Bike = Monster 1100S I recently replaced the friction plates clutch basket & pressure plate. Thursday last was the first time I had an opportunity to ride it and I found the clutch was dragging horrendously. Big clunks every time I changed gear, not too bad going up but very difficult to change down and impossible to select neutral plus a significant creep forward when in first at lights with the clutch lever pulled in. Clearly the plates aren’t fully disengaging. Today I stripped it all down again and double checked everything. I double checked the workshop manual. The only thing I could find was that although I’d reassembled the plates in the exact order they came out albeit I replaced worn (<2.6mm) friction plates with new (3mm), the first two plain plates in were both 2mm plates when the manual says they should be 1.5mm plates. I subsequently checked the thickness of all the plain/drive plates. Out of 10 drive plates I’ve 3 @ 2mm and 7 @ 1.5mm. Is that right or should they all be the same thickness. I reassembled it all but moved the 2 plates of 2mm that had been the first in the pack to the middle and placed 2 of the 1.5mm plates first in. It’s better now in as much as the creep in 1st when the lever is pulled in has gone ie the weight of the bike & me is sufficient to overcome what little drag is left, but it’s still impossible to select neutral. Any suggestions or help appreciated. TIA
The order of the plates won't make any change to the stack height which seems to be marginally too high with the new plates, although it might affect how it behaves. I'd try substituting one of the 2mm plates with a 1.5mm one, if you have a spare. AND are you absolutely sure there is no air in the clutch line. The smallest bubble will reduce the lift and with the new plates you obviously need all you can get.
The whole purpose of the different size steel plates is so you can alter the height/ thickness of the stack To achieve a required height
if you are happy height is about right, and you can see 2 mm or more movement when you fully pull in lever, could be simply down to the type of friction plates - were they O.E.M. type for starters?
It's vodoo, nobody full understands it. That said, I'd drop the stack hight by pulling a 1.5 out, no harm in 2 frictions together. If it still drags it's still to high, if it slips you'll need a little extra hight. This is where the 1.5 and 2.0 comes in handy so you can get it just right. You can also try putting a few old frictions at the bottom of the stack, the new frictions may be binding if the new tabs are a tight fit. But bleed it all first. But that's just what I'd do. I expect someone will deride it.
I don't have any spare plates unfortunately as I do think it's a case of the entire stack height being just a tad too much now the new friction plates are in. However, bizarrely the workshop manual states "The total thickness of the clutch plate pack must not be less than 46.1 mm." Which is just impossible as there are 8 friction plates @ 3mm 3 drive plates @ 2mm 7 drive plates @1.5mm Total = 40.5mm As you can see the total stack height of the plates is 41.1mm Additionally, there's very little space when they're all loaded in and I read somewhere there should be at least 4mm from the top plate to the edge of the clutch basket else the top plate may come out under use; thus I guess the workshop manual is a misprint. Re air in the fluid, it's a possibility as I renewed the fluid as part of the bike's overall service so I've presently got a cable tie holding the lever back to compress and reabsorb any air that may be in there and will refresh the fluid with new just in case there is/was air in there.
So my point is the first two steel plates are what the clutch pack presses against so two think ones 4mm... rather than 3mm
When you take the pressure plate off there is nothing stopping the weight of the clutch fluid from pushing the the slave out. If the reservoir is low it can can drop to low and let air in. When you put the pressure plate back on it pushes the fluid back up but air can still be in the system. (And wait for criticism)
So I wouldn’t and see no beef whatsoever to put two frictions together and think probably misheard as three is no problem putting two steels together in fact as you want to finish on a steel You could add another steel in ther no problem but it is all about being achieving the correct height
You are not the first, https://www.ducatimonster.org/threads/m1100-clutch-stack-height.200956/. Lots of explaining what he’s done but no mention of the stack height he used to get it right. Key for me is that he experienced the same symptoms as you with a stack height of 40.5mm so I infer from that, yours is too thick. Difficult to play if you don’t have spare plates but if I have understood you correctly, your stack now finishes with 2x1.5mm steel plates ? Take 1 of those 1.5mm plates out totally and see how it works. If it’s better, your stack height is too high. Andy
Whilst the clutch lever has been cable tied back to the grip the clutch is fully rebuilt so the pushrod is pushing against the springs and thus the slave can't be pushed (by the fluid) very far. There's also plenty of fluid in the reservoir so it won't drop and let air in.
