this is freaking me out So the workshop manual is incorrect about the rotating direction of the starter motor ?!

G.

OK G

If you rotate the engine at the flywheel on the bike clockwise the starter will spin if you have the sprag installed
properly
counter clockwise the starter will not spin

Now this means when the starter spins counterclockwise( from the side of the bike looking at the flywheel) as you hit the starter button the sprag locks and drives the crankshaft counterclockwise

spins the sprag gear counterclockwise ( don't forgot there is a third set of gears between the starter and flywheel gear)

Once the engine starts the crank rotates fast enough to overrun the sprag. The sprag is still spinning in the same direction but since the crankshaft turns faster than the sprag.... the sprag freewheels as its relative motion to the crankshaft is now in effect clockwise

Make sense now or did it just confuse you again?

Now with the flywheel out and on the bench sprag and starter gear facing up if you spin the starter gear counterclockwise it will freewheel when the sprag is in properly This is opposite of how it works installed on the bike

Ok guys from the above i have confirmed that the Sprag rotation on my Bike is correct and yes it is indeed the Starter Motor that is spinning backwards= clock-wise when looking at it with the left hand Engine cover off, there for it now comes down to why the Starter is spinning in the wrong direction and i have thought about this all night and the only other thing i can think of is this (and it is a long shot) when i got the new Brush kit i installed the Brushes like this, + Brush into the Brush holder that is insulated and - Brush into the holder that is non insulated. My question is have i installed the Brushes back to front if that makes sense. Should the - Brush be in the holder that is insulated and + into the non insulated holder? If so then the fix will be easy if not somewhere the laws of pyshics have been beaten and i have made a DC Motor spin in the rong direction and i dont know how. NOTE does anyone have Steven Hawkins e mail address . Oh and i do appreciate the Italian swearing lesson as i have been abusing the old girl ( the Paso not the Wife) in New Zealand Maori and i understand now that she will not understand this language lol.

Harry, I`m about sure you assembled the brush plate correctly. Do check if the marks on the housing align. There are 2 parallel marks at both ends of the main starter housing which have to match the 2 marks on both endcaps.
Download the Haynes manual

I also have a spare starter if you need details just let me know,I'll take it apart and take some pictures for you

Hey thanks Higgy pictures would be good as later on down the line no doubt someone somewhere will have the same Ducati Paso blues mmmm now is there a song in that wheres my guitar.

so stubborn not to look at the housing marks or the manual.
I doubt higgy can make better pictures than there are in the Haynes manual. Ok, he can make them in colour

I have looked at my Starter and cannot see those marks on it. now what you have to understand here is that the Starter has never been removed from the Bike since i have owned it only the End Cap so that Brushes could be replaced and when i done that i made alignment marks myself so that it went back together as it was when i first removed the screws. If i was to remove the Starter from the Bike can they be Bench Tested?

Ok update time. I have totally removed the Starter and yes there are alignment marks on the end that bolts to the Engine two of, and then on the Starter Case itself 3 of and on the End Cap two of but the problem is if i line up the end that bolts to the Engine with the Starter Case lines then the two marks on the end Cap do not line up so that the two long phillips head screws will go back in to secure the End Cap. To get the two phllips head Screws in the cap has to be rotated about 30mm past the other alignment marks. Hopefully i will get some photographs of this for easier interpretaion.

. Sorry about the quality but you should see where i have hi-lighted the marks with silver paint pen. Oh and it looks as tho i did not resize properly. Apologies all.