Dry Clutch Vs. Wet Clutch

[The ModFather]

IMO (and I think most people on this forum) there's really no argument as to which one looks and sounds better/cooler. The Dry Clutch wins every time. But there's a pragmatic side to most riders here and I've heard a slew of negatives about the Dry Clutch  . Such as:

More maintenance costs and shorter MTBF
Harder on the left hand so not very optimal for city riding <-- can this be remedied? At the Clutch Slave maybe?
No stock slipper clutch capability (gotta buy aftermarket - true? are these aftermarket Dry Slippers any good?)
Does not perform as well as a Wet Clutch 

Any comments on these statements? I'm not saying they're facts these are just statements I've heard or read. I only have experience with a wet clutch and it's got the Ducati APTC "slipper clutch". Which I've also read is not a "true slipper clutch" but gives you the same capability. If anyone knows the difference between the APTC and a "true slipper clutch" please enlighten us.

[MadDuck]

Couldn't tell you about the APTC.  I had dry clutches on my M900 and my 999. They can be dressed up to look real neat & I did, including sending the side case for the Monster out to be vented and then running an anodized lightweight clutch basket along with the customer pressure plate.

If you replace the clutch plates with something like Barnett clutches then they don't seem to last. That's not a fault of the dry clutch but rather the manufacturer. The stock Ducati clutches will go quite a long time ( 20,000+ miles in some or most cases, if you know what you are doing ---- do not sit idling at stops with the clutch pulled in!! )

I can live with or without the noise. Doesn't matter to me. The Hypermotard 1100 still has the stock clutch & cover & I have no motivation to mod it. I rode an 848 for 4+ years. Wet clutch. Just fine. No different pressure in the left hand so far as I could tell. If you're stuck in traffic it'll suck with either the dry clutch or the wet clutch. A lot there will depend on the clutch master, although some will argue that the slave makes a day & night difference. Not in my experience but I did change the stock master on the M900 over to a brembo radial racing clutch master and the pull got a lot harder. I think the bore & stroke of the master piston was different and not as efficient. It sure looked good though.  

I've no experience with the Ducati slipper clutches but the one on my BMW S1000R is a hoot to use. It has a bit of an odd feel when engaging but that's only momentary. The downshifting on that bike just as addictive as the upshift quick shift.

So no preference here, it's all good.

[the_Journeyman]

I have owned mostly stock (at least from clutch standpoints) both wet and dry clutches.  I didn't see much effort difference between the two.  Life was different, I put a clutch in my 900SS (dry clutch) around 18,000 miles, and I've got 40,000 miles on the M750 (wet clutch) and it still has the original clutch.  Granted, I'm an all weather rider, and that could have been a factor in the shorter life of the 900SS dry clutch, not to mention power difference.   However, that might be useful info.

JM

[Mhanis]

I have nearly 35,000 miles on my stock clutch on my '09 M1100. I did put a Rizoma pressure plate and open cover on it about 3,000 miles ago. I see no indication that it is starting to slip yet.

All of the guts (lever, lines, slave) are all OEM and I have no problem at all with the pull.

Mark

[brad black]

the aptc has a helical ramp that either clamps or unloads the clutch due to the torque (and direction of) on it.  the angle of the helical ramp is nothing like that of the ramps in a slipper clutch.

a slipper can be tuned to give the bike the feel varying from that of a normal clutch to a two stroke, some designs easier than others.  the aptc doesn't have that capacity short of manufacturing a new drum and plate set with a different helical angle.

the main advantage of the aptc is the much reduced lever effort.  if it's the ony ducati you've ridden then any other ducati clutch, wet or dry, is much heavier in lever effort.  so the clamping ramps much have some effect, given how much less the spring force is.

you'd need to bang it down a couple of gears and see what happens to know if it really does work like a slipper.  it's not the sort of thing i do to a customer's bike, so i can't give you any idea.

although the dry clutches you can remove springs based on capacity, as they're all the same pack and a 750 needs less clamping force than a 1000 sort of thing.

