Always said those dished plates were shite! How can a plate that doesn't make full contact with the friction plate (unless the friction plates wear to suit) be any good? Don't really know why Ducati ever fitted them? IMO they don't make the clutch any smoother - unless by making it slip more on release? The best place for them is in the bin...
Just been out for 20mls. Clutch is stunning. So light. Made the whole gearbox seem smoother. Thanks all. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
To add, a simple test I do when fitting the clutch pack is once the plates are all fitted and everything re-assembled, pull in fully the clutch lever and spin the pressure plate - if it's free enough to actually 'freewheel' slightly after giving it a spin then it won't drag, if on the other hand it is on the tight side and stops dead as soon as you let go then chances are you'll struggle getting neutral.
Just to complete the thread, finally got the 996 liveable with. Setup is standard lever and master, bleed nipple fitted, OEM tube, Factory Racing slave, STM slipper. Had stack height up and down for weeks with either drag or slip. Finally fixed with 3 (three) dished plates, 2 at bottom back-to-back and one at the top of the stack. Finally no slip or drag. Neutral is about as easy as the wife's G-spot to find. It's there, just seems to not be in quite the same place twice. Probably just need to practice more finding it (both of them). So in conclusion, slippery clutch stack heights are a very dark art.......
If you can't find neutral, you've still got drag - maybe not terminal drag but drag nonetheless... Does it make any difference if the engine is cold or hot?? Did you ever try pulling the plates out of a hot engine to see if they are binding in the basket slots?? It might be worth trying the cable-tie trick on the clutch lever in case it's some residual air in the system causing the problem. I have no idea if it will actually work and if it does, how long for but it can't do any harm...
These plates are ,000's of miles old and didn't drag or slip before I changed the slave so fairly sure it's not that. I have a bleed nipple fitted on master which really helps bleeding but will bleed again. But to be honest for the amount I really need neutral it's good enough. If I was commuting in towns I may look again, but then I probably wouldn't commute on a 996 anyway. Was thinking a Hel hose may help.
No, if they're old plates, then binding is not the problem. Are you thinking in terms of losing movement because the hose is expanding? Do Hel make any such claims?? Have you got your free play at the lever down to an absolute minimum??
Would need to check free play. No idea if Hel make that claim but the more of the pressure from the master going to the slave and not the tubing could only help.
Not surprised... If the clutch is so light, maybe the master to slave ratio is a step too far and a little drag is the price to pay.
