With the two-piece push rod one rod is steel and the other is aluminum (with steel ends) -- this better matches the expansion of the cases, and reduces the clutch going-out-of-adjustment issue when the engine gets hot. The engineers thought this was an improvement, although it does increase wear on the bushing. A lot of people "upgrade" their later two-piece rod to an earlier one-piece, but I'm with the engineers, and I prefer the two-piece. Best solution is to make your own one-piece partial aluminum rod -- many have done this, I'm running one, it's the best of both worlds.[/Q