Ducati Monster Forum

OK... so I unscrewed the bolt in the clutch lever by a few turns to try to get a little bit of slack into the pull.  I'm starting to get a bit of clutch slip in 6th gear and after some additional research, it appears that I shouldn't have messed with that.

I have two questions for you fine ladies and gents:
1.)  How do I go about undoing what I did?  Simply screw the bolt back in a bit and problem will resolve itself or is the "fix" a bit more complicated than that?
2.)  Is there a proper way to adjust this lever?  At the moment, even a little bit of pressure will disengage the clutch and I'd prefer full clutch disengagement closer to where the clutch lever is fully pulled in.  Hope that makes sense.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

That screw is a free play adjustment to assure fluid returns to the reservoir set at the factory, not a user adjustment.  This causes the clutch slippage.  You need to back off the screw until you have 1-1.5mm. free play.  An alternative method is operate the clutch lever with the reservoir cover off (careful, brake fluid ruins paint and some plastics). You should see a stream of fluid return to the reservoir.  If not, loosen the screw until you do.  Tighten the adjuster screw by 1/8 of a turn until you no longer see the fluid return (port blocked).  Now back the screw out 3/4 turn.

What happens if you back the screw out too far?  The reason I ask is because I didn't tighten the screw any, only loosened it.

Too loose and the clutch won't disengage fully = hard to shift gears/find neutral. (,but bring the lever closer to the bars)

Too tight and the clutch will slip 'all' the time.

Following Howie's advice.... be VERY careful pulling the lever with the lid off. It takes 'nothing' to make a fountain.

It seems my symptoms conflict with the information.

I never tightened the screw, only loosened it.  I'm getting occasional slip in 6th gear and the friction point on the clutch lever is very near the point at which my hand comes off the lever completely.

Sounds like I need to loosen it more?

I would try to loosen a little more, half a turn maybe... and take a ride to check how that works.

You may have a worn clutch though...

Entirely possible.  I'm getting close to 33K miles.

Thats common behavour an the APTC clutch bikes like yours.  Mine became very sensitive to engine oil with clutch slip at around 25k.  By 30K it would slip in the higher gears no matter what.  The clutch discs looked good when I pulled them out, I did not measure the stack height though.  I swapped in a non APTC from an 800ss.  I few others have made the switch as well, lever pull will be harder but it will not be as far out either.

Sorry... I'm not familiar with APTC.  Any suggested reading?

As said, less likely to disengage, opposite of the problem you are having.  Just follow my directions to get it back where it belongs.  Your APTC is a "slipper" type clutch, a design that both springs depends on both springs and increased engine torque which allows the clutch to slip when torque is quickly reduced, as in downshifting, allowing the clutch to slip instead of locking the wheel.  The purpose of this clutch is to reduce the amount of strength needed to squeeze the lever and prevent the rear wheel from locking on an abrupt downshift. 


pretty much sums it up.  It is possible that at 33K your plates are worn or there is a problem in the APTC itself, which would require a tare down down to inspect components.  Or, as said, an oil change with a motorcycle specific oil with the JASO designation MA.  Worth a try.  I'm curious if stiffer springs might help, assuming the plates are still good.  Yep, if this would work "slipper" effect would be reduced or eliminated.  I am not recommending this, just thinking out loud.

Thanks for the help, guys.  This is the newest bike I've ever owned (previous record hold was my '82 Seca).  For what it's worth though, the clutch lever feels kind of stiff, too.

I was planning on doing the oil in the next 1000 miles or so, so maybe I'll take off the side case and poke around.

this happened to me a few years ago, basically I turned the screw ALL the way in, then, slowly, turned it out until "the OEM feel" was back . . .

as far as oil goes, use either 10W40 or 15W50 which are the oils Ducati used until the 695, as far as clutch and brake fluids, use a good DOT4 one and make sure the SAE grading does not say "Energy Conserving" . . . those have additives that might increase slipage  . . .