Hi. Just got a new scrambler today. Desert Sled red edition with cable clutch. 0 km cos it was unsold in a crate from last year. Came with 2 km on it so dealer can't have done much of a pdi roadtest. I am now 80 km away and have serious clutch issues. I was expecting issues with finding neutral but this is way beyond that. Of course I cannot find neutral but stopped in first with clutch handle fully in drag is so much that bike tries to push forward and break has to be fully on to prevent it.drivng me through lights. When stopped with clutch in gear lever will not move.... not to neutral and not to second. All goes away when bike cools. Adjustment at handlebars is as per spec. but I believe cable may have too much slack in it. Any of you guys know the movement there is meant to be at.the gearbox? I phoned dealer, he said it.is like this for 1000km I find it hard to believe it is just plane dangerous. Other than that bike is fabulous.
Clutch Help Please!
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I think your dealer is talking drivel. Your clutch is dragging way too much by the sound of it. I don´t know about Sleds but other scramblers have quite a torturous cable route.My play at the gearbox end actuator is similar to that at the bars about 2-3 mm.
They are tricky to get right and that play closes up a bit when my bike is cool.
Or maybe your plates are sticking if the bike was in storage a long time and just need plenty of action to free them up.
They are tricky to get right and that play closes up a bit when my bike is cool.
Or maybe your plates are sticking if the bike was in storage a long time and just need plenty of action to free them up.
Thanks Stavely. I got back but basically clutchless changes all the way. I agree the cable follows a very tortuous route and probably gets hot. The clutch plates just seem to be sticking....it is as though I don't have a clutch. I could put up with not being able to find neutral but having to hang on to both brakes with the bike trying to tear across a red light because the clutch drag is so much is daft. If I try to drive through Seville with it like this I will die! (But Happy of course.....really nice bike). Tomorrow I will take it to my local taller and with it hot on a stand see if more movement at the gearbox end than is provided by the clutch handle declutches it when hot. I doubt it though but worth a go.
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Sounds like the cable is way out of adjustment, it could have the right amount of free play at the bars but there is the bigger adjuster cable tied to the frame just under the tank. On the right hand side if I remember correctly.
Maybe just needs setting up properly. Sounds like it's way out of adjustment, so pulling the lever isn't doing anything. Does the lever on top of the clutch case move as you'd expect when you grab the lever on the bars?
Maybe just needs setting up properly. Sounds like it's way out of adjustment, so pulling the lever isn't doing anything. Does the lever on top of the clutch case move as you'd expect when you grab the lever on the bars?
Hi Joooooooosh and thanks for the reply. Two questions if I may, any estimate of what is the right movement of the actuator at the gear box end, like how many degrees the little stub lever moves. Also my second adjuster looks like the photo here. (Well, I would post a pic but the insert image icon has vanished. The adjuster is completely shrink wrapped). So do I cut into it?
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I couldn't tell you to be honest, it might be in the workshop manual, I can't see it though.
http://forumfoundrycdn.com/nickj/moto/ducati/MY2015/DUCATI 2015 ducati scrambler 800-new.pdf
Full range of motion is all I can say, it should go all the way to the stop when loose, with a certain amount f free play.
You shouldn't need to cut the rubber sleeve. I think I managed to just pull mine back or forward to get at the locknut and adjuster.
http://forumfoundrycdn.com/nickj/moto/ducati/MY2015/DUCATI 2015 ducati scrambler 800-new.pdf
Full range of motion is all I can say, it should go all the way to the stop when loose, with a certain amount f free play.
You shouldn't need to cut the rubber sleeve. I think I managed to just pull mine back or forward to get at the locknut and adjuster.
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Adjuster shrink wrapped?? The one at the clutch perch?
Sounds to me there is simply a little too much play and they never adjusted it. Maybe this thread will help.
Sorry should not have said shrink wrapped but instead heat shrink the electrical cable binding kind. Maybe it is in two halves but the cover over the secondary admuster does not look like a regular boot which will slide. I am sure I can get in there but it is so tight it really does look like I would have to cut away the cover. Thanks for the article on adjustment. Certainly the cable does not look well seated at the handle before the handle is pulled in. This morning I will decrease the free play, as the comments to the article say there is a discrepancy in the manual between 3, 4 mm and 2,3 mm anyway. Also my problem at the moment is not clutch slip anyway but quite the opposite. I have called the dealer. First he said it was normal and when I explained about the gear lever locked solid in first with the clutch hauled fully in at lights he told me to call Ducati assistance. Sort of one extreme to the other, a bit like this clutch! To give you an idea of how extreme this is, stuck in first at an intersection with back brake fully on, left leg down, I cannot move my right hand to the key because I need the front brake to hold the bike against the drag.
An Update: So the bike is now in my local (non Ducati) garage. He says there is nothing wrong with the cable adjustment but plenty wrong with the clutch. He also has trouble holding the bike against the dragging clutch in first and of course he couldn't find neutral. So I have told the dealer but they are 650Km away so I suspect I am going to have to find out what 'Ducati Assist' is and have them take the bike to the nearest agent which is Seville. Not what I was hoping for in my new bike.
Thanks Max. So now I have searched 'clutch' on here and I found two threads detailing exactly my problem. The threads get a little long and complex but I think both the OPs solved their problems with replacements but one additional poster solved his with re-routing the cable. Anyway, new bike and I must give the dealer the opportunity to fix. I do hopemit comes back soon though, fabulous ride.
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Hope it gets sorted fast! Frustrating to hand your new bike back so soon! I would ask about a loan bike in the mean time...
Thanks for your replies. Yes both ends move fine. The handlebar end of the cable is not as square in the adjuster as I would like and when and if the bike comes back I will try to sort that out so that it doesn't wear an oval on the adjuster. The experienced mechanic at my local non ducati repair shop said movement is fine but drag so bad bike is dangerous to ride. So now the Ducati Assist guys are picking it up and taking it to the nearest Ducati dealer in Seville. Meanwhile I found this on another forum. Any of you guys know about this bulletin on oil pressure setting within the clutch?
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Ducati have done a recall on the clutch cable for the 2018 model and below due to the cable slack. Have your cable readjust. It will wear out your clutch fast if you don’t.
Update.
So today I made the three hour bus trip to Seville to collect my bike and since I am now making the bus trip back you can guess the bike is not fixed. They told me that the oil pressure feed to the clutch was wrong. This is covered by the technical release I posted above. Since the clutch was solid before they adjusted the pressure and free after they assumed bike fixed. I took the bike out, got it hot, and limped back with the bike stuck solidly in first. The engineer saw it and agreed problem not fixed. So I will post next step which I can only expect involves a partial or complete clutch exchange
So today I made the three hour bus trip to Seville to collect my bike and since I am now making the bus trip back you can guess the bike is not fixed. They told me that the oil pressure feed to the clutch was wrong. This is covered by the technical release I posted above. Since the clutch was solid before they adjusted the pressure and free after they assumed bike fixed. I took the bike out, got it hot, and limped back with the bike stuck solidly in first. The engineer saw it and agreed problem not fixed. So I will post next step which I can only expect involves a partial or complete clutch exchange
Update Again
So three weeks and still not fixed. It seems that whatever they do clutch still sticks unacceptably when the bike is hot. So now it is looking like a design problem....if so why haven't all the other scramblers got it and the same engine is on the monster no? Very weird.
So three weeks and still not fixed. It seems that whatever they do clutch still sticks unacceptably when the bike is hot. So now it is looking like a design problem....if so why haven't all the other scramblers got it and the same engine is on the monster no? Very weird.
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