Just taken delivery of a 1098 s Streetfighter, I thought my 848 SF had a stiff clutch but this beast is taking the mick. Is there any benefit to fitting CNC or oberon slave cylinder ?
We all grow up one day you see well done! My clutch is fine, and standard - no where near as bad as my 998!
I would venture to suggest that by process of illimination you rule out the 4 elements, fluid, master cylinder, slave cylinder and clutch pack. Recent posts have identified the fit of the plates in the basket as a potential issue and the OE slave is not the best in the world. The Oberon is a favourite replacement but there are other brands. Andy
Hi Andy, Thanks for that bit of info, my 848 evo's slave went tits up I replaced that with a cnc job noticed a big difference but that is on a wet clutch.
Using an aftermarket slave should give a lighter lever but at the expense of range of movement at the pressure plate. Therefore there is always the possibility of increased clutch drag. Ducati could very easily have used the same size slave cylinder bore as Oberon etc for zero cost but they choose not to. Do you have an open clutch with shiny aftermarket springs? If so, these may be stiffer than oem. It may be worth whipping the pushrod out and greasing it. Old dried up grease could certainly cause stiffness. Another possibility is an over height clutch pack as this would increase preload on the springs, making them stiffer.
Fitted a Factory Racing to 999 and super light. Fitted same unit to 996 and made virtually no difference and was a complete bitch to get the stack height right again.
They're even worse when new. Mine's only 1000 miles into a completely new clutch - springs, plates, basket, the lot. Bog standard except for the basket which is a stainless-tipped Barnet. It is bloody heavy and I should get round to fitting an Oberon slave. From other SFs I've ridden, I think dog-leg levers help as well - but not shorties.. I can get carpel tunnel syndrome after a full day's ride. Not helped by the fact I've since bought a brace of KTMs which have 21 century one finger clutches rather than something made from leaf springs and cast iron, and they've turned me into a girl's blouse. At least Ducati slaves work. KTM have never made a clutch slave that doesn't eventually leak. Everything else on the bikes is ace but they cannot make a clutch slave to save their lives. They should just fit Oberon slaves to start with. Maybe I'll get a discount if I order three.
Ducati dry clutches are very easy to experiment with. When I had clutch drag problems I kept reducing my stack height in an attempt to cure the drag. It didn't work as it was something else causing it. However, the reduced height gave reduced preload on the springs and a really light clutch. When I cured the drag, I kept the low stack height as it doesn't slip or give any other problems and I now have a one finger (quiet) clutch that neither slips nor drags. Perfect
Funny you should say that but I met a guy with a 748. When he fired it up even with the clutch disengaged it was really quiet and he had an open clutch case. It was quieter than my SF and I've got an enclosed case
He's probably running the quiet clutch mod, it reduces noise and wear because the dry metal on dry metal bashing that produces the loud noise also produces significant wear. Many people actually love the noise though and hear it as Ducati character, so are perfectly happy to put up with the wear and willingly stump up for new baskets and friction plates every few thousand miles. Personally, I'd rather spend that cash on other things and prefer the sound of Ducati induction and exhaust to mechanical clatter, so I too run the quiet clutch mod.
