M696 clutch issue.

[jakem696]

How do you know when the clutch is going bad?  I think my clutch is slipping, either that or the transmission is.

[stopintime]

Miles? How does the lever feel?

[Slide Panda]

The transmissions won't slip... well they won't in any situation short of their apocalyptic death.

A slipping clutch will feel.. like a slipping clutch.  Basically, the bike would be have the same as if you pulled the lever slightly (when the clutch is 100% working).  The engine will continue to spin a X RPMs or possibly pick up RPMs but your speed will not pick up or you might slow down.  This effect can be magnified by finding a steep hill and going up in as high a gear as you can manage.  IF you're hearing your engine spin faster, and watching your speedo read out go down - that's classic slippage.

Some folks do the wall test.  Nose the bike up to a sturdy wall, make sure it's in top gear and dump the clutch.  At idle, in top gear a bike without a slipping issue will stall immediately.  One with a slipping clutch won't.  If the slipping is really bad, it might just keep running. Personally, I'm not such a fan of the wall test.. but if you can't find a decent hill....

[jakem696]

The bike has 8500+ miles on it. I noticed yesterday that when Im cruizing, the motor reved higher all of a sudden.
Then I had an issue getting the motor to engages on 1st gear.

[Slide Panda]

The bike has 8500+ miles on it. I noticed yesterday that when Im cruizing, the motor reved higher all of a sudden.
Then I had an issue getting the motor to engages on 1st gear.

Please describe in more detail your 1st gear issue.  Are you having trouble getting into 1st gear?

Have you ever bleed the clutch fuild?

8500 miles really isn't that much, unless you've been pretty harsh to it.

[jakem696]

I have not bled the Clutch fluid.
I didn't have problem getting it in 1st gear. It just felt like the clutch wasn't grabbing cuz it hardly moved  when on 1st gear with clutch lever fully out. before that, I noticed sudden changes on the enigine rev when at a steady  cruise.
I have not been harsh to it. I just had the 7500 miles service done recently.

[Howie]

Make sure the clutch fluid in the reservoir is not to high.
did you mess with the little screw in the clutch lever?

[jakem696]

Clutch fluid isn't too high.
I didn't mess with any screw on the lever. I did however replced my levers to the ASV adjustable one.

I noticed there's a piston type pin just under the lever connected to a some kind of swith. It doesn't make any contact whenever I pull in the lever. Does this have any effect on what causing my problem?

[stopintime]

I have the same coffin style master clutch cylinder - whenever I wash it too hard/much, some water sneaks in the rubber gasket/bellow around the shiny pin that pushes the master (cylinder) piston. It becomes weird at the lever, like something is a little stuck, and causes slippage. I apply oil and squeeze the lever multiple times - fixed. Maybe, just maybe it could be your problem too?

Make sure the shiny pin is hit by the lever exactly where it's supposed to - if it's on the edge, instead of in the middle, of the adjusting screw - it might be the source for your "slippage". It would help avoiding your problem again if the screw was adjusted inwards enough to make constant contact with the pin. Aftermarket levers often require the screw to be tightened quite a lot.

I'm sure by the time I finish typing, someone else will have answered the switch question

EDIT: OK, the switch allows you to start the bike in gear IF the clutch is pulled. It can be adjusted a little before you tighten the large nut under the lever pivot bolt.

Adjusting the screw to perfection (bottom of this page): http://www.ducatisuite.com/leverchange.html

[Slide Panda]

I noticed there's a piston type pin just under the lever connected to a some kind of swith. It doesn't make any contact whenever I pull in the lever. Does this have any effect on what causing my problem?

No- That pins only job is to touch that switch. That switch is your clutch safety interlock. It's job is to allow you to start the bike, while in gear IF the clutch lever is pulled.

[mstevens]

I did however replced my levers to the ASV adjustable one.

I noticed there's a piston type pin just under the lever connected to a some kind of swith. It doesn't make any contact whenever I pull in the lever.

Others have already pointed out that that's the clutch interlock switch. The part I don't understand is that I have ASV levers and my clutch lever DOES push the switch. If you can start your bike in gear with the clutch lever pulled, yours does too.

[Raux]

OIL!

ok here's the situation i had and sounds similar.

high ambient temperatures, heavy loads and high RPM clutch slipping.

went to a dealer and he said the oil is the wrong type for the type of riding i was doing. came back to germany with lower temps... no slipping.

at 8500 miles... did you get your oil changed recently? if not, do it... if you did, find out what type of oil they used.

[jakem696]

Hey  Raux, Are you refering to the engine oil? or the clutch fluid oil?
It was pretty hot this weekend when I was riding. It was 2 hours into the ride when I noticed the slipping issue.
I got to take it to the dealer as soon as I can get an appointment.

[Raux]

same thing. 696 is a wet clutch that sits in the engine oil

[Slide Panda]

Hey  Raux, Are you refering to the engine oil? or the clutch fluid oil?
It was pretty hot this weekend when I was riding. It was 2 hours into the ride when I noticed the slipping issue.
I got to take it to the dealer as soon as I can get an appointment.

Let's not confuse language.  On all Ducs, if you hear someone refer to clutch fluid they will be talking about hydraulic brake fluid used to actuate the clutch.

Oil's well oil.  As Raux said, on a wet cluth bike (duc or not) the clutch plates are bathed in the same oil that lubricates the moving parts of your engine.

Tired out/old or just the wrong oil can cause slipping and other odd behaviours from the clutch - so good call Raux. 
What sort of oil are you using and how many miles are on it?