Bent shifter peg

[gudtimes]

A little background....i was out for a ride on Sunday with a few people and a newbie behind me went down before a turn i had already initiated and his bike came sliding forward and hit my back tire causing me to spin 180 degrees and hit the pavement.  He ended up rolling in the grass and his bike slid for about 40 feet but everything was ok.  I came out of it with a sore leg and a scratched bar end, scratched/bent clutch lever (which I planned on replacing anyway), scratched kickstand, and scratched/bent shifter peg.  No scratches on the paint, frame, or on me so I'd say i was pretty lucky.  On to my question, the shifter peg is bent up pretty badly and has now caused an uncomfortable riding position and well as a difficulty in shifting.  Any ideas of how i can go about bending this back, or possibly replacing it?  Thanks in advance.  -Steve

[erkishhorde]

Vice + pliers and maybe a hammer.  Seriously, I bent my old shifter 3 times and I have still have it. The last time I bent it into a circle when it got caught in a car's front wheel well and still managed to "straighten" it. Well, it's not perfectly straight anymore but it's still pretty good and would work just fine as an emergency replacement.

[Buckethead]

It should bend back into place without any real problems.

Dealer will sell you a replacement, but the OEM one is about $175. DAMHIK.

[DuciD03]

Take shifter off

select a light rubber (ie 8oz) hammer

get a 2X4 to use as a working surface; put on good cement base ...

use light rapid blows to slowly bend it back into place; maybe reclamped onto a piece of round metal the same diameter as the shift shaft ...

look at it and see the "zen of the bend" and carefully bend it back ...have fun...

... good luck ... if it didn't work ya can buy a new one.  I bent out a 45 degree curve out of my rear break pedal; ... I'm sure Ducati designed them to bend but not break ...

[Desmo Demon]

I'd try to bend it to work fairly well for you and then keep an eye on eBay for another. I recently picked up two sets of ST2/4 rearsets, complete with a shifter and heal guards, for $30 for each set. You'll want to pay attention to the shifter style, as I'm not too sure how they my differ with the Monsters. I know that, with the ST bikes, they used a SBK shifter lever at first, and then they switched to a Monster style and then another style.

[ScottRNelson]

get a 2X4 to use as a working surface; put on good cement base ...

The last time I straightened a Monster shifter, I put it in a vice and used the 2x4 in place of the rubber hammer to pound the shifter back into shape with.  I had to fit the shifter back on the bike about three times until I got it exactly how I wanted it.

I'd try to bend it to work fairly well for you and then keep an eye on eBay for another. I recently picked up two sets of ST2/4 rearsets, complete with a shifter and heal guards, for $30 for each set. You'll want to pay attention to the shifter style, as I'm not too sure how they my differ with the Monsters. I know that, with the ST bikes, they used a SBK shifter lever at first, and then they switched to a Monster style and then another style.

The 1998 ST2 had a shorter shifter by about 3/4".  Enough shorter that I had problems getting my foot under mine for upshifts.  But at the time that I first had this problem I was parting out the 1997 Monster, so I had a Monster shifter available.  That is now on my ST2 and working well, and I sold the ST2 shifter to someone else for $10.00.

My thoughts on straightening the Monster shifter was that the worst thing that could happen pounding it back straight would be to break it, then I would have to buy a new one.  The only other option is to buy a new one, so you can't really lose trying to pound it back.  And it should be better pounding it into shape with something relatively soft than to try to just bend it with pressure.

Do not try bending it on the bike.

[Desmo Demon]

The 1998 ST2 had a shorter shifter by about 3/4".  Enough shorter that I had problems getting my foot under mine for upshifts.  But at the time that I first had this problem I was parting out the 1997 Monster, so I had a Monster shifter available.  That is now on my ST2 and working well, and I sold the ST2 shifter to someone else for $10.00.

The original ST2 shifter was identical to the short, stubby one that my '02 748 has.....my wife's ST2 (manufactured a few weeks before my ST2) has a shifter from the factory that is identical to the shifter on her '01 Monster, and my ST2 has a longer, straighter, and skinnier shifter lever that is nothing like the two. These are the three shifters that I am aware of Ducati using on the ST bikes....or at least the '98 ST2.

My thoughts on straightening the Monster shifter was that the worst thing that could happen pounding it back straight would be to break it,

Correct. Some grades of aluminum do not like to be bent and will tear, shear, and break without too much effort. Sometimes they will bend once....but only once. If in doubt, heat the heck out of it with any means that you have. A simple hairdryer can get it quite hot, maybe hot enough to prevent it from breaking.

[greenohawk69]

Had one bent on my M900...removed, put into vice and beat it with a hammer.  Not 100% straight, but will work for now.