Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > Neutral.......where is it?

[Flanners]

Is it a common theme, my 98 916 with 3700 miles is a pig to get in neutral when the bike is stationary, it blips down ok if I shift into neutral when coming to a standstill but once stopped I am forever clicking away to get it into neutral.

Even when it says it is in neutral infrequently it is in gear, I have nearly lost her a couple of times!

[Edited on 31-7-2003 by Flanners]

[Totto]

I have always got neutral whilst still moving a lot easier than when stationary
But i have just got my 998 back from its one year service & its a 110 times better now ,so there must be something mechanical the workshop can adjust to help !!

[Nigel Booker]

Agree with totto always found neutral by keeping the bike moving. That said if the clutch plates are getting worn then it can still be a pain to find neutral.

[nelly]

This is usually sorted with a bleed of the clutch lines.
Normally it's caused by not getting the full travel, due to air or leaking seals, of the pushrod.
Another tip to try is that there is a small screw in the back of the lever. This is usually covered with a spot of glue.
It adjsuts the free play in the lever. Screw it all the way in and it'll give you a couple more mm's of travel on the clutch release plate.

[PeteB]

Have you tried changing the 'span' adjuster? if its set on 3 or 4, try it on 2 or even 1 (if your hands are large enough!)

Setting it to 1 produces quite a lot more piston movement and thus a little more clutch dis-engagement than 4.........Try it

I would hesitate to 'adjust' the screw that is glued in place for a good reason! ie. the cylinder has been adjusted on assembly to produce the maximum movement without covering the 'bleed' hole. If the 'bleed' hole is covered, when the fluid expands, it has nowhere to go; on the clutch, at worst it can cause slippage, the same on the front brake can lead to a locked brake..........care!!!!!!!!!!

Flanners, I can completely identify with you. I picked up my duke around 3 months ago and it took me at least 4 weeks to find sodding neutral.

After trying every different combination under the sun and nearly breaking my foot in the process I eventually found it. I asked some of my other mates who also own dukes laughed and said 'don't worry mate it's there, you just have to send out a search party to find it'.

Surely a duke's neutral can't be that bad. I shall pick up my Haynes manual tomorrow and see if I can ajust the buggr...somehow.

[Nigel Booker]

Thrustercat,
I know exactly what you mean took me a few months to get the hang of finding neutral on my first ducati. But after adjusting the gear change mechanism to suit me and a lot of practice you find that it all becomes very easy. I've found that you just need a very light touch with the gear lever.

[Sticky]

Yeah, I can't find neutral either. By the time I have, the lights have changed. It doesn't help when the neutral light comes on as and when it pleases. I always hold the front brake on and let the clutch out slowly when I think it's in neutral.

I had a ZX9R sometime ago and that had some fancy spinning ball bearing centrifugal thingamajig that meant once you had stopped you could just lift once up and it went straight into neutral with no fannying about.

[Marty916]

This might sound odd but have you checked the adjustment of your chain? I've found that a tight chain or very loose chain will effect your ability to find neutral.

[skidlids]

For the past 16 months I've had no problems finding Neutral until yesterday, when having to do something about my slipping clutch, rebuilt the clutch replacing worn steel plates with good ones and renewing the spring plate, re-bled the clutch and can now only find Neutral when the bike is moving, but at least it wheelies again