I'm not happy with the clutch on my 748. Something isn't quite right. I had the pressure plate off to have a look a week or so ago, and I'm going to investigate further later today, but I thought I'd post here first in case anyone has any pointers. I should start by saying that the clutch has worked fine for many years, and I'm a firm believer that many Ducati clutch "issues" are in fact caused by poor tinkering, such as bleeding the clutch badly so that air remains in the system, Once set up right, in my view, they seldom give trouble, bar normal wear and tear. I have an aftermarket Oberon slave cylinder fitted, but again, that has worked fine for years. What I felt was happening when I went out for a ride a week or two back was, set off and everything feels fine. After a while, the clutch lever action changes, the amount of travel seems to reduce, and I can't pull it back till it virtually touches the handlebar like I could earlier. I should add at this point that there's been no messing around with the clutch lever span adjuster, which has been set on 2 since forever. Nett result is neutral getting slightly harder to engage (but might have got worse still if I'd done another 50 miles?). Back at the ranch, I thought I'd have a quick look. First time I've done this in a loong time! Clutch cover off, pressure plate... not so keen. Had to pry it out with a couple of screwdrivers, and when I did, the push-road failed to come with it. Pressure plate bearing, however, looked in mint condition, very smooth. So grabbed the push-road with Mole grips, pulled it out and cleaned it up, and tapped it back into the bearing and re-assembled, feeling dead pleased with myself that I'd solved the problem. But, reader, I haven't! I may have got part the way there, but clearly there's something further. I should also add that there is no sign of hydraulic fluid leakage, and the reservoir level looks fine. I haven't removed the slave cylinder, but will I learn anything if I do? I have a vague recollection that with the Oberon slave, there is a short, 'extra' piece of push-road, just an inch or so long, is that right? But to reiterate, it has all worked fine for years, and the only work that's been done on the bike recently is a belt change, which is hardly going to need anyone going into the clutch. Any pointers gratefully received.
Could the Slave end have "worn" into the piston ? it's not unheard of, and taking the slave off is a 15 min job so worth checking No idea why that would make it worse over time, unless there is a heat expansion issue ?
I haven't taken the slave off yet, partly because I can't imagine I'd see anything actually repairable there, but I'm going to have a look tomorrow before the rain arrives, hopefully!
I reckon the pack is worn so likely affected the stack height. Suggest that you check and replace as necessary.
By rights, the push rod shouldn’t come out with the pressure plate (although as we all know it often does), it should be removed and replaced from the slave side. Therefore, this is not a bad thing at all. Wasn’t necessary at all, see above. As the clutch is working fine, then, as things heat up you say you can’t pull the lever back to the bar and neutral is head to find, I think something is expanding through heat. The fact you can’t pull the clutch lever back is why the clutch is dragging and you can’t find neutral, the plates aren’t fully disengaging. I’d be looking at Slave cylinder and giving it a good clean out as I suspect your fault lies there.
Pulling the clutch rod by the right side presents a risk of damaging the two small o-rings that prevent engine oil to come out into the clutch... As @West Cork Paul said, remove it on the slave side. Another good thing about this is it « forces » you to remove the slave, and check everything behind and inside it.
Start off with bleeding the m/cyl, try it and if still not good then bleed the slave. If still a problem then start on the physical clutch components.
your symptoms are the greatest clue as always. If i've got this right, after the clutch has been working perfectly well for some time, and you not changing a thing, it goes from working perfectly well when you start up, with play at the clutch lever, with "normal" action at the handlebars and disengagement easily possible, but then after a while riding, you find that when you pull the clutch lever in, you cannot disengage and the play at the lever has totally gone? When you use it next time, the above sequence happens again?
The play has never 'totally gone', but certainly reduced. And who knows how worse it would get if I rode further. I've taken the slave off and cleaned it up and reassembled, but the weather has put paid to any road test for a while.
do you mean the "free play "at the lever before you even pull against any resistance? or do you mean the total available span that you can pull the lever in reduces? before you even starts the engine, if you loosely/lightly move the lever initially, there should be around 10 mm play at the very end of the lever before you feel any resistance, and this should be the case even when everything is warmed up and you've ridden for an hour.
The "10 mm" is there OK, it's more the total travel. But as I say, I'll know more when I've had the chance to give it a decent run out.
I suspect dirt, chain oil and clutch dust have baked (over time) into a solid crust in the 'tunnel' that the rod is meant to pass through, making the action inconsistent. IIRC, the rod should both be fed in, or pulled out, by hand, not using pliers, or having to be tapped back in, therefore I suspect the concretion described above is at fault here. I imagine heat will not help ease the rod's movement if it is being gripped snugly by the build up when cold, making movement more difficult as expansion takes place. Restore the 'tunnel's' bore with a good clean. Good luck
if the 10 (approx) play remains hot or cold, then can rule out one possibilty. It's difficult to help without seeing so do add as many symptoms or new "quirks" to help if possible.
Problem solved! I think. Or, perhaps more accurately, has solved itself. I'm sure Borgo is right, and the issue lay with muck getting in there around the slave. I remember many, many years ago Louigi telling me sternly, this is a maintenance area. Keep it clean! And he's right, of course! Anyway, I'd unscrewed the slave, and cleaned the area up as best I could, and re-assembled. So another trip to St Helens for more homebrew gear was an ideal opportunity to test it out. And it looks like today will be the only fine day for a while. So, it started off absolutely fine, but then the same thing started to happen an extent; could still change gear and find neutral OK, but reduced travel and resistance to pulling the lever right back to the bars. But then, stopped at traffic lights, I pulled the lever a bit harder, and it was like something 'slipped', the lever came back to the bar, clutch action felt lighter, and it was like a new clutch for the rest of the journey. So I reckon a bit of muck was blocking an airway (or a seal), or something like that. BTW someone mentioned pack height: I put a new set of plates in not so long ago, so I think the clutch is fine 'mechanically'. Anyway, help from you guys much appreciated; it's a big weight off my mind. After all, it's a 24 year old bike with quite high mileage, I wouldn't have trusted it to go any distance before, but I do now. And it is running beautifully.
