My Ducati mechanic showed me how to use a pry-bar very gently to remove the cover. The trick is to move it a little on each side so that you are effectively pulling the cover straight off. You do NOT want to lever too much on one side before going to th other... just crack one side then the other. If you cannot pull it straight off, maintaining the original angle to the engine, with your fingers, pry a little more on one side then the other. The trick is very small increments so that you maintain the cover parallel to the engine (as it is when bolted down).
Yeah, that was the same trick we used to get the cover off....it took Ray and I about 10 minutes and is a bitch. My thought was to weld a little AL fitting onto the center of the cover, which would allow us to simply pull it straight off without having to pry it. It's thin AL, but I've got a guy who can weld Ti or AL like a madman. Would make the process far easier.
For anyone who does this the first time, be VERY careful when prying it. You can easily damage it if you don't do it in little increments. To help anyone reading along visualize, the part looks like this:
Instructions (on this forum from Ray916MN):
"Remove the left lower. Take some aluminum foil and make a v-shaped cover for the silencers to prevent oil from getting on the silencer and drain any oil from the oil filter compartment when the filter cover is removed into your drain pan. Remove the drain plug. Remove the two bolts which hold the cover to the oil filter compartment. Get a small piece of wood to protect the engine cases and use as a fulcroum point with a #2 flat screwdriver. Gently and gradually work the lower edge of the filter cover at alternate ends to wiggle the cover off. On the oil filter side of the cover is a cylindrical bore with two o-rings, so it takes some patience to coax the cover off.
Once the cover is off take the tip of the #2 screwdriver and push the oil pressure relief valve (black disc in the end of the oil filter) in and hook the edge of the filter with the scewdriver and pull the cartridge filter out.
Replace the filter, put the cover back on, screw the drain plug back in, remove the aluminum foil and wipe everything off to make sure there is no oil on the engine or silencer and put the lower back on. Fill with oil. It takes about 3.5 quarts. Using a flashlight you can see enough of the oil level window on the other side of the bike to see how full the bike is. Start the bike, check the level again and fill till you get the level in the window to the top mark.
The torque value of the oil filter cover bolts and oil drain plug are 13NM (9.6 ft. lbs)"
If I can add: take a felt tip marker and dot the bottom of the oil filter cover. Upon first inspection, the cover appears symmetrical, but it's not. The dot will help you reinstall it without having to think twice.
Originally Posted by zvez
Parts numbers for filter and 2 o-rings
Filter is 444.4.029.2B
two O-rings #886.5.056.1A
