Clutch woes Again! Need advice - Ducati.ms

acoolsubi · Jan 18th, 2011, 9:55 pm

Good day again gents,
I am experience (2nd time) a 'stiction' problem with my 09 's'. She runs strong and great but when I come to a stop at the lights I feel the clutch dragging and after a while I smell it too. I had this problem a year ago (-6k on the clock) and I ended up replacing the steel plates only. I had warped them badly. This time my steels aren't warped to badly but I still can't get neutral while running.

1) Can anyone help me understand why this might be happening so frequently? Current od is 8100mls and only 6k since the last time I did this.

2) Can I buy just the steels anywhere?

My basket and drum look quite beat up now and I'm wondering which set-up is the best bang for the buck. This is link to another basket that looks very similar. Clutch Life?

3) Would a slipper set-up eliminate the wear on the hub and basket?

08hyper · Jan 19th, 2011, 12:13 am

Get yourself a Barnett basket with the S/S inserts, and clutch kit, priced good & works fine. I got my stuff off EBay Aloha Alex

tye1138 · Jan 19th, 2011, 12:39 am

If its gripping at lights, it can be the clutch stack height is too high OR a hydraulic issue.

Sometimes a simple adjustment of the clutch lever (out) so when you pull it in, the plates disengage more, will do the trick. Other times its a simple master/slave bleeding and fluid change which resolves it.

With the bike off and it in 1st gear, you should be able to hold the clutch in so its disengaged, but still be able to roll the bike backwards and forwards without too much friction. Thats a good way of testing if things are working right.

NikMusolino · Jan 19th, 2011, 12:52 am

the harder one rides, the quicker Clutch plates wear out: truism. STM slipper is the way I went. Barnett is also an excellent brand.

acoolsubi · Jan 19th, 2011, 8:04 pm

Ok so I was miss fring yesterday for sure! Turns out that it was in fact the over abundance of free play in the lever. After my recent accident and rebuild I went back to my stock clutch lever and forgot about the adjustment.

Thank you to the three of you for your help and time.

I will be replacing the basket within the next few thousand mls. Will the slipper set-ups reduce the force placed on the basket or this caused solely by the acceleration?

tye1138 · Jan 19th, 2011, 8:41 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by acoolsubi

I will be replacing the basket within the next few thousand mls. Will the slipper set-ups reduce the force placed on the basket or this caused solely by the acceleration?

The slipper has no effect on basket wear. What will have an effect on wear is how loose the disk pins hit the basket and hub. So you want to buy a high quality clutch assembly AND plates which have good tolerances. When you assemble the clutch, the plate pins should have almost no clearance between them and the basket. Also, you should buy light-weight aluminum friction plates, so that will also help with basket wear. The stock plates are usually steel and they destroy baskets.

NikMusolino · Jan 20th, 2011, 12:14 am

Isn't it true that the plates in respect to the basket should be lyke-materials... Mates, per se. steel with steel, aluminum with aluminum.

tye1138 · Jan 20th, 2011, 12:20 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikMusolino

Isn't it true that the plates in respect to the basket should be lyke-materials... Mates, per se. steel with steel, aluminum with aluminum.

I don't think it really matters. I've never tried it because most aftermarket hubs and baskets are aluminum and so are many of the friction plates.

The important part are the clearances and how they fit.