[ute]

Agree dry sounds and looks cool .........but   the wet "slipper" is amazing is like riding my stroker ............hammer that shifter down ...no lock up .........perfect

[SpikeC]

 My Monsters had dry clutches, and the first one would make grounching sounds when moving off until I hammered it a bit, then good. The wet clutch that I have now is virtually invisible.It works. I will update this when I reach 100K miles.

[Skybarney]

Always loved the look of the dry clutch, spinning bits are pretty.  However, the noise drives me nuts.  Sounds like the bike is falling apart.

I did see a dry slipper somewhere online or so I thought.  Nothing beats a slipper clutch though and it gives a lot of extra wiggle room when playing hard.

[Armor]

The dry clutch is very noisy.  It gets louder as it wears.  Not a good noise.  It sounds like a broken machine that is falling apart.  The clutch noise on my M1000 is louder than my arrows.  I have 40,000+ miles and on my second clutch, a Surflex slipper.  It is at least as noisy as the stock clutch.  You will get double the mileage on a wet clutch.  My next bike will hopefully have a wet clutch.  Open dry clutch = bling (when bike is not running).

[The ModFather]

The dry clutch is very noisy.  It gets louder as it wears.  Not a good noise.  It sounds like a broken machine that is falling apart.  The clutch noise on my M1000 is louder than my arrows.  I have 40,000+ miles and on my second clutch, a Surflex slipper.  It is at least as noisy as the stock clutch.  You will get double the mileage on a wet clutch.  My next bike will hopefully have a wet clutch.  Open dry clutch = bling (when bike is not running).

Very insightful. Thanks. It sounds like a Dry Clutch is like a Hot pregnant dogy Wife.  You're friends like looking at her but when you have to listen to her every day it can wear on you. 

[Duck-Stew]

Local gal has a 2007 MTS1100S with the wet clutch.  This past weekend, she racked up the 114,000th mile on the ORIGINAL clutch.

Uh...  Do we need more proof?

[Triple J]

Local gal has a 2007 MTS1100S with the wet clutch.  This past weekend, she racked up the 114,000th mile on the ORIGINAL clutch.

Uh...  Do we need more proof?

Given the mileage and original clutch, I'm assuming that most of those miles are highway/twisties?

IMO:

Dry clutch is for bling. It's cool, but offers no real benefit to a wet. Easier to work on maybe, but that is a very small benefit (especially if people are arguing that the dry clutches last a long time).

As far as longevity goes, I think it depends on riding conditions. The plates of a dry clutch beat the basket into submission when in neutral; therefore, if you do a lot of city riding and spend a lot of times at stop lights and such I don't believe a dry will last anywhere as long as a wet. If you do mostly distance riding, then a dry should last very well.

I've owned both, and I'll take wet over dry any day, although a nice dry clutch does look very nice. I wouldn't choose a bike over the choice though, as both do the job.

[Speeddog]

I got 30k miles out of the original dry clutch on my S4.
It wasn't slipping, but it was getting grabby due to the hammered tabs and basket.

A bit over 20k on the Barnett basket, still looks good.
I've had several different sets of plates in it.

I like the dry clutch feel.

Unknown mileage on the wet clutch in my M750.
Bought it used, and it had some atrocious aftermarket plates in it, they dragged like crazy.
Replaced with some OEM used ones from my spares box.
I've put 22k on those.

I like the feel of *that* wet clutch.

The APTC clutches feel weird to me, I think it's the 'self clamping' effect of the spiral splines on the hub.
Lever pull is real easy, so that's nice.

An 848 that I get to ride occasionally feels OK, but it goes a bit funny on the last little bit of engagement.
Can't remember if it grabs or slips, but it's hard to do a totally smooth launch.

Rode a brand-new 821 Hyper with the cable operated wet clutch.
That combined with the ride-by-wire throttle was awful.
Perhaps something I would get used to over a bit of time.
Rode another one more recently, an S model, that had some miles on it.
IIRC, it had Termis and a map, and it was fine.
I suspect the OEM map and ride by wire were the culprit.

[Howie]

70K on my original, I know of another with over 100K on his.

[brad black]

i put a pack in a 696 yesterday, 29,000km.  it would slip at high loads, and had a sort of slip and go feel after gear changes sometimes when on it.

they have a lot of plates, 11 friction i think.