[Ducati] 1/2 dead duc

[Wendell S. Martin]

I determined that it is the front cylinder which is dead.  When I
started it this morning, both were running and so I started to pull out
of the building.  But before I could get going, the front died again.
I have now removed the coil from each head and swapped them.  The once
dead cylinder's coil works fine on the vertical cylinder and the
horizontal cylinder is still dead.   I discovered that wiggling the
wires leading to the three wire connector on the coil of the front
cylinder awakens it.   Broken wire or bad connector connection?  
	I cut the wires leading into the female connector and then
pierced each of the three wires with a pin to make a connection back at
the point where the wires join the loom.   I then connected the
multimeter to cut end of each wire and bent and wiggled each to see if
there was a break.  NO, there was none.  All three were good.  I
disassembled the female connector, surgically removed the existing
crimped wires and soldered the cut wires back in place. YEE haw.   I am
big twin again. 
   My next concern was whether I had contaminated the oil by spraying
gas into the dead cylinder.  The oil smelled good and it was low in the
sight glass.  So,  I think not much if any got past the rings.  I
changed the oil anyway and Now I am going for a ride.
	The surface of the coils and the holes they fit in were quite
oxidized.  I smeared grease on them when I put them back in but I want
to know if someone has devised a good plan to prevent the oxidation.
There is nothing worse for oxidizing than a humid hole.  As an engineer,
I face this dilemma in the soft drink bottling industry  (very wet
environment)  If you try and seal something, and any moisture gets by,
the seal makes the situation worse because the moisture is trapped.  It
is kind of like your tonsils.  When they are doing their job, they are
great but they don't just quit, they join the other side.
I will post after the ride today.
Wendell