Top end noise?

[DewCatTea-Bob]

By: ccambern...
" The proper washer was used, but the nut still worked free, apparently bending back the tab. "

____ Here's the let-down with the stock lack-tab washers... The tab itself is not made as robustly-protrudent as it ought to be, and so when the tab is counted-on (by itself, without any added help) to do the job which it's meant to do, it can then fail you, if you're not extra-careful.


" The bottom line is that I just didn't get enough torque on the nut, but I wanted to post this in case someone else encountered the same. "

____ Of course this issue is actually not an uncommon-problem,, and if those stock locktab-washers were actually made robust enough to do their job as intended, then it's clear that their locked-held nut would not actually need to be tightly torqued hardly at all.
But with them being what they unfortunately are, if extra care is not taken to avoid mishandling the tab-washer, it's quite possible to damage it's flimsy tab, either by crushing it, or bending it out of it's required position, while torquing-down it's nut.
__ To avoid loosing the tab-washer's intended function,
first inspect that the lock-tab is protruding-outward enough as it should, by testing it into it's intended aligned-placement, pressing the washer up-against the bevel-gear and trying to twist it to make sure that it's tab gets a good deep bite within it's intended keyway-slot. _ Passing that test and still kept held in that position, use a scribe-punch to place a scratch-marking across the face of the washer & extending* onto the bevel-gear, so as to create the equivalent of timing-marks (for matching the washer & the bevel-gear to one another).
Then while using one hand to keep/hold the locktab-washer secured into it's intended-location, use your other hand to snug-down the camshaft-nut tightly against the face of the washer. _ Then note that your added scribe-marks are indeed still aligned before then fully torquing-down the camshaft-nut.
After the nut has been fully tightened, if you then see that your added "timing-marks" -(scribed scratch-markings) no longer align, then you'll be able to KNOW that either you failed to keep the tab located within it's intended slot (and it's then likely smashed), or, the (flimsy) tab pulled-loose & got stretched-away or rip-torn from it's original-position on the washer... In either case, you'll then realize that your locktab-washer will no longer be able to prevent the camshaft-nut from working-loose, (as it's meant to do) ! - (And so you must then try again!)
([*]= In-place of scratching a continuous scribe-mark across both the washer-face & the bevel-gear, ya could instead just mark the washer so as to be aligned with the bevel-gear's timing-dot, to serve the same purpose as an alignment-scratch-marking.)
__ I came to become so careful as this because I once (repeatedly) experienced this issue apparently due to a bad batch of locktab-washers which pretty-much failed at performing there job, as the tabs were too weak to remain 'locked' in their intended position while fully tightening-down the camshaft-nut.
I recall still using-up the entire batch of those wimpy tab-washers by creating my own added tab to each of them, so as to better keep those locktab-washers locked-in-place...
I'd used a pair of small/sharp snips to slice/cut-up my own tab, purposely making it slightly wider -(by about .5mm) than that which the factory had made their (loose fitting)- tab's width to be, (so as to make for a tighter/less-sloppy fit),, and had used a pair of bent-tip needle-nose, plus a flat-punch (against the new-tab, while washer's perfectly held in position, in a vise), to then create a much-superior/better-fitting lock-tab, on the otherwise stock locktab-washers. - (A habit that took a long time for me to ever get-over, since the better-made/normal tab-washers were not that much noticeably better than the ones that were prone to fail.) _ Over the years, I probably modified 40 to 50 of those washers that way, which then never failed (like the unmodified ones could do),, (and that's not to mention the even more troublesome/failure-prone locktab-washers intended for use with the clutch-hub/mainshaft-nut & countershaft-sprocket).
__ Also, I'd then always avoid bending my intended 'locking-flap' over the nut's edge, at anywhere near the position of the lock-tab, (even though that concern ought not really matter, other than to keep my created 'alignment-mark' in plain-sight).
____ I've never agreed with Ducati that LEFT-hand threads were really called-for at the two locations where they chose to use them...
Cuz the engine-revs just can't accelerate (even in neutral) anywhere near as hard as they can come to a sudden halt ! _ And which is more apt to happen and more apt to put sufficient loosening-torque into the nut,, (relatively-soft) full-speed up-revving in neutral, or, a (much harder impacting) abrupt-stall ?
__ The fact that the stock LEFT-hand threaded nuts will still get worked-loose, indicates that those type of threads are not really any better suited for the job in this position.


Dukaddy-DUKEs,
-Bob

[Bevel bob]

Barry Jones sells a much improved clutch locking device that locks round one of the spring mounts.