[duke800sie]

On my track bike 03 800SS, I’ve installed a Barnett performance clutch, PSR slave and at first it was fantastic but was a little sticky. I just assumed this was because the new friction plates needing to be broken in a bit. Did a track day and nuetral became harder and harder to find. I rode the remainder of the season turning off the bike to pop into nuetral then re-starting figuring I would take care of it in the off season. So I just flushed the system with new DOT 4 , tried adjusting the master, inspected the shift rod and now nuetral is impossible! Ugh! Any thoughts would be awesome... I’m loosing my mind.

 

[duc96cr]

The first thing is always to bleed the hell out of it just in case air is trapped somewhere. Some people like to crack the hose fittings loose and do it from the master and at the slave just to be sure.
Did you de-burr the slots in the hub and basket just in case the plates aren’t moving smoothly ? I had one case where the Barnett plates were a little too snug and didn’t move freely but that wasn’t a stock basket.
Clutch stack height is critical for smooth shifting and finding neutral. It is your clutch adjustment. Barnett plates incorporate a “wavy “ plate to help the clutch free up , make sure you put it in the right location. Some people just install a new clutch and assume the stack height is going to be ok, but that isn’t true. You must measure it and maybe exchange plates of different thicknesses to get it exactly right . Too thick and the clutch won’t fully release, too thin and clutch may slip.

 

[bigbadbass2]

as the 800 uses a wet clutch....was the Barnett kit correct for the application?...or was it intended for the more common Ducati dry clutch models?

Different Barnett part # kits 306-25-40002 dry 306- 25-10001 wet

Assure you were given correct version before going further....still got the box to check the #?

 

[seasalt]

Have you bled it at the lever?

 

[duke800sie]

Great! Thanks guys. I will check all things. Might still have the box but I was pretty clear when ordering the plates.... hope the shop got it right because I never did verify. I will bleed the system again and try a lever bleed. The master doesn’t have a bleed screw like the SS so I guess I just crack the banjo till fluid comes out? Thanks again for all the speedy replies.

 

[spacey]

Yes, that will work. Make certain you re-tighten the banjo prior to releasing the lever. You can also replace the banjo with a bleed-banjo but depending on the bolt length you may not find one available.

 

[belter]

i've been told not to use the barnett wet packs because they drag. sounds like what your's is doing.

 

[duke800sie]

It’s dragging for sure! So if my bleeding excersise doesn’t work should I use an oem pack or is there another “performance” recommendation? And... if I leave it alone will it eventually wear enough to be usable? Thanks again guys! I was really pulling my hair out on this one

 

[belter]

i've got a newfren one here to try in my own bike first, but generally i've only used oem in wet clutches. and i do so few of them i really don't have a sample size. i know oem works.

 

[ducvet]

Although I have had decent luck with barnett clutches in some bikes a ducati is not one. I always recommend oem because they simply work better, sad to say it but it is my experience. Newfren and adige are oem clutch suppliers so I have used them with good success. Barnetts do work but expect more issues.

 

[duc96cr]

You can always try the lithium grease trick. That can help with either a wet or dry clutch.

 

[duke800sie]

I’m not familiar with the lithium grease trick, I have contacted Barnett directly to see what my options are. Who know where that will get me but it sounds like I will be ordering a new clutch it in the near future if I can’t figure this out. OEM’s look like around 300 online (ducatiomaha) but there is a local Ducati shop near me that may stock them so I’ll call and see. Ducvet recommended Newfren or Adige , of which I was only able to find Newfren for my make and model but would have to deal with long lead times due to shipment to the States from the U.K. I’ve tracked some of my parts and tools sometimes taking as long as 2 weeks stuck at customs in New York. Either way, Thanks again for all the support. Since it was snowing this morning and the DOT trucks were out salting the highways my season just got delayed a bit so I’ve got a little more time to chew on this. But the next mod is always knocking at the door cause I also wanted to fork swap to fully adjustable forks.... I’ll wait till the clutch is worked out before I persue topic number 2. Thanks again!

 

[duke800sie]

Also... I did confirm with Barnett that I had the correct kit, and the friction plates 9, and steel plates 8, have no particular orientation. Just that I start and end with a friction plate. So there’s that. I’ll be pulling the cover in the next day or two to check stack height as originally suggested by duc96cr. Too bad I just changed the oil for the season. Cart before the horse I suppose, my mistake for assuming the dragging was due to a faulty slave.....

 

[duke800sie]

Took the ol’ girl for a 100 miler this morning in a brisk 40F. Clutch seemed fine. Nuetral still not the easiest to find at a stop. Drag doesn’t seem too bad. Just a little jump from N to first. I’ll just run it like that for a while see if anything changes. Thanks for thoughts, help and ideas.