Can't Find Neutral 848 Corse

Hi. Have a go at changing the gear lever height. I found that out while trying to sort mine. It would drop into neutral like a good un once I’d changed the gear lever position. Can’t explain why, just adjust it. Also make sure the shifter arm on the spline is as close to 90° to the rod as possible. Hope this helps.

 

There are several small things to check that can help but if this is a wet clutch, i'm assuming it is unless modded, then it's inherent in the design to a large degree i'm sorry to say. All wet clutch users develop a knack to help overcome this, like finding neutral before you come to a standstill for example. As above, the linkage arm and gearlever arm must be truly perpendicular/90 deg to the linkage rod, the stack-height could be reduced to minimum within spec, and you could try different oils but always more tricky than a dry clutch to find neutral particularly at a standstill, and often from cold.

 

The basic problem that you're facing is incomplete clutch plate separation. The two usual culprits are air in the clutch hydraulic system and the use of a larger aftermarket slave cylinder. The problem is made worse (and more noticeable) when a new set of clutch friction plates are installed.

The solution is likely the combination of bleeding the air from the high point of the system (not at the slave), reinstalling the smaller Ducati slave cylinder to increase the amount of pushrod movement, and change the clutch lever adjustment to obtain a longer throw. Adjusting the master cylinder to reduce lever free play out of spec is just asking for trouble and simply has no effect on the amount of clutch plate separation.

As you have discovered, the problem develops after new set of friction plates are installed. A new friction plate has an uneven surface and will initially drag on adjacent plates until its surface is smoothed out after a few hundred launches and gear changes. The ability to find neutral at a stop will improve on its own. In the meantime, practice dropping into
neutral as you roll to a stop.

 

"As you have discovered, the problem develops after new set of friction plates are installed."

on the contrary, and this is only my opinion but often a set of new friction plates on a wet-clutch set-up* will perform just as well as a dry clutch set-up initially before returning to show clutch plate dragging symptoms within a few 100 miles.

*can you please confirm this is a wet-clutch bike James?

 

No, hydraulic clutch systems are self-adjusting which means that the amount of plate separation produced doesn't change as the plate stack height changes (i.e., as the clutch plates wear or when a new plate stack is installed.)

 

a "lower" stack-height on clutch plates reduces preload on clutch springs, and definitely has the ability to improve gear selection on both wet and dry clutches, well documented from many sources.

 

True, changing stack height changes the spring preload force (about 450 lb.) used to prevent clutch slippage. But, the clutch actuation system controls the DISTANCE the pressure plate is lifted — and once the pressure plate moves (a couple of millimeters) enough to release the stack spring plate, the springs can no longer apply any force to the plates and the clutch slips.

The problem here is that either the pressure plate is not moving enough to release the spring plate or that surface roughness of the new plates are causing some residual dragging that's interfering with changing transmission gears.
Another possibility is that the plates are not sliding freely in the basket. This has been seen to be a problem with some aftermarket plates. A little work with a file on the plate tabs is the solution.

 

you're adding another area of course, but the behaviour of a clutch system with new plates is not a given, and from first-hand experience on several machines, i've found the performance to be very acceptable initially before the saturation of the plates begins, and the inevitable dragging "stiction" that follows. Also happy to stand by the "low stack-height" as a possible small help to the wet-clutch problem, learnt from practice not theory..

 

Is finding neutral only when cold, or always?
If it's been fitted with aftermarket rearsets, has that been done right? Altering the rod angles that results in less sensitivity at the foot could make it impossible to 'feel' for neutral...

 

you've hit on a good point, as not only this, but the lever ratio on an aftermarket set-up could be different if this includes an aftermarket brake lever.