748 Can't Get Neutral When Stationary Unless Engine Off

Clutch drag. Check clutch is bled well first. If that's ok, check the clutch for wear. If you can, push the lever adjustment out a bit. The more travel you have at the lever, the more you'll get on the pressure plate.

 

If the bike has been washed recently or parked up for a while it is possible one or two of the plates are sticking slightly which can result in a slight clutch drag, just enough to prevent neutral selection. It takes 5 mins to remove the stack clean the dust off and reinstall it, worth a try.

 

yes a complete novice can do this! thats the beauty of a dry clutch.. takes mins to strip down and put back together, just put plates aside and back in, in the same order they came out... but as nelly said id look at wear, bleeding and lever adjustment for sure... had lots of grief with my 748 clutch straight after rebuild that turned out to be nothing more than no free play at the lever.. different symptoms to yours but check the easy stuff first

 

Pidge, undo the allen screws for the cover and remove it, undo 6 allen screws for the spring caps. Withdraw the pressure plate taking care with the pushrod. Hook the plates out 1 by one making a note of the sequence. Clean each plate with stiff brush. Reassemble - do not do the spring caps screws up beyond a nip and take care to get the pushrod seated correctly before doing them up. My guess is you will find corrosion on the plain metal plates which will need cleaning off, use wire wool, a metal brush or some fine wet/dry.

 

Make sure you align the triangle mark on the pressure plate with the spring post with a little slot in it when you put it back together.

 

This is a really common scenario when people put new friction plates in an old basket. The tabs on the new plates are unworn, so are larger and have sharper edges, so they bind on the ridges and notches in the slots in the old basket.
This is clearly not the case here though.
When a bike has been sitting for a while, it is normal for the plates to have stuck together, especially if they are sintered friction plates that have steel fragments in them. The exposed steel fragments corrode enough to stick to the steel friction plates.
Once you've started the bike and banged it into gear, the plates are normally unstuck and you're good to go
I guess it's possible that some of your plates are stuck together firmly enough to continue causing a problem, likely even, if the very experienced and knowledgeable Nelly is suggesting it may be the case.
If the bike was fine before you put it away but not now, sticking has to be a prime candidate.
As has been said, the Ducati dry clutch is a joy to work on.
Whip the cover off and watch what happens as you pull the clutch lever in, then try adjusting the span on the lever to get maximimum lift. You need to have a little play in the lever when the lever is fully out but no more than a little. If there is too much free motion at the lever before the lever starts to move the pressure plate, you are losing range of movement at the pressure plate, which will cause drag.
Air in the hydraulic fluid will also cause loss of range of movement and thus drag. Air compresses relatively easily, so any air in the system will compress before the pressure plate will start to move. This translates to a spongey feeling at the lever, although I'm not sure how easy that is to detect in a clutch, easier with brakes.
It won't do any harm at all to bleed your clutch hydraulics, even if it's no the root cause, fresh fluid is always a good thing.
Do dismantle the clutch plates.
Hang them on the footrest as you take them out, so the last one out is the first one in and you can't get confused.
The first plates will come out easily but the last ones are trickier. I use a couple of strong magnets on stalks for this but a dental pick is also handy.
As you take them out, it will of course be obvious if any are stuck together. Let's hope you can prise them apart without damaging them if some are stuck.
Replace them from the the foot peg last out first in and make sure the pressure plate engages in the teeth properly. Also align the triangular arrow moulded on the pressure plate with the post with a slot in it.
As said, do not do the clutch bolts up tight, the spring pressure will stop them undoing and the metal is soft, so you can easily strip the threads. Just gently nip them up.
Good luck!

 

Belt changes are not too bad.
Valves are trickier and I've not had the courage to tackle my own as yet.
Belts very rarely just break. They usually break because they've shredded or jumped a tooth either from being too loose or having not been installed correctly. If you inspect them regularly, they should be fine for some time IMHO. However, ExactFit belts are cheap enough compared to oem that changing them won't be that dear.
Talk to @Exige on here.

 

You certainly need to change both belts at the same time - but don't tempt fate. OEM belts and ours have a 2 year service life (I don't mind admitting I stretch to 3 with very low miles - no pun intended )
I always did with ExactFit belts as they certainly appear higher spec then OEM when tested for strength, tolerance and stretching - so I don't mind admitting it now I import them. If I did higher miles I would change as spec though.
Stu

 

The tank has to come off to get the air box off to access the rear vertical cylinder belt cover.
Don't fret though as the tank comes off dead easy after the fairings are whipped off.
Takes about 15 minutes to do the fairing, tank and airbox. It's a breeze.

 

I think he meant do valves and do belts at the same time when he said both...

 

Ah :Bucktooth:

 

Stupid boy ,Pike.

 

"Don't tell him your name, Pike."

 

There's no need to fiddle with the airbox when removing the vertical belt cover.

 

On my 916 I need to take the airbox off to expose the bolts to remove the vertical cylinder belt cover. Perhaps he has the removable side covers a la WSB bikes?