1997 M600 gear change lever fouling side stand

[sram]

Hi all
Have just joined this forum after recently buying my first Ducati, a 97 M600

I've had it in bits (will post a general 'hello' message later and post some pics and story etc) and am now putting it back together. After taking delivery of it I noticed that changing down to first gear caused the gear lever to hit the spring on the side stand. I've adjusted the gear change linkage as per the owners manual but, in order to get it so that it doesn't foul the side stand, it now sits very high and is uncomfortable to shift up. There's definitely something not quite right with the setup. After doing some googling and searching on various forums it appears that the side stand design changed at some point and I'm wondering if my 1997 model has the correct stand fitted? My one mounts through the same two holes using the bolts that hold the foot peg bracket in place. I note that there's another tapped hole in the engine just to the left of the two foot peg bracket holes, but there's no way the stand is fitting in there.
I know this is a bit unhelpful without pics, I'll try and grab some tomorrow in the daylight and post them up. Just wondered if this was a common issue or if I'm doing something stupid. I've tried putting the aluminium spacers between the engine and stand and the stand and foot peg bracket, but the shifter still fouls either way.

Appreciate any tips

(just searching ebay for stands, my one is this type:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-M60...kAAOSw4UtWSkHv )

[Mr Gazza]

When you get to taking the pictures, show us one of the gear lever from directly above.

I am thinking that it may be bent too straight.. ( Sorry..a bit of Norfolk there.)

Sometimes the lever will get bent and the toe piece will point forwards.
It is common for them to be "bent straight" by pulling the toe piece back to right angles with the bike, and leaving the line of the lever parallel to the bike.

In fact what tends to happen when they bend, is that they don't actually go at the toe piece end, but at the pivot boss end. So the lever should really be straightened by pulling it outwards from the boss until the toe piece is at right angles again.

Sorry if that's a bit hard to follow.!..This is difficult without a picture....Look down at the lever. It should come out of the pivot boss at an angle of about 15 or so degrees from the centre line of the bike, then go parallel to the centre line for about an inch from the end, where the toe piece joins at 90 degrees....In short, it should splay out from the bike.

Pretty sure the spacers both go on the right hand side.?

[Yorkie]

I agree with Mr Gazza about the possibility of it being bent out of shape.

When I was running standard rearsets mine were ground down and forced inwards from frequent knee down, exhaust down and foot peg down action ....... luckily I have stopped all that silly stuff now!

Yorkie

[Dirty]

I think you may have an alloy stand on a bike that originally had a steel one. I get similar issues when I put an alloy stand on mine.

[Nickj]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

When I was running standard rearsets mine were ground down and forced inwards from frequent knee down, exhaust down and foot peg down action .......

Old school, these days isn't it elbows and shoulders??

It'll be the wrong bend to match the prop stand.

?? Can the position be adjusted a bit to clear, there is a generous amount of adjustment in the linkage

[sram]

Thanks for the replies!

I was out with head torch this evening, putting on the exhaust downpipes and a few other odds and sods. A couple of pics:

Clearly bent, but I thought this was a factory design to help avoid duck footing?



This is where it's currently sitting in order to clear the stand:



(looks way too high for me, but could be wrong?)

Cheers

[Yorkie]

Bend it back out, it has been well and truly pushed inwards. Once this has been done level it off so it is comfortable for you.

Yorkie

[Albie]

Mines on the inside compared to yours although you need to carefully unbend it.

[Mr Gazza]

Just as I suspected Holmes...

If you look at where the lever is connected to the boss, there is a slight curve...that's where it's bent... The bend just back from the toe rubber is meant to be there.

You might get away with just heaving on the lever and pulling it back out.
Better to slip the lever off and put the boss firmly in a soft jawed vice...It should go cold, but a little warmth won't hurt.

There should be O-rings on the pivot bolt, either side of the boss.

You probably have got it adjusted a bit high now. The toe rubber would normally be a little below the adjusting rod...Somewhere near the plane of the sloping top of the footrest rubber.

.And by the way, welcome to the club...

[Albie]

This is how it should be in situation. I bought this one slightly bent as mine was from a later bike. It didn't take much to straighten at all. There are 2 O rings per pivot and 2 thin washers. @ 1 per side.



Other than my clamp is wrong way up lt would have looked like this as new.

[sram]

THANK YOU!

I'll whip it back off and hopefully get it sorted if I'm at home this week during the day.
Regarding bending aluminium (or an alloy?) - should I apply some heat with a blowtorch first?

If it all goes horribly wrong, does anyone have a spare in good condition they want to sell?

If it were the brake pedal there'd be no hesitation in buying new.

[Albie]

Originally Posted by sram

THANK YOU!

I'll whip it back off and hopefully get it sorted if I'm at home this week during the day.
Regarding bending aluminium (or an alloy?) - should I apply some heat with a blowtorch first?

If it all goes horribly wrong, does anyone have a spare in good condition they want to sell?

If it were the brake pedal there'd be no hesitation in buying new.

Not too much heat as you will mark it. Hairdryer will do. I clamped the pivot in the vice and then used a large adjustable spanner across the flats with some cloth in between and NO hammers or major force used.

I do have a gear lever that was on it but it was a later model. Monster or early ones are actually expensive to get as to why I bought a bent one. Around £50 plus new.

[Mr Gazza]

I hate to say it Albie, but you seem to have straightened out a correctly shaped lever.

The bend an inch from the toe peg is meant to be there...The lever is not straight.

It exits from the boss at an angle and so places the toe peg futher out from the bike than the pivot....

....Bugger it I'll get a picture..

And if you are only going to warm it with a hair dryer, you may as well not bother.

[Mr Gazza]

There you go.....

[Darren69]

Dude, yours is bent to f**k no wonder you have issues!