I have a 2001 900S ie Monster with just under 9000 miles on it. Over the past couple months I have noticed the reservoir for the clutch master cylinder going a bit low and had to be topped off. No leaks visible under the bike and no change in clutch lever resistance. Today I was talking with a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic but not a Ducati mechanic and we took the clutch plates out to see if it was dropping the level because the clutch was going bad. Plates are wearing but, nothing real major. After the clutch was apart, I noticed a few leak spots under the bike. Following the drips, looks like it is from behind the clutch slave. Pulled the cover over the chain and found a good amount of sludge but I also noticed that the white sealant that was used around the left cover is not really present under the cover. Pieces of the sealant were in the sludge. Do you guys think that the pieces are just excess that are not interfering at all with the seal integrity of the left cover? I realize that I am asking you guys to use a crystal ball, but what do you think is more than likely the reason for the leak? I hate the idea of replacing things or taking things apart unnecessarily. Thanks
The only way you will know for sure is clean the area well and run the bike. Either way, your slave is leaking. The only way clutch fluid level goes down is from a leak. Wear increases the level.
+1 on Howie's post. Your clutch slave is probably toast. There's a chance that the bits you're finding in the sludge aren't gasket goop but is actually stuff from inside your slave that has become shredded and somehow made its way out. Pop the slave off and either put a C clamp on it to hold the piston in or get a buddy to hold it while you pull the lever. It'll probably leak. Otherwise you can clean up the area and put the slave back on and check it again in a couple days.
Check the throwout bearing as a possible cause. That's what did in my last clutch slave. The throwout bearing was failing so the rod between the slave and the clutch disk that gets pushed out was spinning all the time. That fried the seals and a few things in there came apart before I realized what was wrong with it.