ST Clutch
 

my local ducai dealer has phoned me to say that my 12 month old ST needs a new clutch or parts of it and that its a wear item so may not be covered by the warranty. I have asked him to go back to Ducati.

What do you guys think, is twelve months and 4500 miles fair wear and tear, not in my book it aint. :flame:

No, you should reasonably expect around 10-15K miles out of a cluch pack depending on how much grief you give it.

It could be argued that the wear rate has a lot to do with rider style, for example, If you ride a lot in town and you are particularly clumsy or harsh on the clutch, slipping it a lot in traffic etc, that would obviously increase the wear rate, but a standard clutch with an average rider should get loads more miles than that

Some people are getting more mileage than that with slipper clutches fitted

I've got a slipper clutch fitted with sinter (or is it Sinister), you know what I mean, plates that I've had in for the last 6000 km's and a couple of TD's, there still going strong. I would dispute their prognosis. Have you noticed any problems with the clutch:puzzled:

No problems with the clutch, apart from its heavy but I took that to be the norm and it certainly hasnt changed since I got the bike. I assume that the dealer rode the bike before I got it and at the first service so the mechanic would have tried it and if it had been unusual would have done something about it.

I have told the dealer that if they wont change it under warranty then I want the parts back as I will take it up with Ducati direct, of course as I type this they could have (a) decided it is a warranty claim, (b) are looking for old plates in the scrap bin.

The bike rarely goes on short runs and typically a 100 miles a day at weekend with some long runs such as IOM, Oulton Park & West Wales, which probably account for half the mileage if not more.

As the clutch is heavy I rarely hold the bike on the clutch and in gear, prefeering instead to change to neutral and save my hand.

If the clutch had lasted for two years or say 8000 miles or had been raced or I lived in a city where it was stop go I could understand it.

It sounds suspect to me:rolleye: are your dealers authorised Ducati? A heavy and noisy clutch is the norm for Ducati. If their not that experienced with Duc's they might have felt something is a miss

Dealers often say the clutch needs replacing (usually the basket) becasue its out of spec when in reality it will go on working for many thousand miles more.

If you ride the bike like a jap thing with a wet clutch then it could easily wear out in 4500 miles, if you ride it like an italian bike with a sensitive clutch than needs looking after then 15-20,000 is possible.

When you say looking after it do you mean not holding the bike in gear when stopped and avoid slipping it when starting off or is there some other tips that you might be able to share ?

They are a main dealer I wasnt sure whether to mention their name or not ?

No, You were right not to:rolleye: Hopefully they have changed it under warranty :D

Don't slip the clutch (ever), don't hold it in gear with the clutch in for any longer that you need to (get the bike hot, put it on the main stand then put it into gear with the clutch in and see if the back wheel still turns), clutchless up changes, clean the dust out often, get a set of alloy ST4S plates if you haven't already (they don't hammer the basket as much).