[Ducati] Anyone own a 749 w/Evoluzione clutch slave cylinder?

[Art Ramos]

Dry clutches are finicky at best. It's not like they are bathed in oil you
know. : )
If the grabbiness really bothers you, here's a simple fix. Assuming you have
a open cover, the next time it becomes grabby take a can of WD 40 and shoot
the plates with the clutch pulled in so the plates are spread apart. Now
before everyone goes, Don't do it. You'll find that the fibrous material is
made of the same material as the oil bathed clutch packs are made from as
well. Depend on how much you apply will determine the reduction in the
grabbiness of the clutch. As the WD 40 wears away over time the grabbiness
will return. The grabbiness it directly related to the material type of the
friction plates. Not the EVO slave cylinder. I had a set of Carbon Kevlar
plates that worked well, but even they stated to grumble over time. OEM
sintered pads wear well and do get grabby do to this hardness. The more your
clutch slips, the smoother it will be, more slippage means faster wear as
well. Also looking for BMW smoothness from a Ducati dry clutch as
like looking to Pamela Anderson to cook Thanksgiving Dinner!
It just isn't going to happen.

Art


On 11/27/06, James Wexler <JamesWex at msn.com> wrote:
>
> Bob:
> I found your thread out of desperation with a clutch issue.
> I had bought a '98 ST2 a couple of years ago knowing that I'd need a new
> clutch at some point. The action was "grabby" and getting worse. "Dr. Desmo"
> out in Chicago
> convinced me that an Evoulzione slave cylinder upgrade would be a good
> idea, so I bought one. While I had the bike in the shop for a 24k service
> and new clutch I had them install the new Evo cyl. It worked great for about
> 2k then started to feel grabby again. Back to the shop and they claimed that
> the Evo may not be compatible because of a possible rod discrepency. The new
> plates were soaked in oil now because the "ring seal" was shot, a $5. item
> which should have been replaced originally at the 24k service/clutch
> installation. They gave be a "break" on another clutch kit install with a
> new ring seal. Right out of the shop driveway it was just as grabby, so it's
> back down
> there now. I live an hour away from the shop, $1000. in clutch work to
> date, and I'm ready to go back to old beemers!
> Got any helpful ideas?
> Thanks for listening, Jim Wexler, Sharon, CT. JamesWex at msn.com
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>