Cheers everyone. I'm looking for some advise on a perceived clutch problem I am having. I'm in the process of restoring my 1995 Ducati 900SS. Its been in and out of storage its whole life due to my demanding job. She has not had the attention she deserves... As of right now, the bike runs good for the first 30 minutes or so. It runs through the gears pulling normal and strong. :Woot: This changes after approximately 30-40 minutes of riding. When I stop or slow down and run through the gears again, the problems begin. As I accelerate the RPM's will go higher than normal as it begins to slip out of gear. The more aggressive I am on the throttle, this is even more apparent as it slips out and the bike will not accelerate properly.:Rage: If I ease up on the throttle I have been able to get home not being as aggressive. I also have stopped and after the bike cools, its back to normal for a bit but the problem eventually returns. I have had clutch problems on Japanese bikes before but this is different from anything I experienced before. What is confusing to me is how it rides fine initially and as the bike heats up the problem begins. I am not a mechanic obviously but wanted to get some advise on what is specifically is causing this to happen so I understand it, especially if someone else has gone through this same dilemma themselves. I think the clutch needs replacing but would like to hear from some smart folks like yourselves. Could this be an internal belt problem as well? Thanks...
hello and welcome dude. had a very similar sounding problem after rebuilding my 748... turned out to be no free play at the clutch lever... as in the clutch was ever so slightly engaged and as it got hotter it got worse... felt like a numpty after taking the clutch assembly out 2 or 3 times to check id put it together properly and asking advice on here! but after the guy who helped me rebuild the bike (who i should have rung first!) posted "check the free play" i did and thats all it was... hope your issue is this simple
Agreed. Insufficient free play at the clutch lever preventing the fluid from returning to the master cylinder. Adjust the screw at the base of the lever to allow a little free play.
Wow. This information is much appreciated. I will be in my garage tonight playing with my bike and I hope it works. This may save me some serious money. The shops in Southern California are very expensive. If It works I owe you a pint my friend
Let's hope the first diagnosis is correct and everything works properly when warmed up again. If it turns out that this is not the solution, then there are at least two other things that fit your symptoms :- 1/ loosely linked with the about diagnosis, the return port (around .6 mm dia hole) in the master cylinder is blocked/ partially blocked. This allows the piston to slowly advance as you use it until no play exists at the lever but can revert back to normal when left for some time. if the problem persists after you have adjusted the lever with the screw as suggested above, but play still disappears when hot then is a good chance that the blocked port is causing it 2/ have you got the full six clutch springs or has somebody remove two? On occasion this can cause slipping only when hot.
I made the adjustment to the clutch lever and took her for a test ride this afternoon. The bike ran great for almost an hour this time. I was thinking it was fixed until I left the highway and came to a stop. I than headed up a hill, rolling heavy on the throttle to confirm the problem was gone. That's when it started again. It did not seem as bad as usual, however the problem did come back. The RPM's climbed as it felt like it was slipping out of gear again. If I rolled on the throttle slowly it pulled normally. There was plenty of play still in the clutch lever as well. I pulled over and adjusted the lever as far out as I could while still enabling the clutch lever to do its job. The problem was still there if I rolled "heavy" on the throttle. I made it home as usual taking it easy on her. Looks like I may have to do some serious clutch work. I have thought about one other thing... I have not replaced any internal belts and was wondering could the belts in any way be the source of the problem? I had them inspected by a "non-Ducati" mechanic and he said they did not look worn. I am wondering if I should have just replaced them anyways just from being old and the bike being in storage. The nearest DUCATI shop is pretty far from where I am right now unfortunately. Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions.
So looks like you have ruled out two out of three suggestions so far – can you confirm that you have all six clutch springs? If you have then time to get at those clutch plates and I think you will find all will be revealed and straightforward. A final note – do be careful doing up the clutch spring cap retaining screws as these are frequently stripped or snapped due to over-tightening. you only have to nip them up rather than really lean on them.
Have you over filled the clutch fluid reservoir , is the slave cylinder the correct one? Is it fitted correctly? I don't think it's the clutch plates as they would be slipping in ten miles,my money is on fluid level. You will find I'm correct because I'm very handsome.
You may be handsome, but on the rare occasion when all the plates are all approaching the end of their life they take a while to slip after a good old heat soak, had it happened myself but rare admittedly. Still waiting to find out if it has 4 or 6 clutch springs
the op said he adjusted the lever right out... is that grip position? or the grub screw the presses on the lil push rod? obviously adjusting the grip position will do zero.... just asking
The adjustment made to the clutch lever was to the screw that pushes in the little push rod at the base of the lever. I am heading to the garage to get into the clutch and verify the clutch spring situation. I will also check the return port in the master cylinder and fluid level.
the belts would have nothing to do with the clutch but if they have not been changed in a long time, you want to get straight on it!!!
