Hi folks. I am hoping someone can help me solve a problem I am having with a perpetually leaky clutch slave.
I bought my '98 ST2 about a year ago, and it had a minor slave leak when I got it. Eventually the fluid ran low and my clutch stopped working, so I decided to upgrade the slave.
I put on an aftermarket slave, which didn't leak, but it also had a larger piston for lighter effort, and therefore didn't move far enough to completely disengage the clutch.
So, I put the original slave cylinder back on, and replaced the piston with an aftermarket with two o-rings (can't remember where I got it). Everything seemed to be fine for a while, but eventually it started leaking again.
2 weeks ago, I took my bike to a Ducati dealer (3 hours away) in order to get valves done, new steering head bearing, and to get this leak fixed. They told me that the piston was leaking (duh), and needed to be replaced with a new factory piston. I needed the leak fixed in a hurry for a trip, so rather than buy new seals for the aftermarket piston, I just told them to replace the piston.
I picked up the bike the next weekend, and took it two blocks to a Starbucks to get a coffee before the 250-mile ride home. When I came back to the bike, there was fluid leaking all over the sidestand. I went back to the dealer, and sure enough the new slave piston was leaking.
They took it apart and showed me that the cylinder was a little scored and scratched, so we went ahead and replaced the cylinder as well. At this point I had a totally new factory slave unit. It still leaked before even leaving the shop.
The pulled the control rod and put it in a drill (they said), and it spun true, so it seemed to be OK. They pulled the clutch pack and noticed that I had Barnett clutch plates in there. They said the Barnett plates are thicker than stock, and theorized that the rod was effectively "shortened", because the pressure plate was farther out than with a stock clutch. This, they thought, causes the slave piston to have to move too far in the cylinder, and therefore allows some fluid to get past the seal. To compensate, they put a ball bearing between the rod and the piston, to effectively lengthen the rod.
No leaks after this was done, so I headed home. Unfortunately at a fuel stop about 150 miles away, I noticed that it was leaking again. Not quite as bad, but still leaking.
Now I am stuck on what to do next. I really can't afford to lose another day or two days with my family going back and forth to this distant dealer (even though they did offer to take it back for another round). Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how I can fix this thing? Or am I just going to have to carry a bottle of DOT4 everywhere I go?
I bought my '98 ST2 about a year ago, and it had a minor slave leak when I got it. Eventually the fluid ran low and my clutch stopped working, so I decided to upgrade the slave.
I put on an aftermarket slave, which didn't leak, but it also had a larger piston for lighter effort, and therefore didn't move far enough to completely disengage the clutch.
So, I put the original slave cylinder back on, and replaced the piston with an aftermarket with two o-rings (can't remember where I got it). Everything seemed to be fine for a while, but eventually it started leaking again.
2 weeks ago, I took my bike to a Ducati dealer (3 hours away) in order to get valves done, new steering head bearing, and to get this leak fixed. They told me that the piston was leaking (duh), and needed to be replaced with a new factory piston. I needed the leak fixed in a hurry for a trip, so rather than buy new seals for the aftermarket piston, I just told them to replace the piston.
I picked up the bike the next weekend, and took it two blocks to a Starbucks to get a coffee before the 250-mile ride home. When I came back to the bike, there was fluid leaking all over the sidestand. I went back to the dealer, and sure enough the new slave piston was leaking.
They took it apart and showed me that the cylinder was a little scored and scratched, so we went ahead and replaced the cylinder as well. At this point I had a totally new factory slave unit. It still leaked before even leaving the shop.
The pulled the control rod and put it in a drill (they said), and it spun true, so it seemed to be OK. They pulled the clutch pack and noticed that I had Barnett clutch plates in there. They said the Barnett plates are thicker than stock, and theorized that the rod was effectively "shortened", because the pressure plate was farther out than with a stock clutch. This, they thought, causes the slave piston to have to move too far in the cylinder, and therefore allows some fluid to get past the seal. To compensate, they put a ball bearing between the rod and the piston, to effectively lengthen the rod.
No leaks after this was done, so I headed home. Unfortunately at a fuel stop about 150 miles away, I noticed that it was leaking again. Not quite as bad, but still leaking.
Now I am stuck on what to do next. I really can't afford to lose another day or two days with my family going back and forth to this distant dealer (even though they did offer to take it back for another round). Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how I can fix this thing? Or am I just going to have to carry a bottle of DOT4 everywhere I go?
