Ducati Monster Forum

Hi.. since I'm a new rider I am having trouble riding smoothly in the lower gears, like in town. Any suggestions?

Hey Ducgirl, do you know what sprocket you have on the front? Is it a 14 tooth or 15 tooth?

Ducs are notoriously hard to ride around in the lower RPMs. I traded my stock 15 tooth front sprocket for a 14 tooth sprocket and it helped tons.

Still, I end up "feathering" or "slipping" the clutch (I believe thats the right term, theres some more experienced ladies who can correct me if I'm wrong). So I end up pulling in the clutch enough to disengage it a little but not enough to stop me from moving.

Hope that helps!

JB is exactly right.

You neeeeeeeed the 14 tooth sprocket up front, just ask Spidey.  ;)

Even with that, all motorcycles (not just ducs) are controlled at low speeds with the clutch, and not so much the throttle. It's all about the feathering. Some parking lot practice might help. Practice letting the clutch lever out just until it starts to engage, then pull it back, then find that engagement point again. (Keep your feet down.) Repeat as needed.

If you are a new rider you may find that it's hard to keep tension on the clutch lever as you feather it, but with practice your hand strength will build up.

After a while you'll wonder that you ever struggled with it....

G'luck!

I kept the stock sprocket and feather the clutch, revving more in the friction zone than I needed to with my BMW (maybe 2k rpms?)

Took the ERC on the Monster last summer and had an awful time with the box until I figured this out--as you're a new rider, I'd download the practice guide from the MSF website, find a parking lot and experiment a little.

Dumb question--but does your Monster have the dry or wet clutch?  I believe you're not supposed to feather a dry clutch as much.

Hi.. thanks for all the great ideas; I am going to change the sprocket for sure in the Spring when the bike is out of storage. :)

another one here that changed the sprocket to 14.  Made a huge difference for me.

Did you notice  any difference in the higher gears and on the highway? I am just curious as I can't ride until March because we have snow! Something to think about while I'm waiting...!

I didn't notice any difference in highway riding with my 14T.

With the 14T I actually use 6th gear, which I never needed with the 15T.

I'm an oddball though, I actually prefer the 15T over the 14T.  Oh well, next time around I'll swap back.

Hi everyone... thanks for the great replies... Happy Thanksgiving and don't eat too much! [beer]

I also went from the 15T to the 14T sprocket, and though I never particularly had trouble with the lower gears, the change was a huge improvement, made things much smoother and easier. I do notice a loss of top-end power though. Unlike the previous posters, I've always used 6th gear frequently, and you can definitely feel the bike working harder when you get up to 75 or 80.

Can I ask what the difference between the 14T and 15T sprockets is? (Apart from the obvious one tooth.) Why would a smaller number of teeth help with low speed handling? (I have the stock 15T sprocket on my M696 and I've been impressed with how well-mannered it is at low speeds/in low gears.)

Hi there,

It is probably easier to explain in terms of bicycle gears, if you are familiar with those.

When you are in a lower gear, it makes it easier to go up hills, or to start from a stop.  However, if you are trying to go faster (such as downhill) and are still in a low gear, you won't have very much effect, the pedals just spin around without doing much.

When you are in higher gears, it helps when you are going faster to maintain speed.  However, if you are trying to start from a stop, or are going uphill, and are in a high gear, it is very hard work to get going, you will spin the pedals really slowly.

Ideally you would start in a lower gear to get going, then once you are at a good speed, you can shift to a higher gear.

It is the same thing on motorcycles.

Ducati tends to set their bikes with high gearing to pass emissions requirements.  So they come with a 15T front sprocket.

However, on many Ducs with the 15T sprocket (higher gearing), starting the bike in 1st gear will feel sluggish and the engine actually has to work harder, and you won't accelerate as easily.  The 14T sprocket (lower gearing) will make the bike accelerate better from a stop and at lower speeds.

At higher speeds, you will have to shift higher (6th gear instead of 5th) with a 14T sprocket to maintain your speed.  Theoretically, the 15T sprocket bike could go faster than a 14T bike at top speed, except that there are many other factors that play into top speed besides just the gearing.  So you won't really notice any loss at the top end (except shifting to 6th gear sooner) but you will notice a change at the low speed end.

Thanks for the explanation.  [thumbsup] That makes sense.

That is a great explanation! Thanks a lot! I am still a little "herky-jerky" in first gear sometimes and would like  a  little more forgiveness maybe until I get used to all of this! There is a lot to think about! Anyway, I'm going to make the change in the Spring for sure and see if that doesn't smooth things out a bit along with practicing feathering the clutch. I can always go back if I want... :)

Not a dumb question at all, in fact it's a great one for this topic.  She has a wet clutch.  Dry clutches are "grippier" than wet clutches.  The oil circulating through the wet clutch allow the plates in the clutch pack to slip more.  It just takes more clutch control with a dry clutch and the friction zone is generally shorter.  Dry clutches are also notoriously stiffer, particularly if the person has the clutch vented and has swapped the springs for stainless.  With Ducati, the dry clutches are in the following motors: air-cooled 900, Superbikes, Monsters, and Sport Touring (748, 749, 916, 996, 998, 999, 1098), dual spark 1000, and the new 1100 motor.  The wet clutches are in everything else: 600, 620, 695, 696,  750, 800, 848, etc.  Please correct me if I've left out any motors.  I believe that for every bike with a wet clutch, there is a dry clutch conversion kit out there. 

[minor threadjack]

Is there any mechanical advantage to having a wet clutch other than rideability?  There are very distinct mechanical advantages to dry clutches, notably ease of replacement and their being less susceptible to slipping due to the motor's overheating.

[/minor threadjack]

I found that as a newbie, I was feathering the clutch more.  Then I discovered the solution to speed modulation issues in lower gears: right hand control.  So much of riding skill comes down to throttle control.  At very low speeds in first gear I will feather the clutch a little, and if I need to adjust speed with even more fine increments, I drag the rear brake.  It is important to get clutch control down, especially for launches and shifting between gears from first through third.  However, I am convinced slower speeds are made smooth with throttle control.  With Ducatis, our bikes come stock with a 1/4 turn throttle.  That means that from closed to WFO, you only have to turn the throttle 90 degrees.  This makes right hand control even more important.  I actually want to take my track bike (SV) down to a 1/5 turn by putting an R6 throttle tube on it. 

However, now I'm going to disagree with myself.  If you have few miles under your belt, feathering the clutch will be your friend.  However, you will find that as your brain and coordination catch up with your bike, you should depend on feathering the clutch less. 

Another thing that will definitely help is keeping your elbows unlocked.  Every time your bike lurches, if on the deceleration part of the lurch, you transfer your bodyweight into your locked arms and ultimately front suspension.  Your bike will handle poorly if you're upsetting the suspension.  Your hands are for throttle, brake, clutch, and steering input--generally not for support.

This is what has worked for me, but there are many people on this forum more skilled and experienced than I am.

In general, a wet clutch should last longer than a dry clutch.

Hi.. I have a wet clutch.