was chatting with a ducati mechanic and he suggested that prior to trying a modified clutch cylinder it might be worth trying the removal of 2 clutch springs (opposed), to lighten it up. anyone else done it this route?
Hi, yeah I run four springs with no problems but I did take the precaution of fitting new ones, been ok for about two years now!! Good inexpensive mod
I ran my 916 with only 4 springs, (albeit aftermarket stainless steel springs that are slightly stronger than the originals) for several years with no slippage problems and the bike makes around 15% more torque than standard. I doubt a 748 will have problems but they're easy enough to add if you need to. If you have an open cover you could add them in seconds - carry the 2 spare springs/caps/screws and a 4mm allen key with you and you're covered. The difference in pull is around the same as a larger slave, for no cost and you don't lose the ability to find neutral as with a bigger slave, in fact you will likely find it easier to select neutral with less springs
I run 4 on my 748 plus an Oberon slave, clutch is really light (same as my R1) and 5k in, no issues.....
as it happens after talking about it a chap at work has given me a new set of lighter clutch springs foc for the 748, which i fitted tonight. i did try it with two stock springs removed and it was much lighter, but having been given a set of lighter springs thought i'd try all 6 of them. not quite as light, but deffo an improvement. was a bit late for a full ride so see how it feels tomorrow, its not a long job to swap back to 4 stock sprimgs if not. cheers for help once again
no probs at all, quite a bit lighter, still not like my old jap bikes but i can live with it. got the 6 lighter springs in rather than remvoal of two originals, it felt lighter with the 2 missing tbh but preferred to run with 6 slightly lighter springs for now. the only serious issue today was how bleedin warm was it lol! sweated my cobs off!
Good news re your clutch - ridiculous as it seems, I gave today a miss as so hot. Bike seems to cook itself big style unless moving at good pace. May nip out shortly or early-ish tomorrow.
was proper toasty near the nether regions, those termis kick off some heat! people do move out of your way tho!
Absolutely re termis. Had underseat exhaust before on other bikes, but nothing kicked out the heat the race termi does on my 749!! Hey ho - not end of world lol
had another great ride tonight, its so much better with a lighter clutch, it also snicks into gear better now. almost enjoyable in traffic lol! also bled front brakes with new fluid, which has made them a lot better the old fluid had obviously gone off and was spongy. had front wheel waggling picking it up out of a bend these are torquey little beggars !
Just in the interest of balance. I snapped a bolt in the slipper of my 1098 Streetfighter. No problen I thought, I'll run with 4 springs until I get a left handed drill to get it out. It slipped quite badly under hard acceleration. I never tried increasing the clutch pack height to combat this as I got the drill 2 days later and returned to 6 springs. They were brand new stainless springs by the way. I don't find the clutch heavy with 6 springs myself.
Fair point re clutch weight - purely depends (in the most part anyway), on how strong you are / how you are built. Bad news for me, baby size hands and a left arm like a twig due to biking injury, so clutch feels quite heavy to me, but not enough to keep me away from something I love doing.
must be a right wimp as i'm 6ft 3 and 14st lol. did hurt my left hand in traffic tho,, not comfortable. now so much better!
Have you thought of a hand exerciser, seriously!!! I used one when I first started playing the Saxophone some years ago, not only does it slowly strengthen your hand but it also improves movement of the joints. It worked for me and you can use it watching TV or waiting for the kettle to boil or whatever, it may not be as ridiculous as it first sounds.
or wanking with your left hand ,just kidding ,I smashed my left hand quite bad and could only use 3 fingers to pull the clutch in , so i go one of those heavy rubber ball and squeezd the fucker till it hurt , now i have a very strong grip . But if you think your clutch is heavy try a bevel 900ss , thats a real gorilla clutch
