have been considering Barnett plates for my M800 and did a search here but only found posts on the dry clutch plates...which got decidedly mixed reviews. Anyone know if the wet clutch plates are better/good??
I've has Barnett clutch plates in multiple wet clutches over the years, including two Ducati 800SS Moto-ST racebikes before we converted them to dry clutches, and never had a single problem or issue with any of them at any time. I wouldn't hesitate to use them. That said, I have not had any problem with the stock factory oem clutch plates on any of my Ducatis with wet clutches, ever, so I would not hesitate to use oem wet clutch plates either. I would more likely make my decision on the basis of price and availability than anything else.
I've got an 800 with a wet clutch. It seems fine for the moment but since this thread is going...
Are there any other options for the wet clutch bikes? It seems there are endless options for the dry cltuch bikes for basket, pressure plates, clutch packs, and more. Besides OEM and Barnett clutch packs, what else exists for wet clutch bikes?
And no, I don't want to swtich to a dry clutch ;) It's a very cool mod but I have no real reason to spend that much time and money on the bike no matter how cool and unique it would make it.
Scott
Quote from: scott_araujo on November 30, 2009, 09:25:52 AM
I've got an 800 with a wet clutch. It seems fine for the moment but since this thread is going...
Are there any other options for the wet clutch bikes? It seems there are endless options for the dry cltuch bikes for basket, pressure plates, clutch packs, and more. Besides OEM and Barnett clutch packs, what else exists for wet clutch bikes?
And no, I don't want to swtich to a dry clutch ;) It's a very cool mod but I have no real reason to spend that much time and money on the bike no matter how cool and unique it would make it.
Scott
I'd sure love to change my 1000SS trackbike's dry clutch to a wet clutch. The only time I've ever wanted or felt an advantage to a dry clutch is in racing, when we needed to separate the clutch from the engine oil for heat control issues and speed of clutch access during endurance races. On the street and for track days, I find dry clutches to be graunchy, grabby, noisy, and bothersome (to individual greater or lesser degrees, ymmv, and all that) than wet clutches.
With the clutch encased in the engine, and running in oil, there's really no reason for billet bling and the like. You can get lightweight clutch baskets for wet clutch models, but if you want to liven up a wet clutch engine and make it rev faster, a lightweight flywheel is a much faster, easier, cheaper way to get there. Personally, I don't like lightweight flywheels in street-ridden bikes, either.
Quote from: Tim on November 30, 2009, 09:57:26 AM
I'd sure love to change my 1000SS trackbike's dry clutch to a wet clutch. The only time I've ever wanted or felt an advantage to a dry clutch is in racing, when we needed to separate the clutch from the engine oil for heat control issues and speed of clutch access during endurance races. On the street and for track days, I find dry clutches to be graunchy, grabby, noisy, and bothersome (to individual greater or lesser degrees, ymmv, and all that) than wet clutches.
With the clutch encased in the engine, and running in oil, there's really no reason for billet bling and the like. You can get lightweight clutch baskets for wet clutch models, but if you want to liven up a wet clutch engine and make it rev faster, a lightweight flywheel is a much faster, easier, cheaper way to get there. Personally, I don't like lightweight flywheels in street-ridden bikes, either.
+1 Amen to that. Only thing I don't like about the wet clutches is the fact that they look gimpy compared to the dry clutches. All Ducati would have to do is make a cooler looking wet clutch cover and that gripe would be gone forever.
Quote from: Tim on November 30, 2009, 07:57:19 AM
I've has Barnett clutch plates in multiple wet clutches over the years, including two Ducati 800SS Moto-ST racebikes before we converted them to dry clutches, and never had a single problem or issue with any of them at any time. I wouldn't hesitate to use them. That said, I have not had any problem with the stock factory oem clutch plates on any of my Ducatis with wet clutches, ever, so I would not hesitate to use oem wet clutch plates either. I would more likely make my decision on the basis of price and availability than anything else.
thanks very much, that is good to know....FWIW the problem I'm having is occasional stickiness and abrupt take up at the last bit of release, suspect this was caused by VERY low mileage, the original owner only did 1700 miles in 6 years....anyway, will go ahead and try some new Barnett plates
Quote from: victor441 on November 30, 2009, 11:01:23 AM
thanks very much, that is good to know....FWIW the problem I'm having is occasional stickiness and abrupt take up at the last bit of release, suspect this was caused by VERY low mileage, the original owner only did 1700 miles in 6 years....anyway, will go ahead and try some new Barnett plates
You should also be sure that you have flushed and bled the hydraulic clutch fluid, and you may even want to disassemble and clean the seals in the clutch slave cylinder, as you can get stickiness and abruptness from the slave cyliner as well, especially if the fluid has never been changed.
Best of luck!
Tim, you mentioned a lightweight wet clutch basket. who makes that?
My Monster 620 has a Barnett wet clutch pack in it and it works just fine for me. The only issue is when I shift down to first gear from neutral the bike rolls forward. I also can't shift up to neutral if the bike is running, but stopped at a stop light. I still use it though!