Ducati Monster Forum

Hi ,

my s4 clutch is dragging a bit so now neutral is a pain to select when stopped , it ok on the move  and clutch is fine on the move, its really rattly now , i wondered if there was any temp cleanups i can do as i cant get a new Basket and clutch just now.

jerry

I don't think rattle and disengagement have anything to do with one another.

My M900 has tabs and basket worn like mad.

Are you sure it's not air?

I thought i heard somewhere that a loud clutch means its getting really worn?

When was the last time the clutch was bleed?

My S2R has been like this since I got it (only 15 mi, up to 2200 mi now).  Also, when I start the bike in the morning, let it warm up, jump on, kickup the stand, pull in the clutch lever, engage first gear, it dies as if I'm in gear... about 90% of the time... *shrugs*

Good luck with your clutch!
m

I've lived off and on with a clutch that wouldn't let me get into neutral when stopped with the engine running.  Bleeding it usually helped for a little while.  Replacing the Evoluzione "easy pull" slave with a stock "harder pull" slave improved things quite a bit.  I'm probably the only Ducati owner that prefers stock slave over Evoluzione, though.

I made it a habit to shift to neutral while still rolling, a foot or two before finally stopping.  I also found that just rolling the bike forward three or four inches was often enough to let me pop it into neutral.  If all else fails, you can always kill the engine, shift to neutral, then restart it, but that's only for when you get desperate.

I still have the original clutch after 32,000 miles and the basket looks rather hammered.  That has almost nothing to do with ease of popping it into neutral.  Having worn clutch plates probably helps a little, actually.

I'm on my 4th or 5th clutch stack in 35,000 mi. total on two bikes (s4r/s4rs). I only get about 6000 mi. until they start to slip and groan. Your friction plates are worn to the point that stack height is too low. I get some extra miles out of mine by taking out the plates and measuring them with a Vernier caliper and writing down the thickness in thousands (like .135"), then going through my old plates and picking ones that are thicker and reinstalling. All the plates in the stack don't wear at the same rate. Takes about 30 min.

Last time I did this I picked up .110 of stack height and it lasted me while I waited for a new set.

Of course if you don't have any used plates, this is no help.

LA

What are you doing that is so hard on your clutches?

I do a lot of stop and go riding, and I still have the original clutch in my ST2 at 32,000 miles.  My rear tires wear out pretty quickly, but not clutches.

Drag racing?

My 1st guess is that you need to bleed your line.  Symptom sounds like the clutch isn't 100% disengaged when the lever is pulled. 

If bleeding it doesn't help - have a look at your slave for signs of a leak.  I had very similar symptoms and it was due to a leak in my case.

I bleed the slave regularly and it has no leaks either , it has to be basket wear and stack height , I can live with it until I get a new all ally clutch basket ,centre and plates which will also be nice a quiet.