bighairyralph
XS650 Addict
Mine was aluminum with steel tips too.
Pete, its because of the different expansion of aluminum and steel. The aluminum engine expands more than the steel pushrod, which results in a large amount of free play at the clutch lever. The clutch will work fine when the engine is cold, but as it heats up, the amount of clutch plate separation get smaller, and it becomes difficult to shift into neutral. One of the pushrods being aluminum is an attempt to match up the expansion. It does help some, but it is still a problem on these bikes.Hmmmm - I can't see why that rod wouldn't be steel. I can certainly see the dimples on each end to help centre the balls - but the part hardly moves, it doesn't rotate and so saving a few grams of weight on a part that it is as important as this one seems odd.
Hey that's a new good job for you on those cases . I got 4 that need to be done LOL