it spreads the load........x4 ive got the 48 tooth basket but i dont like the centre spring types so ive still got the 6 spring pressure plate as a combination..... i just did 3 days in almeria and not an issue what so ever..
I've had two wet clutches go on me, 6,700 on my S2R 800, 10,400 on my 696, rather than think I have a crap riding style, as some people who seem to know everything think, I think it's worth taking into account that 90% of my riding on these bikes was through solid London traffic all day every day which really did not help, fact, there are a number of factors to clutch wear.
I like to think I have great mechanical sympathy for my bikes. I don't use full throttle until the clutch is fully engaged when setting off quickly, I blip on the downshift to match the revs / road speed and I don't 'clutch it up' for wheelies. A mate of mine who rides a Suzuki 600 SRAD does all the opposite, he's had his bike from it being a couple of years old and he rides it like it's his last day on this planet, - And it's still on it's original clutch! I always use the recommended Shell oil on my Ducatis so that should rule that out. I know when you buy a second hand bike you don't know what sort of treatment it's had before you but Ducatis don't seem to be the strongest in this department in my experience. Wonder why companies such as EBC don't make parts for them?
Noddy, Ducati clutches don't last long in comparison with many others and 8-10k on the dry clutches is pretty normal (and frankly pretty bad IMHO). Even if the friction material is well within spec the plates or basket engagement faces get flattened or notch however you drive them. I think the design is pretty archaic for a road bike but it does not put me off riding them. I could do without the bill every 2-3 years however. I did 64k miles on a GS550 many years ago and when the bike was written off and parted, the clutch plates were barely worn. That was in the early 80s when the Pantah came out - which also had consumable plates - probably the same design was fitted to my 748 20 years later.
STM Evo slipper clutch on my 1000 S DS Multistrada. Owner 2 paid £1250 for it and whilst its a good bit of kit, owner 3 i.e. me paid £300+ after the dreaded VAT for a new clutch pack and a spring (£50 for a spring STM; really?!) when it started slipping after 8k. Fingers crossed it might last 10K+ before the next pack is required. I spose a slipper clutch by design slips and wears the plates more thana stock clutch? Corners
totally agree Scott and as NZDave hinted at, the choice of oil will make some difference and even the correct synthetic oil type can lead to early clutch slip on occasion.
Yep daily London use and dry clutch gone after about 9k. It so depends how you ride, where you ride and again how stupid you are when you ride. On wet clutch also oil. One thing Ducati sucks at low rpm, jerky and twitchy so you clutch in and drag clutch much more then inline fours.
No problem with them, I've done over 22k on my 10 year old 748 (owned from new) and yes it's noisy as hell but certainly dosn't slip, my 1098 has nearly 13k with no problems at all and I've done nearly 10k on my 998 which was new shortly before I bought it. I fully expect to get a lot more miles out of all of them before I have to replace them because of slipping. If you abuse them then of course they will wear and slip but treat them with respect and there should be no major problems.
