996 clutch alternatives

[John W]

Hi all,

The clutch on my ST4S (996 engine) is now getting very noisy, and since its covered around 9k miles I'm guessing its time to change it (only guessing as I've not had a look to confirm this).

Are the plates & basket normally covered under warranty, or is the clutch considered to be a wear item ?

If its not covered are there better options than the standard basket/plates for cost/life/quietness ?

Cheers,
John.

[Harv748]

I wouldn't have thought it would be covered by the warranty...but having never owned a bike from new...what do I know?

I can vouch for switching to ally plates...big reduction in noise, and that was keeping the steel basket. If you switched the basket to an ally one also...should be about as quite as your gonna get for a duke.

[Edited on 28-9-2004 by Harv748]

[moto748]

I wouldn't have thought you'd need to change the centre hub after only 9000 m.

Easy enough to examine the hub and basket for wear, and decide what needs replacing.

[rockhopper]

I think the ST4S comes with ally plates as standard. Have you got a vented cover on it?

[John W]

Thanks guys.

What I'm thinking is, if it needs replacing and a standard Ducati setup will be 200 quid-ish, would I be better putting my money towards a better aftermarket alternative ?

I don't think I'll go for a slipper as the bike is mainly used for 2 up touring (all be it at high speed - we don't do scenery :devil: ) and I tend to use a lot of engine braking when playing inthe hairpins. Or do I misunderstand how the slipper clutches work...

Will I get similar mileage out of the alloy plates & basket or do they wear quicker, just quietly ?

Paul,
no vented cover mate, it has the standard one on it. I might take it off this evening and have a shufty, just to see what's going on in there.
Since new I've had a bit of a clutch squeal when slipping it to pull away.

Cheers,
John.

[Edited on 28-9-2004 by John W]

[Shazaam!]

http://ducatisportingclub.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=11193#pid92900

[John W]

Thanks Shazaam, interesting reading.

So, given that my clutch is just noisy and not slipping should I be worried about it ?

By the way, I noticed today that the 2005 ST4S has a wet clutch. I wonder what they change in order to do that (different crank cases with extra oil ways ?) and whether it could be a potential solution.

[Shazaam!]

John, my 916 sounds like a bucket of bolts but it's still going strong at 26,000 miles. A lot of owners put an open clutch cover on just to make it louder. It's considered one of the desirable characteristic sounds of a Ducati. So unless the clutch sound is frightening small animals and children, forget about it.

BTW, you should be riding with ear plugs anyway to protect your hearing. They make the clutch much quieter.

[John W]

Originally posted by Shazaam!
John, my 916 sounds like a bucket of bolts but it's still going strong at 26,000 miles. A lot of owners put an open clutch cover on just to make it louder. It's considered one of the desirable characteristic sounds of a Ducati. So unless the clutch sound is frightening small animals and children, forget about it.

:lol: No not frightening small animals (unless you count sheep as small). I just don't want it to let go one day when away on a trip.

BTW, you should be riding with ear plugs anyway to protect your hearing. They make the clutch much quieter.

I thought earplugs were compulsory with a Ducati :D:lol:
I can't ride mine very far without them else my ears start to ring, especially with the induction roar from the open airbox :devil:

Cheers for the comments. I'll just keep an eye/ear on it and worry about it when I can't hear the exhausts any more ;)