Can anyone let me know how thick a brand new 916 SP clutch friction plate should be (I guess this can be worked out from the total plate stack thickness?)? Also is there a recommended minimum thickness before replacement? Are there any recommended 916 SP clutch plate manufacturers that people use or is OEM the way to go? Sorry for all the questions but I promise if you answer them you will feel useful for the rest of the day.
Organic or sintered friction material ? Organic is usually bonded to an aluminium plate and sintered bonded to a steel plate. Andy
SP/SPS are thinner than “normal” and are sintered. I think I still have a couple in the garage - will measure them next time I’m in there. You may be able to still get them from Ducati - @nelly ?
Here’s my OEM SP3 (1996) stack. It looks like it has a copper-ish compound and you have the total thickness (34 mm) in one of the pics. It’s the smallest stack on the left. I can mesure individual plates if you need.
Springs tend to compress/shorten with time. I put stainless clutch springs when I opted for an open clutch cover, just in case I ride in the wet. Rusty springs look awful on these bikes… Here’s an extract of the Service manual, section G, page 52. Check SP specs.
I just ordered some Ducati replacements. Mine look good but probably time for a change. Thanks for that, just what I needed.
916SP uses 8 (thinner 2.5 mm) friction plates Allowable friction plate wear is 0.2 mm (each). So, 2.5 mm friction plate minimum thickness = 2.3 mm
I managed to get 6 new ones for a bargain price so I feel happy about changing them. Agree about the OEM steel, stainless is good for a lot of things but it does have drawbacks. Corrosion isn't an issue with my bike, it never sees water or a lot of humidity.
About stainless springs. I bought them from Ducabike. I believe them to be of very acceptable quality. Clutches are working perfectly with these on my 3 bikes and I covered around 20.000 km (total) so far with no complaint. https://www.desmo-racing.com/en/duc...ing-set-for-ducati-6m01-xml-253_402-2637.html They do not see heavy duty track use. I never plan to ride in the wet either, but as I do long distance trips, it sometimes happens that I cross rainy conditions. Damp air (coastal and/or rainy region) will get surface rust on steal springs, as these can’t be oiled in the dry clutch environment. An open clutch cover is what made me opt for these. I kept all my OEM springs which would go back as soon as I revert to the OEM closed over (to sell the bike, for instance). I believe I followed LT Snyder’s book recommandations for this matter. I spent 3 years in Pensacola, FL, and a car will rust standing in a garage, in this area…
