Hi, this is my first post here. I tried picking parts for the 906 I bought recently but had trouble figuring out what other year/model parts were compatible, so I found someone who's pretty familiar with Pasos to work on it. But while some things I recognize are immediate action problems, he gets into other things saying they need to be addressed now and I'm just not sure. Now he wants me to replace the clutch line but just as it is the bike shifts like butter you know, I mean shifts really smooth as is. That's been a pleasure when out just on a relaxing ride you know. Anyway I footed the bill for a new steel braided clutch line at his insistence. He says the original line can fail or burst or whatever since it's not braided steel.

Is this correct? And won't a new clutch line take the smoothness out of shifting, and make it stiff? Sorry so ignorant I've always ridden bikes but never learned the mechanics.

BTW, he said same thing about the brake lines and has had me pay for new ones, though aside from needing new pads on the front the brakes seem fine.

Thanks for any advice, I'm glad this forum is here

Any fluid line made of rubber that is 18 years old should be replaced period. fuel,brake and coolant lines . It is simply a matter of safety. There are some stainless steel clad brake lines reputed to last a lifetime,but you did not hear it from me. Even if clad in stainless it depends on the inner composition of the line. Keep in mind fluid lines corrode from the inside out

One last thing,never ever ever never never crimp any brake line,worse than bending and asking for a catastrophic failure., As in no brakes at all.
I also agree about the clutch line, if it looks decent and is working it most likely will work for a while longer. Besides with a little finesse,who needs a clutch anyway when you have a kill switch? But that's just me,your mileage will most likely vary and put you on your arse. I have been a tech for 30 years driven thousands of vehicles over millions of miles so to me a clutch is optional equipment. In all these years and all those miles I have only been stranded a couple of times most frequently for running out of gas,never for a clutch failure, once for an ignition failure and twice for brakes in automatic transmissions.

Thank you very much you guys... this has been a difficult (stressful) overhaul, and the dollars have certainly added up. I took your advice and did this additional update (we've been working on it close to a year now; I find most of the parts based on what the mechanic says I need, and he does the work). I'd like to learn how to work on the bike if anyone's in the Austin area and has a bit of patience. I've been very stressed because I've spent as much in parts and labor as I've spent on the bike itself. I thought a lot about the overall expense this last weekend, and I guess it came down to this. I lusted after the 906 when I was a kid, but couldn't come close to affording it; now years later I have one and am getting it.. I have to love it to ride it.

ps.. when you mentioned it, the fluid actually was very dark. Your and the others' advise made me think that if I screwed up, well I35's a bitch here, got to thinking on the safe side thanks to you guys. Thanks

steel and kevlar braided lines have some advantages - particularly for brake lines.

I have had a "standard" rear brake line "blow" on my 907 [the inner line failed and a bubble could be seen under operation on the outer casing...I suggest you read my post on "how I nearly killed myself"...if the line had been braided the rear wheel probably would have locked solid. [this was due to a silly mistake by me with the brake set up].

I replaced the line with a similar "conventional" line and the rear is now quite spongey - almost like it is incorrectly bled...I will probably replace it sooner or later to braided.

I have braided lines on my 900SS, the brakes have much better feel.

I don't think you need braid on the clutch. If the cost is similar you might as well use it.
the clutch line pressure is much lower so braid is not necessary...and a clutch line failure is generally not potentially as catastophic as a brake line failure.

Yeah, I'm still wondering about the clutch line replacement. The bike's had a bug with electrical, draining battery despite my putting in a new battery and a new rectifier, so I didn't get it back for serious riding until about a month ago. But instantly found the new clutch line did for the feel what I was afraid of... it's very stiff and feels about like my Busa's clutch. It's probably a stupid thing to get annoyed at but, when you feel like you have to squeeze the clutch lever and pull it in like a hand exercise or whatever, it messes with the enjoyment out and about. Unfortunately Ducati of Austin won't work on bikes this age, so unless you're fairly mech yourself then, around here you have to just go with whoever sounds like they're confident working on the bike. I don't know jack about working on them, though have learned a *lot* from the parts quests I've had to go on for this Paso. Considering it still goes dead after two days without recharging the battery, I'm not sure the $3,000 overhaul was worth it. A little bummed right now but maybe that's what happens when you buy a classic like this without having much mechanical know-how myself. I can at least say I do really love the Paso, and put a lot of expense and concern into trying to improve this one.

Whoah, this is really appreciated you guys! I'm reading all your posts; I'm checking into what you've said about electrical and clutch and appreciate it a lot. I've only had a battery tester that says "good" "fair" or "bad" so I'm going to go grab a real voltmeter per your advice. I don't think he did anything else on the the electrical system, after installing the new rectifier I'd got off ebay, but will check with him today to be sure I understand. I'll also see if I can do the spring removal you're talking about for clutch. (don't laugh, have a community college moto maintenance & repair manual so doing some page-flipping)

Before we changed it I'll admit the old clutch was incredible shifting, smooth and quick in a way that just made you smile, and the new clutch action is far different so maybe something wasn't adjusted correctly -- I'll be talking with the mechanic again today and will bring this up. I'm checking into what you've said about electrical and clutch both and will let you know, prob about to have more questions and will listen to your posts all the way, learning a lot. Thanks I completely appreciate this forum...

Also thanks desmo_demon, that's pretty wild that came loose like that! Only thing comparable I've run into was when the shifter clanked off my busa while riding. In restropect it was pretty funny going to downclick in heavy traffic, feeling around with my foot and thinking, "Huh, where's my shift lever?" I looked down after two or three motions with my foot and saw it dangling backwards haha.