Ducati Needle Bearing Disaster: Part One

Traveling down the highway after a long day in the canyons, I prepared myself for the exit onto highway 14. It’s a tight, slightly banked, second gear turn. I started braking from 85mph to 40mph, grabbed the clutch and nothing. It was hard as a rock. I blipped the throttle,

downshifting without the clutch, and somehow managed to avoid crashing. The clutch worked intermittently as I limped home, then finally gave up the ghost about a mile from my 5-by-10.

The disassembly of the clutch revealed quite the mess. The slave cylinder is fried, the seals are blown, and the bearing that is supposed to keep the pushrod from spinning is filled with metal flakes. On the clutch side of the bike, the needle bearing is missing several rollers, and the pushrod is chewed up.

New parts on the way:

-Oberon slave cylinder

-Pushrod

-Paulimoto pressure plate

-Main shaft needle bearing

-Various o-rings, etc.

Such is the life of a Ducati owner. Stay tuned for the fix…hopefully before it snows.

Electraeon Ducati Superbike Throttle Cam Review

After high siding my CBR a few years back, my right wrist has never been the same. I love my Duc, but it is brutal on my wrist. I think having to regrip to hit full throttle contributes to the pain. So at the beginning of the season I installed the Electraeon throttle cam. With the riding season drawing to a close here in Colorado, I have had some time to reflect on this mod.

Bike: 1999 Ducati 748

Price: $47

Installation:

1. Remove right side fairing
2. Unbolt stock cam
3. Replace with Electraeon cam
4. Adjust throttle cable slack
5. Test ride!

Pros:

• No need to regrip to get to full throttle.
• Hit full throttle faster (Read: FUN!)

Cons:

• Jerky on/off throttle response exacerbated by the new cam.
• Need to be more careful on cold tires, or in the rain.
• More effort needed to twist the throttle.

Bottom Line:

Thus far this is my favorite mod—it is certainly a hell of a lot of fun in the canyons. But, as with many mods there are trade offs. In the off-season I need to work on some ways to eliminate the glitchy on/off throttle response.

Buy it here:

http://www.electraeon.com/throttlecam.html