Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > Noisy gearshifting

[Hobbes]

Afternoon guys.

Has anybody out there ever had their gearbox make a loud 'clunk' (like a stone hitting your bellypan) when they're going up the box? How loud is it, I hear you ask. Difficult to say - but it's clearly audible at speeds of 70-80 with a pair of 50mm Termis happily barking away in the background. It doesn't always do it, and doesn't feel any different from a 'usual' gear change (no extra pressure required to change) - in fact, for 10 minutes I thought I was just riding a road with lots of debris on it, until the penny dropped that it wasn't stones making the noises.

Cheers.

[NBs996]

The mechanics among us will probably be rebuting my reply shortly, but here's an uneducated guess for ya......

Is your clutch adjusted properly? i.e. if the clutch is still engaging a bit with the lever in then I guess it could cause that sort of noise. Can't explain it any better than that I'm affraid, I can only picture what's going on in the box!

nb

[Hobbes]

Thanks, but I'm pretty sure the clutch is fine. It still does it (albeit somewhat quieter) when the engine isn't running by rocking the bike backwards & forwards to get it through the gears.

I've spoken to the head technician of my local Duc dealer who has never heard of the problem (and he's pretty clued up), so it looks like it's not a common one. Any further suggestions as to what the problem could be would be hugely appreciated.

[ziggi]

I can go up the gear box at 70-80 mph without the clutch and it doesn't make an audible noise. At 70-80 mph I couldn't hear myself think with the 50mm and wind noise.

What model, make. miles and abuse does it get?

[Hobbes]

It's a '96 748SP with 12K (miles) on the clock. I've had it 2 years, kept on top of the maintenance, done 6K gentle(ish) miles and it's never missed a beat up 'till now.

As I mentioned before, it must be bloody loud if I can hear it at those speeds - hence the worry!

Cheers.