[iblastoff]

just picked up a used ducati sixty2. it has evotech adjustable levers.

everything is running great, but i'm having a hard time finding neutral while the engine is running. once the engine is off, i can put it in neutral VERY easily!

anyone know whats up with that? i've read that more miles helps, but this bike already has 7000km on it.

 

[K1W1]

I would be changing the engine oil (often bikes don’t change gear as well with old oil) and checking the clutch adjustment.
Our Scrambler was difficult to get into Neutral until it was really hot (10-15 riding at least) then it became easy. Now it has had a service and oil change it goes into Neutral easily.
Don’t forget they European bikes have a more solid feel to the gear change than Japanese bikes. You need to be more deliberate with them.

‘

 

[iblastoff]

I would be changing the engine oil (often bikes don’t change gear as well with old oil) and checking the clutch adjustment.
Our Scrambler was difficult to get into Neutral until it was really hot (10-15 riding at least) then it became easy. Now it has had a service and oil change it goes into Neutral easily.
Don’t forget they European bikes have a more solid feel to the gear change than Japanese bikes. You need to be more deliberate with them.

‘

the oil was changed 2 months ago with Motul 300V 4T Synthetic Oil so that should be fresh. i'll see what i can do with clutch adjustment. but what exactly am i aiming for when adjusting the clutch? less freeplay? more? as far as i can tell it is to spec according to the manual.

 

[denizerdem]

Does it shift when you give a bit trottle?

 

[iblastoff]

Does it shift when you give a bit trottle?

hmm i havent tried this yet. but i've discovered if i'm at a stop light in 1st gear, i can shift up to 2nd, and then very very gently tap down. i tap about 3-5 times and i generally find neutral with about 70% success rate haha.

coming from a suzuki which shifts like butter, its a little tricky on the sixty2. but getting used to it hopefully!

 

[K1W1]

coming from a suzuki which shifts like butter, its a little tricky on the sixty2. but getting used to it hopefully!

Yes unfortunately you will never get Suzuki like shifting on any Ducati. When you come to a stop in first try just letting the clutch lever out slightly to the point where it just starts to engage then squeeze the lever again and try to move the gear lever up into neutral. Sometimes that works. Make sure you have the front brake on so the bike doesn't accidentally go forward.

 

[Derek]

Adjust the clutch cable free play for about 1 - 2mm and adjust your Evotech clutch lever for maximum reach. This should allow maximum travel of the clutch lifting mechanism. If you now have better neutral selection try adjusting the lever to reduce reach, one notch at a time. If selection gets worse back it off again.
If you still can't get neutral easily after adjusting the cable and the lever try it with the OEM lever fitted (if you have one).

 

[iblastoff]

Adjust the clutch cable free play for about 1 - 2mm and adjust your Evotech clutch lever for maximum reach. This should allow maximum travel of the clutch lifting mechanism. If you now have better neutral selection try adjusting the lever to reduce reach, one notch at a time. If selection gets worse back it off again.
If you still can't get neutral easily after adjusting the cable and the lever try it with the OEM lever fitted (if you have one).

i'll give this a shot. thanks!

 

[philgoodscrambler]

Close your eyes, think of England and wiggle it about a bit. (This is slappers are us isn't it)?
Seriously its not the smoothest box in the world and you have to be positive changing gear generally. However to find neutral I am more gentle with it. That said it doesn't always work.

 

[iblastoff]

Adjust the clutch cable free play for about 1 - 2mm and adjust your Evotech clutch lever for maximum reach. This should allow maximum travel of the clutch lifting mechanism. If you now have better neutral selection try adjusting the lever to reduce reach, one notch at a time. If selection gets worse back it off again.
If you still can't get neutral easily after adjusting the cable and the lever try it with the OEM lever fitted (if you have one).

i gave this a shot (minus switching over to OEM lever cause i dont have it) and i didn't notice any improvement in finding neutral while the engine is on.

the only times i can very easily find neutral is if i turn off the engine (while in 1st gear). i can immediately find neutral instantly. weird! why is that happening?

if i can find neutral easily with the engine turned off, does that mean i can eliminate clutch cable freeplay issues?

 

[Derek]

You can find neutral easily with the engine off because there are no moving parts within the gearbox / clutch / primary drive, so the cogs slide easily into neutral. The fact that you can't select neutral shows that there is still clutch drag with the lever pulled fully into the bar. So if there is still drag then either there is insufficient movement at the lever to separate the clutch plates or there is a fault with the clutch itself. I think you should try to get hold of an OEM lever before anything else as it may be that the Evotec just doesn't provide enough travel to fully disengage the clutch.
In the meantime get into the habit of tapping the lever into neutral as the bike is rolling to a halt. This is an old trick that riders have used for years to deal with a dragging clutch and poor neutral selection.

 

[iblastoff]

You can find neutral easily with the engine off because there are no moving parts within the gearbox / clutch / primary drive, so the cogs slide easily into neutral. The fact that you can't select neutral shows that there is still clutch drag with the lever pulled fully into the bar. So if there is still drag then either there is insufficient movement at the lever to separate the clutch plates or there is a fault with the clutch itself. I think you should try to get hold of an OEM lever before anything else as it may be that the Evotec just doesn't provide enough travel to fully disengage the clutch.
In the meantime get into the habit of tapping the lever into neutral as the bike is rolling to a halt. This is an old trick that riders have used for years to deal with a dragging clutch and poor neutral selection.

