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Dry Clutch Black Fluid After 6 Laps

Discussion in 'Technical Help' started by CarloL, Jul 11, 2018.

  1. Pop quiz hotshot, How did Carl fogerty racing the 916 type model, last a race with a dry clutch, fluid in mine after a few laps is black as the ace of spades

    Oberon clutch slave new good ridge lines kbike pressure plate dot4 Rock fluid
     
  2. Black fluid doesn’t necessarily degrade clutch performance.
     
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  3. Black is the new clear?
     
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  4. If they made brake fluid black, sorted.
     
  5. Food colouring?
     
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  6. Same on my hyper, couldn't work it out so left it alone, same after changing fluid 3 years ago... Works fine never topped it up either... Explanation anyone?
     
  7. air ingress makes it black, and the process is accelerated by heating and cooling it.
     
  8. I am under the impression that it is an underlining problem

    I found I started missing gears, and finding neutral more
     
  9. "They all do that Sir", usually within 200 road miles of a fluid change, have driven a 748 for twelve years with it and it does not affect the clutch performance. Ignore it . FWIW Ducati service book specifies the service check interval is every 1,000km and to change it every 20,000km
     
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  10. Not had a ducati that doesn' t do this .
     
  11. My personal experience with this issue, is that the standard fluid that is supplied by Ducati goes black pretty quickly on the clutch and goes darker on the brake side as well over time.

    I have switched to Castrol SRF brake fluid for both clutch and brakes a few years ago, and after 12+ months of useage (I usually replace the fluids every 12-18 months) it is still more or less completely clear as new. I am also guessing that the heat cycles along with air access cause a coloration change without any function loss with some brake fluids.
     
  12. could this process be slowed down by wrapping the clutch line in fire blanket and foil , behind the fairing down the side of the engine?
    I replaced the standard clutch line with a Hell braided line around 400 miles ago and the clean fluid is now a murky grey colour, yes it still works fine but looks horrible.
    chz
     
  13. Normal it would seem, except my 916 which has an 'Evoluzione' slave cylinder that I fitted 18/19 years ago and that doesn't discolour the fluid.

    Previous OEM cylinders did, I have an Oberon cylinder on the Monster and changed the clutch fluids in both over the winter. After just a few hundred miles the fluid in the Monster is as black as night but the 916 fluid is still golden - and was even before I changed it after a couple of years of use.

    I don't know if it's contamination from chain crud getting past the seals, or what? but it seems not all slave cylinders do it...
     
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  14. Thats interesting to hear. All my Panigales have had the clutch fluid go black almost immediately but I've never had any problems with the operation. Would be nice if it was clear though!
     
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  15. Same here. STM evo slave, Hel clutch line and still clear after a year / 1000 ish miles.
     
  16. Has anyone used DOT 5.1 yet?
     
  17. I changed from rock oil to motul rbf600, still all clear after the track day

    I must check the boiling point of the rock oil
     
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