Guys, There is also a service notification that the dealers got regarding checking clutch oil pressure, in the event of a customer complaint of difficult Neutral selection, it might be worth mentioning this to your dealer. I asked them to check mine and they said all was in spec, but im not sure that is was ever checked..?
Yes it was the master cylinder on the handlebar that I bled. Air usually travels up so logical that it’ll be at the highest point. Do that, if it doesn’t solve it try bleeding the slave. If you’re not happy doing it yourself PM me. I know a top man that can not far from you.
If you can find neutral before coming to a halt but not while stopped with the engine running it’s almost certainly clutch drag Imho, the oil changes are a red herring and it’s probably improving because the mechanic has bled the clutch.
Clutch drag, bleed the clutch. Very common issue on Ducati. Rode my mts for several days in Alps ( fun in the mountains in the rain..)with hardly any clutch. Just to find a 5 minute job solved the problem.
So you suspect that the improving neutral and the oil change is simply spurious correlation? Interesting theory. I'll find out today if any clutch bleeding was performed and report back.
i noticed my gear lever rubber has worn away Had to get anew one £1:86 , cheapest thing I ever bought at Ducati
Thanks Sam1199, I am seriously thinking about having a go at bleeding the clutch myself so if I have any problems I might drop you a PM. I’ll post how I get on. Cheers
I would say that it is slightly easier to find N while still moving, but definitely not easy and also definitely not achieved every time. But at the moment I’m not convinced that the clutch is 100%. So I think I will bleed it over the weekend, give it a try and keep my fingers crossed for a big improvement ....I won’t hold my breath just yet Cheers for your thoughts
So after making the minor adjustments to the clutch lever so that I have max available travel, I rode to work and when I parked up I got a Neutral selection almost straight away! As you can imagine I figured I might be either onto something, or have cracked the problem. However, after my ride home (same route) I pull up on the drive and..... not a bloody chance 1-2-1-2-1-2 and on and on Kill the engine, and N appears with the lightest of touches. Arrrrgghhhhh! So I wheeled it into the garage and sat there with the dash on (engine not running) trying to work my way up and down the gearbox 1-6 then back to 1. What I noticed is that I couldn’t select some gears with either the clutch in or out until I moved the bike either forwards or backwards. In my mind does that also kind of indicate a clutch problem? I would have thought that with the clutch fully engaged (lever touching bars) then I should be able to knock through the box. Or does it not work like that. Clutch bleeding is my next port of call, and learning experience Thanks again to everyone who has offered their advice so far, I will get this sorted, by hook, crook or warranty and hopefully this thread will help others beat this PITA
Not sure I can recommend a definitive answer. Doesn't seem to be a consensus. Some do some dont. Can't vouch for everyone but seems not everybody has a problem. Type of oil effects it clutch plates not flat or sticking in basket. I doubt if you will cure it easily as long as you have sufficient acctuater movement so clutch is not dragging .I would do as has been suggested and take it back to be fixed at dealer.
Like most I struggled with getting my 1260 into neutral initially. After the 600 mile service it got progressively better and now, at almost 7000 miles, it isn't a problem at all. It sounds like yours isn't normal, surely the dealer should be supporting you on this.
So I picked my new bike up last week and yes it is a bit hard to select Neutral sometimes. So far it's not too bad, as others have said selecting N before you come to a complete halt works, also rocking the bike back and forwards. Having had a 1200 DVT I'm used to it (that one got better pretty quickly). I used to ride into London everyday and so I was selecting N a lot. Maybe this helped 'wear it in' quicker?
Right, I bought a one way valve yesterday for a fiver and bled the clutch. Actually a really easy job! Completely flushed the system through with new DOT 4 and bled from the slave and master. a, for the practice and b, to make sure of a proper job To be fair I can’t say I noticed much if any air in the system, but I’m no expert! Off on a good ride today for 100-150 miles so will see if I get any improvement. Fingers crossed again, but no breath holding just yet. Spoke again with the dealer and they don’t seem that interested / bothered. They just said I’m probably not riding the bike hard enough, I need to almost murder the clutch with burnouts and 900 miles is nothing. Apparently when they break in a demo bike they have to thrash it to within an inch of its life to prep it. Point taken, and I’m certainly no Valentino Rossi, but I’m not a shrinking violet either. Probably a typical Jo Average rider who can burn out a clutch like the most average of em
