748 748 Tidy Up

fitted some to my 748 a few months back and although i dont think i went into too many details at the time (i dont like bigging him up for some reason..) they are really well worth the coin, well made and well thought out including the idiot proof instructions.
they have made a world of difference to the starting... it was a lil late for me as the sprag had gone and needed replacing but i had owned the bike for several years prior to the sprag going and she has never started like it does now. nor have any of the other 4 dukes ive owned. will be fitting to the other 2 as soon as get some time/£'s

 

You have 2 main options, it's either a standard clutch or a slipper clutch. The underside of the pressure plate will be toothed if the clutch is standad or flat if a slipper. Both clutches can use a steel or aluminium basket. If steel, the friction plates can be steel or aluminium. If aluminium the friction plates really need to be aluminium to prevent premature wear. Standard clutch the first plate in the pack is steel, slipper it's a friction and both finish with a steel. Nominal pack thickness for all types is 36.5mm +0/-0.9mm. Not sure the "quiet" mod works with a slipper. If the clutch feels grabby, the addition of 1 or 2 dished 1.5 mm steel plates should resolve it. Building a clutch pack isn't rocket science just persistance. Andy
Just edited my post after a stupid prat moment that was very kindly pointed out to me privately to save my embarrassment. But hey, what the hell only fair to take it if I dish it out.

 

the 749 is on a optimate as i think the alarm must drain the battery some. fired it, the 748 and the 900 up on sunday after maybe a month of not doing so and the 48 started way better than the other 2.. the 900 battery is only 2 months old the 748's 1.5 years now. i have optimate leads to fit to the 48 and 900 and will just give em a few days a week each but i believe the cables are a must for sure. (btw ask him for custom colored cables, he loves a challenge!)

 

Okay, it being a slipper, it does take a little more looking after. The ramps or ball and ramps need to be sparingly lubricated with a high melting point grease. I tend to strip the clutch for cleaning and regreasing on the track bike between track days especially when they are 3 or 4 day events in Spain. I scrounged a grease commonly called fifth wheel grease in the haulage business but the engine builder I know uses Molykote in a spray can. With the right tools and experience, the whole job takes 30 minutes or 45 minutes if I get anal and check plate thickness. Some will agree with me and some won't but I'd make the clutch strip part of my routine maintenance regime which depends on mileage. In my experience 6000 miles of enthusiastic use will shag an ordinary aluminium/ergal basket even with aluminium friction plates. A slipper is most definitely not a cheap option, the 1098R OE plate set is about £190 and the basket is £135. Andy

 

Just a note, the baskets are the same on a standard clutch and a slipper, it's the hub that makes the difference.
Steve

 

Interesting thread Paul, noisiest clutch is with worn steel basket plus worn tangs on clutch plates giving a big gap for 'clanging'. Hard to say for sure from pictures but your clearance between tangs and basket looks quite snug so might not be too noisy. You are right, the mounting for the heat shield uses fibre washers ( usually green in colour) but I think they also use a steel 'penny' type washer? Also, talking about corroded fixings, the two small bolts holding the rear brake slave cylinder love to shear off so be careful.

 

If you can wait until the Ducati day at Silverstone in June, you can listen to mine only bring ear plugs, it's VERY noisy. Andy

 

I know sod all about slipper clutches as Im not even a particularly quick road rider, never mind any kind of racer.
It's interesting though that slipper clutches start with a friction plate but use the same basket, as that is the basis of the quiet clutch mod.
The mod relies on the tabs of that first friction plate jamming into the curved, rounded bottom end of the basket slots. That plate is then prevented from oscillating, which in turn stops the whole pack oscillating. This quietens the clutch and also dramatically reduces wear on both tabs and basket. It doesn't affect friction surfaces but they will usually outlast the tabs enormously anyway.
@Derek on here is now in the thirty thousands on one clutch!
Given that it uses the same basket and plates, I wonder why having a friction plate first doesn't have the same effect on a slipper clutch?
Very confusing.

 

Hope this helps, a picture of a slipper hub, when the center rises up the ramps a steel plate fitted first would drop of the back of the splines and jam the whole thing up.

 

That is a disaster waiting to happen so fortunate you found it now. Can't find a torque just says tighten securely. Andy

 

about 4nm if i remember right from doing mine last year. The pressure of the springs means it doesn't need to be over tight.

 

Looks like those spring caps have seen some action as looks like 2 or 3 have heavy burrs?, wouldn't be surprised if you have a new drum already as above often means a post or two get sheared off. Be careful tightening clutch screws, better to feel them up rather than use a torque wrench - they only need lightly nipping up as design is a bit lightweight considering it's a regularly serviced item. Many threads on the subject:-

http://ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/rattley-growly-clutch-repair.32223/page-2#post-714559

 

Check the threads in 6 posts carefully Paul as they often have previous damage i.e. thread could be partially stripped already. It's ok if damaged threads/posts are opposing each other as many owners run with only 4 springs with no problems at all. Not ruling out clutch slip totally but it's unusual.

 

Looks very tidy. Don't you just love the look when freshly polished pipes go on! smartened it up no end.