[Ben710]

Im not sure this is the same problem but, I notice that my 996 will not (or is very Difficult to) shift into neutral at a stop. If the motor is off it shift to neutral with no problems and if I shift it to neutral will still rolling it goes easy. But at a stop its just tricky to find I assume this is some tyme of designing trick ducati used to shorten the 1st to 2nd gear change so that you wont hit neutral while riding

I had that problem when I bought my 996. A few weeks later I pulled apart the clutch cover and looked at the clutch springs. Rusty as they were I tried to get the rust off (wd40). BUT be abvised not to let any WD40 come into the clutch itself. I had a clutch slipping problem after I cleaned the springs with the wd40m, seemingly something got into the clutch discs.

Anyway, after the treatment I was able to find the neutral really easy compared to before. Might be the springs?