Hello, Rebuild!

When I removed the points cover I found that the condensor was missing, but the points weren't pitted. Behind the points plate the advance mechanism was clean and working smoothly, so I figured I would reassemble the ignition, set the points gap, and then time it statically. I wished I had made better note of how the advance mechanism was installed, as it can be installed in two different positions, potentially throwing the timing off 180 degrees.









I left the ignition to check the clutch. Fortunately, all the primary cover screws came out easily, and since they come in several different lengths I made a simple cardboard template to mark their locations.

To remove the clutch cover I first removed the inspection cover and then used the claw hammer trick shown by Mick Walker in Ducati Singles Restoration. It's crude but works very well on the Ducati after you remove the clutch adjusting screw. A word of warning, however: be very careful if the cover is stuck tightly - I tried this trick on a stuck shovelhead primary cover, and now I'm looking for a new cover (OEM shovelhead covers with a floorboard tab are NOT easy to find!).

Once the primary cover was off I found a LOT of small metal bits in the oil on the bottom of the engine cases. Even worse, when I gave the crankshaft bearing in the primary cover a spin it was very rough and gritty. Looks like an engine rebuilt is in order. If the first bearing I found was wasted, I figured that a lot of other bearings would be just as bad. It didn't make any sense to try and run the engine and risk a catastrophic failure. So this project will begin with an engine rebuild, after all.

In removing the primary I found the first of the shims and thrust washers on the kickstart shaft. The kickstart shaft also has an o-ring on the outside of the cover underneath the kicker arm. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the overall condition inside the engine. The only corrosion I saw was on the kickstart return spring. Everything else looks nicely oiled and in good shape. I hope it all goes this easy.