the building" along with the new brakes so I can't do a long-term test. Ironically, she left in trade for my Ducati ST3, which has the same rotors and calipers as the V11 - but a different master cylinder. @LowRyter - that's funny.

OK Chuck - I've got 100 3x5x1 inch boxes on the way. I send you five springs to abuse, install, or regift. I'll also send five to Docc to install or use as party-favors at the next spine raid. I should be able to send these out by the weekend. I'll factor those no-charge springs into the unit cost for everybody else. Then I'll know how much the postage is (hoping I can just do this with stamps to make it easy). Then I can give everybody a final price along with ordering instructions. Czakky gets a bonus gift with purchase: a free cupped washer for his steering damper.