Tranny Trouble (696)

[Speeddog]

Well, at least you found out what was wrong.

You can 'piece' together the pieces you found, to see if you've got it all.

I've seen those broken on fairly new bikes, so it's not unheard of.

[nllm_oo_mlln]

when you say 20 do you mean the part labled 20 or 20 pieces?  I think your looking at a long monsterless summer regaurdless-- part of your sunk cost is the waranty.   I would make a claim if I were you.. it might be a simple part replacment or that may just be the symptom of something bigger.

Took the shop 3 months to diagnose. Turned out to be internal shimming problems and they even found a broken shim inside my shift drum....There were other internal problems with the shifting mechanisms, too many to list, so my entire gearbox was basically rebuilt.

can't remember how far they'll tow it (150 miles iirc) and you prolly don't have your card yet but I would have it trucked to the dealer with your desmo owners club membership.  the number on the card is 800-234-1353.  between that and your insurance your costs should be just about covered.  I'd get it in there quick BC italy is going on holiday a a couple weeks and it sounds like your gonna need parts (from a new model none the less).  The ducati techs will prolly have an easier time diagnosing it.  I'd write off the next four to eight weeks.  sit back relax and let DNA do the stressing.  if you start opperating on the one true lemon in the batch (not saying it is but it might be) you won't have any recourse and an expensive lawn ornement

 this one's on me

[Hedgehog]

 Well I managed today to make a nice puller at work and got the side cover off. What I found inside wasn't good though. I described the service bulletin earlier and yet this isn't the problem. I found 3 pieces of a broken spring. God knows where the other parts have ended up but I figure it's 20. I'm pissed as I already spent a ton of money getting the bike and now wonder whats going to happen now. Confidence is at an all time low. Ducati has a problem on it's hands with the 696 tranny for sure.

Hey, welcome to the club!     The exact same thing happened to my '94 900CR back about 1997 or 1998; only I got the three pieces of junk when I drained the oil.  The flywheel had to come off to replace the stupid thing when I did it - what a PITA!  Like you, I worried about it for awhile, but never had a problem.  The bike has 58,000 miles on it, now.

[bigiain]

Well, at least you found out what was wrong.

You can 'piece' together the pieces you found, to see if you've got it all.

I've seen those broken on fairly new bikes, so it's not unheard of.

+1

I'd want to be reasonably certain I'd found all the bits of the spring before I started it again, though it's _reasonably_ unlikely for any sizable sections of that spring would have made their way from the sidecover to the inside of the motor. If you cant convince yourself you've got all the major pieces (and you might want to pull the sump plug and oil filter screen if you're missing some, the sump plug magnet has a good changes of grabbing spring steel).

If you're sure you've got it all, I'd just get your 300 mile away dealer to post you another spring. If you're not _sure_, or if you've got bits from the sump plug or oil screen that show signs of having been munched up internally, I'd be expecting the dealer to strip the motor down under warranty to check for internal damage. (and I think that's gonna mean trucking it to them...)

Like Speeddog says though, it's not too uncommon, I remember the ~99-2000 Yamaha R6's had a reputation for detent springs (which is not the spring you've had fail, but it's nearby) failing early like this (I had a bunch of friends riding R6's back then, maybe half of them suffered the problem).

big

[gearhead]

you won't have any recourse and an expensive lawn ornement

Hey mister "glass is half empty", thanks for your imput.

[Speeddog]

Not so long ago, the spring wasn't a separate part and you had to buy the whole flippin' mechanism. 

On the M1k that broke the spring ( on a post-valve-adjust test ride ) we managed to retrieve all the pieces with a bit of fishing around with a magnet.

You do need to pull the flywheel, which is a bit of work, and you must be careful with the shim washer behind the sprag when you reassemble, as it's desire is to fall out of position.

Perhaps you can meet the dealer's truck halfway and cut your hauling down a bit?

[jdubbs32584]

Hey mister "glass is half empty", thanks for your imput.

What's with the animosity? He's tryin to help you out and give you ideas.

Sorry that your bike is broke. Good luck.

[nllm_oo_mlln]

Hey mister "glass is half empty", thanks for your imput.

No problem, glad I could help... have a good one [moto]

[gearhead]

 Today I pulled the flywheel/stator off and before I knew it I pulled a bit to far and lost the orientation/ timing in regards to the spline. I see an index mark on the outside of the flywheel hub but there appears to be nothing on the splined shaft to line these marks up. Any help would be appreciated, also a thread locking compound was used on the nut and I was wondering what type I should use when I reassemble it?

[OT_Ducati]

should be a dot on the spline and flywheel..

You do need to pull the flywheel, which is a bit of work, and you must be careful with the shim washer behind the sprag when you reassemble, as it's desire is to fall out of position.

[gearhead]

 I will look again but I couldn't find the dot on the spline.

[Howie]

I will look again but I couldn't find the dot on the spline.

On my bike the dot lines up with the slot on the crankshaft.  Since your bike is a new design it might be different.  Ducati recommends using a new flywheel nut.  You might want to call the dealer and check.  Since the engine is new you should ask what the torque spec is for the flywheel nut.  Good practice is to look for marks prior to disassembly and if needed make your own.

[gearhead]

 Got it all back together just now and was wondering if you have to wait for the Yamibond to dry. It doesn't say so on the tube or box other than it is a semi drying material. The cardboard I put it on seams fully cured after just 1 hr. Had to torque the flywheel nut to 200 ft lbs.

[gearhead]

 Oh well, nobody knows about Yamibond I guess so I waited 3 hrs and put the oil back and it worked flawlessly. I also this morning checked my coil wires and low and behold if they weren't backwards. I reinstalled the racingICU and K&N filter and it ran perfectly smooth, dare I say almost Honda like. So I was down 4 weeks total, thank God for the VFR. Ducati absolutely sucks in the customer service area as my dealer hounded them for weeks with little response. The spring that broke had to be removed from a new bike on the showroom floor and Purolated to me over night. Kudos to http://www.ingliscycle.com/ for going above and beyond.