I orginally thought that the clutch fluid was burning up on my duke, as when I went to bleed the fluid looked as though it had somehow coagulated; dark grey(ish) black fluid. Apparantly I hear that all bikes do this; heat, pressure, etc.

It my case I had to change the fluid a number of times, and depending where I broke down will dictate the different types of clutch fluid that were available to me at the time. Could this not be the reason why the clutch fluid changes colour?

Out of interest, has anyone else experienced the same symptons if Dot 4 and Dot 5.1 are mixed. I am aware that mixing the different types is bad for the bike, but what is the real effect on mixing the two?

On another note, Ron Parkinsons only supply 335mm PushRods from Ducati?! TecMoto alledgedly sell all 3; 325mm, 330mm and 335mm. However, I expect that these are all aftermarket PushRods.

Ashley - see Shazaam!'s post here for an explanation about mixing fluids:

http://ducatisportingclub.com/contro...d.php?tid=2740

Just to clarify:

DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluids are compatible with DOT 5.1 - but are NOT compatible with silicone-based DOT 5. DOT 5 brake fluid is dyed purple to warn against accidental mixing.

The use of the 5.1 designation is really confusing.

5.1 is a lighter viscosity glycol-based fluid with that was developed for use in ABS systems that need to cycle on and off quickly. It really has no advantage over the DOT 4 fluid recommended by Ducati.