Overdue for a little bitching so here it is

I remember shaking my head the day I heard that you had to remove a motor mount and jack up the whole engine to change plugs on the disaster that was the Pontiac Fiero. Today a buddy came by to change out the triple clamps, install a MAC radiator and try out a new shift rod stabilizer were playing with. I had never actually changed a plug on my bike as the thing is always in pieces so i never think much about access but really. We changed his front plug today simply because the radiator was out so why not. We also checked the valve gap. Looking at it after it was re assembled, I commented on how that reminded me of the Fiero. The front plug access door is completely useless. You really need to substantially move the top core or just drop it all together. Piss poor piece of engineering. Next came the triple. All went as it should until we looked at the bottom bearing race. 6K on the bike and it was worn (see pic). I shrugged it off as I was all too used to garbage hardware from this manufacturer and i of course has spare bearings and races. Oops. Spoke too soon. Turns out the Geniuses at Ducati have struck again. The steering race cannot be removed from the large aluminum frame cup. There is no lip on the race to press it out. Sure enough the parts manual shows the top and bottom race as a single part number with the frame cups. To add insult to injury, they sell replacement bearings with a replacement race that you cant remove. Fortunately, I did have a frame cup and this was rectified. Last but not least came the shift mod. I decided to start off with a new shift rod cover as I have a few of then in boxed. I popped off the old one and looked at it then noticed that Ducati changed this part. The old cover has a nice roller bearing set up for the shift rod. The new part has a cheap plain bearing and the new part has a nice price increase. We cleaned up and re used the original cover. Expect more of this logic from these ... hats. I know most readers do not dig into their bikes this far but this is what life is like behind the sleek look and nice paint.

thanks for the info.

From your experience, what brand and model bike was thought out the best?

Heat the cup up. See if the race falls out.

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yeah shift rod cover change for the 1299 due to the new gearbox sensor.
Thou it is interesting they when to a roller bearing setup.
Ive got a little bit of slop in the select rod, so looks like its a bush rather than bearing....grrrrrr.

Just tried the heat on the cup we took out. No go. Best brand of bike? There isnt one. I really like the Panagale. If I could not maintain it, i would not own it. I would hate to have to rely on a shop when things dont work. I would love to have a 1299 with minimal electronics, cable throttle etc. I think today with more electronics the things are just going to get harder and harder to maintain.

Yep, technology will save us and kill us at the same time. Sad that they cheap out on a some things when you pay a premium for Ducati.

Agreed. A guy up the road bought a 2014 1199. No warranty. Had a TPS sensor go out. Mikuni has the TPS sensor that they use on the Panigale throttle body assembly as a separate part # which is great if you know where to find it. No Ducati. Charged the guy for a whole TBI assembly which is how they show it in the parts cat. Told him that the TBI was not replaceable. Complete BS. I feel ...... for all the guys I see write about service issues. So what if something is under warranty. You still without something you paid for and who knows for how long.

Ohh man, must have been a frustrating weekend
I'm really pissed that Ducati doesn't use roller bearings anymore on the shift axle's outlet port.

For the steering bearings: This is actually a design problem since Ducati exists. I guess they just resized beginning from their first bicycle again and again

Putting these bearings under permanent pressure in this setup: no good.

Unfortunately I've found only one manufacturer that produces clamps and steering clamp plates that do not push any pressure on the bearings. But EUR 3700.- is a freaking steep price. And you have to redo the front brake lines, the OEM line puts too much force on the fork and you would have a slight movement to the left because steering doesn't have any drag anymore.
Spezial Steering Head Kit | Panigale Parts by Moko

Hey Urs

Do you know anyone using that clamp? Wonder if it really does anything