Cannot get replacement Slave Cylinder to fit my 1999 748!

I purchased a Ducati Replacement Slave Cylinder from Ron Parkinson, which included a Piston and a Cap. I immediately noticed that the replacement was smaller than the original SC (Slave Cylinder), and after a long conversation with RP (Ron Parkinson) expressing a concern with the actual size compared to the original, the chaps assured me that this was the right one. So...I handed over a nifty and they handed me the replacement SC.

Next job...fix the SC to the 748. Fitting was simple, bleed the clutch, remove bleed nipple and banjo bolt...and off with the three bolts, take out the old and replace with the new.

I lubricated the piston placed in the cap and slid the unit over the pushrod. I noticed that it was difficult to push the RP SC onto the Pushrod. I had to give it some elbow grease to get the thing on. When I looked down the eye of the SC where the banjo bolt usually goes I could see the piston and pushrod was very close to the start of the SC cap. After scratching my head, and the assurance of RP I got on with the job.

Anyway, I continued to bolt up the 3 screws, bled the clutch through. Got some clutch resistance after 20 minutes of bleeding...then all of a sudden the clutch lever went completely solid, until I could not bring the clutch lever back to the handlebar. I consulted the Book of Lies (Haynes Manual) which did not really help.

At this point I was sure that the replacement SC had to be the wrong part. It was either the Pushrod was too long (I would say by 1 cm) or the replacement SC was too small.

Armed with more cash, I took a trip down to TecMoto (nr A12/M25) to buy their "Oversized Clutch Slave Cylinder". After another long conversation with my existing problem; they assured me that their SC would fit my 748.

I got home, fitted the thing and exactly the same symptoms occurred. Quite luckily most of my mates are petrol heads, and another was a DukeSPS owner. All were pretty much dumbfounded by the problem. All came to the decision that the SCs were too small or the Pushrod was too long (will post some pics tonight !). Took off the clutch cover, and released all the springs to ensure nothing was a miss. All looked okay, and the centre nut was done up securely. Put the springs and the clutch cover back on, and proceeding to put the original SC back on my bike. Bled the system through and all was okay - fact - I know that the original SC will not last long before I loose clutch resistance again.

In light of my issues, I would really appreciate if you boys can give me some advice.

Question: Is my pushrod too long? Can anyone give me a default size of a Pushrod. I would like to compare it to mine. Has anyone had any success fitting the TecMoto Oversized Slave Cylinder? Are my SCs to small?

Much appreciated.

[Edited on 6-10-2003 by thrustercat]