What the hell is this on my drain plug!!?

[ripit007]

Changing oil on my 2008 S2R 1K with approx 9000mi. Pulled the drain plug and these two pieces were attached to the magnet. WTF!! The plug was otherwise pretty clean. Any clue where this random part came from? Looks like heavy gauge wire; maybe part of a spring or clip of some sort.

I havent checked the screen yet, mostly because Im not sure where it is. In my shop manual it shows the screen plug just below the oil level site window. Mine has what looks like a wire / sensor attached to it. Dunno.

BTW, I live about 7 hours from the Ducati dealer.

[SpikeC]

 eeeek!

[LowThudd]

Man, that ain't good. My best guess is a rocker spring. But I dunno.

[brad black]

it's the end of the gearshift return spring, that sits at the elbow of the shift mechanism inside the alt cover.

[ripit007]

Im fishing around and here is what I came up with.  I bought this bike used.  The previous owner had installed an open clutch.  Along with the bike, I received a box of parts (old clutch and odds and ends).  In the box was an old gearbox drum control fork.  So apparently this had been changed out.  The pieces I found on the plug sort of resemble either the fork return spring (#10) or gear lever return spring (#17)(see diagram below). 

My first question is, does this indeed look like one of these springs? 
Second, why would the drum control fork need to be replaced, is it replaced when installing new clutch / plates? 
If it is one of these parts, what would the symptoms of a broken spring be?  Is it detrimental to the engine? 

So, maybe this was an old issue that has been resolved and the pieces were laying in the case for quite some time.  The bike runs great, BTW.  Dunno.

I need someone who has actually delt with these parts to help out here.  Im going to call the dealer and have a chat on monday and send them a few pics.  Worst case, I will have to trailer it 7 hours to the dealer or to Boulder Motor Sports.

[ripit007]

it's the end of the gearshift return spring, that sits at the elbow of the shift mechanism inside the alt cover.

Ahhh.  So if this was broken, what would the symptoms be?  What would you do next?

Thanks!!

[brad black]

it's 10, 17 is much thicker.

it might be missing gears, the spring makes the hooks drop back down over the pins as the shifter mechanism recentres.  would happen either up or down.

[ripit007]

Im fairly mechanically inclined, but hesitant to try and tackle this one.  Is replacing this spring a fairly straight and simple job.  Ive looked into how to pull the case and the flywheel, doesnt look too bad.  Im worried about messing with the gear selector and having it maladjusted when im finished.  Will I have to readjust the gear selector?

[Speeddog]

Did the old selector fork still have a complete #10 spring on it?

[ripit007]

Did the old selector fork still have a complete #10 spring on it?

Good question.  No.  But the fork had a pretty good gouge on it where the spring would connect with the arm.  Im thinking they just replaced the fork when they replaced the spring because it was damaged (probably from the spring). Does that sound likely, after looking at the pics?   Now I guess the question is, were the pieces old or is this a recurring issue.

[Rowdy]

Im thinking they just replaced the fork when they replaced the spring because it was damaged (probably from the spring).

Sounds right. I'd say the dude that replaced the arm couldn't find the all the bits of the spring. Probably worth looking at the screen inside to see if there's any more goodies in there.

[Speeddog]

Likely the pieces are left over from the (suspected) breaking of the spring.

That said, I'd recommend pulling off the sidecover and confirming that the spring that's in there isn't broken.

If it's broken, it *will* eventually allow the hook to come out of position, and you'll be stuck in whatever gear it's in.
It also can allow the shift arm to go forward enough to rub on several spinning components, which isn't good.