Hmm ok so maybe there’s too much freeplay then if the lever seemingly doesn’t have enough movement to disengage the clutch.

Just curious as far as adjusting freeplay, I still see the actuator down at the clutch end moving no matter how I dial in the adjuster at the lever. Is that normal for ducatis?

I ask this cause on my Suzuki it does the same thing. Proper freeplay is set but I still can see the actuator moving when gently squeezing the lever in the freeplay zone.


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[Max Kool]

Wet clutches often still have a little drag when fully pulled in. How many miles has your bike now?

 

[iblastoff]

Wet clutches often still have a little drag when fully pulled in. How many miles has your bike now?

It’s got 7400km on it so it’s definitely past the initial breakin period. The oil was last changed in May 2018


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[Max Kool]

Hmm I guess it won’t get much better then. Try finding neutral coming from second gear while you’re still rolling a bit.

Ducatis are notchy

 

[Derek]

Hmm ok so maybe there’s too much freeplay then if the lever seemingly doesn’t have enough movement to disengage the clutch.

Just curious as far as adjusting freeplay, I still see the actuator down at the clutch end moving no matter how I dial in the adjuster at the lever. Is that normal for ducatis?

I ask this cause on my Suzuki it does the same thing. Proper freeplay is set but I still can see the actuator moving when gently squeezing the lever in the freeplay zone.

Which would imply that there is no free play. Check the free play by moving the actuator by hand while the clutch lever is fully released. You should be able to move the actuator by a 1mm or two with no movement of the cable.

 

[iblastoff]

well god damn.

so i adjusted the clutch at the lever (turned it so more 'silver screw' is showing up and the knurled knob is going away from the lever. i keep forgetting if this is more or less freeplay but i believe its making it have less freeplay) and then switched the lever to the highest pull level (the evotech goes from 1-6 and i set it to 6).

on my ride in today, i found neutral probably 80% of the time at red lights, and this is just going from 1st gear to nudging into neutral, whereas i used to have to go to 2nd and nudge it down. so theres definitely some improvement (and maybe im getting more used to it).

i did this adjustment before, but i didnt actually take it for a ride and just tested at a standstill in my garage which was probably a dumb newbie move.

the only issue now is that the friction zone is too far out from the lever (i like it closer to the handlebar) which i assume i can just change at the secondary clutch adjustment area.

so this is a good sign!

 

[xPepi]

A few things to consider...

1) Does your free play actually feel completely free/loose? My free play felt pretty stiff (the range I set) until I greased the clutch cable (took it out from the lever)
2) If the oil is "new", check that you have enough while the bike is balanced and looking through the spy glass
3) I would personally adjust the free play to 2-3 stacked credit cards. 1 mm IMO is not enough
4) To get into neutral after the engine warms up is what my trouble was until I learned how to do it...quick pulse of the foot, basically you pretend you're up kicking into gear but you just half pulse the foot and it should pop in. This is sometimes hard to do if I stop on an incline or don't have time to properly downshift gear to gear when having to make abrupt stops.

While the bike is moving finding neutral is easy, or when the engine is cold since the metal is cold and hasn't expanded.

Also check the angle of the actuator, it should have a 80 degree angle if I'm not mistaken

 

[Max Kool]

Agreed, 1mm is not enough and maybe even the mother of all premature clutch wear.

2-3 stacked credit cards between the perch and the lever is an excellent description btw!

 

[Prawnstar]

I purchased a brand new scrambler Sixty2 in May and have since put on 1200 miles. My experience has been contrary to some of the advice on here. Here’s the story:
I too have had problems finding neutral but was warned of this by the dealer and was told that when the bike was broken in....neutral would be easier... not so. The first 600 miles I found that as the oil got older and had to be very warm, that I could find neutral 85% of the time at lights. I was stoked by this as I’m super worried about clutch wear. Especially when I’m sitting in traffic on a 90 degree day. The air cooled engine is blowing heat like crazy already and I know that holding my clutch in is bad in every way but forced to do it. Then I had the 600 mile service and new motul race oil was put into it... again I completely lost neutral and this time I was not getting it back even when the engine was on and hot. W/ the engine off I can find neutral in a nano second like you. Then I changed the handlebars to the Ducati black option ones for the scramblers and who freaking knows why but the bike will only start while in neutral now, and I can find neutral maybe 40% of the time at lights but the engine again has to be hot! Another observation is that I can find neutral more often after a good hwy run even if the engine was hot before the hwy. I greased the clutch cable with a mess of graphite powder and I have the hypomotard (sp?) adjustable clutch and brake levers installed that are designed for the Brembo brakes with their own personal fluid reservoirs and the levers are as close as I can get them for my carny hands. The free play is spec’d according to the manual lengths. I’m worried as hell about early clutch failure but that’s what warranty is for I guess? make sure you blip while downshifting to help lengthen the life of your clutch.. hope it’s enough to make it last to at least 3500-4000 miles. From what I’ve read peoples clutch’s have gone bad at as little as 1500 miles. Who knows how they drive or if it’s truly the box but this problem sucks. Period. However, I love my bike. Put a termi on it! Takes 15 pounds off the bike and sounds amazing for a 400! Get the mustang seat to solidify a good position while riding and take the weight off your wrists! These two things were a game changer! The dart windscreen is a sweet addition too if you do a lot of freeway ridin! Hope this helps!