after just doing the header tank for the second time in two months, coming back from a ride, and the bike wouldnt go into nutral and was making a funny noise. manage to limp it home to see the clutch cover burnt. Took cover off, and some plates were not in the basket and it seemed that the springs had been rubbing the inside of the cover. I was told years ago, by a ducati mechanic, that he used to prize out the needle roller bearing on the pushrod, as they always seize. I suspect that this is what has happened to me. I know i will have to drop the oil and take off the left hand crank cover, but is there anything i should look out for or can i just smack it out toward the slave side and how do i make sure that i have got all of the bearing out??
The symptoms you describe sounds like the hub nut is loose and causing the hub/plates etc. to work out into the cover. As for the bearing, they can be a sod to remove. I've swapped 2, one was really easy and picked out with dental-style picks, the other I had to grind out the outer race - do this carefully so you don't damage the inside of the shaft. You don't need the crankcase cover off to do any of this and other good news is that the bearing and oil seal are cheap but make sure the oil seal goes in the correct way round or it may leak oil into your clutch...
Hub nut? Do you mean the clutch basket nut? My lever started locking up at 1/3 travel, so I suspected it was the pushrods bearing, as now it won't move at all. I'll check it out and update. Also, I think the pushrods may be stuck in the gearbox channel, so some advice on removing the rod and bearing would be good. I'm on about the one in the journal, not the pressure plate one.
Yes I was talking about the gearbox shaft bearing. There is a large nut that holds the centre hub on, the basket is held with a series of bolts behind the hub, it's unlikely the basket is loose as there are too many bolts to come undone/break. I had a new clutch fitted by a Ducati dealer after a crash some years ago and the hub nut came undone on the first rideout after less than 50 miles (obviously wasn't torqued). Resulted in the hub/plates/springs etc working out into the clutch cover, initially I lost the ability to disengage the clutch but as I was close to home I carried on, trying to get back. Finally the cover (Carbon Fibre) gave out and the entire hub assembly was ejected into the side fairing and the rubber cush drives fell onto the road. You'll know if this has happened as soon as you take the springs/plates out, the hub could also have 'eaten' into the big 'star' washer and therefore become loose meaning the nut can undo. You may even have a broken pushrod? but, again this should be fairly obvious once the plates etc. are out. Even if the little bearing is OK then it maybe an idea to swap it (especially if the rod's broken) and the seal if clutch 'surgery' is required - for what they cost it's not worth having the doubt in your mind.
Fucking bike!! you were right. Nut has come off. Went to strip it and one of the spring retaining bolts has rounded off. The first one I tried. This bike is now starting to piss me off. It lasted for two days after changing the reg/rect, sealing the tank and upgrading the cracked plastic sender nut with one of FE's alloy ones, before spitting the chain off. This time it only lasted less than a day.!! I have never heard of this problem??? oh yeah. And of course the header tank again. Clutch doesn't look to cleaver either.
Not good, at least when it happened to me it was a new clutch and all under warranty. Can't see if the hub's salvageable (at least the posts aren't broken off) but the rest doesn't look too hot...
The outer drum looks quite worn, might be worth replacing it with an alloy one and using alloy friction plates, or buy a slipper clutch as has been suggested, although that might turn out to be the dearer option.
Also make sure you have the correct clutch pack height and it's set up properly and you note the way the plates go in as it is different to a stock clutch setup. You might find it's a little more jerky than a stock clutch some more than others depending on make etc. My genuine DP clutch is actually quite poor.
Just secured the slipper from FE. Looks like all the work has been done for me, by the look of the way he has cable tied it together. I will be sure to take his advice on setting it up and have some vernier's and all the other necessary tools and ability. I am a mechanic myself. Thanks for your comments. Chuffed I won't have to wait till next year to ride it again!!
