clutch push rod wear

So I finally got the sprocket cover off my cb450 today. It was nasty and gooey, with acorns, rocks, mud, and grease. After I cleaned it out, I noticed and pulled the clutch shifter rod out, and I have a couple of questions:

There's some wear in the middle of the rod from something spinning around the rod, is this normal?

There are some notches on the rod, as if it could be held in by circlips, but the rod pulled right out - is this normal? The online fiche didn't show any clips, but I wanted to be sure...

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My own project:
http://www.caferacer.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2827
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