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Clutch problems, cant get into Neutral, gears snag

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9.1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  pat1098  
M
#1 ·
Hi all, new to the site and the Ducati world!

Just got a black 2012 Streetfighter 848 end of July, and the bike is obviously awesome...

However, I've noticed the amount of travel needed to engage the clutch has increased to the point that I almost have to get it to the handle bar to engage the clutch. The topper was yesterday riding, the bike would not go into neutral at stops (a must to rest my hand!) and it became very difficult to change gears, i.e. a lot of resistance that my foot had to overcome as opposed to a smoother shift earlier in the bikes life.

I see the owners manual says that it could be air in the line and to take it to a dealer to have it bled. However, I'd like to be armed with some more knowledge before I go in and they just bleed the line and call it good. Anyone out there have any other suggestions as to what the problem could be?

Also added a photo of this bad girl on top of Independence Pass in Colorado! She rides awesome!!

Thanks all in advance! Love the site so far!!
 

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#2 ·
Just bleed the line and call it good. If the problem recurs the dealer will fix it under warranty.

Bleeding the hydraulics is a maintenance item usually only needing to be done when replacing brake and clutch hydraulic fluid (to remove absorbed moisture) on a 18 month schedule.
 
#3 ·
Might be a stupid comment, but have you tried to adjust the stock levers yet? It helped me a lot at first when I just got my 848...about the neutral you'll get used to it after a while. I still have problem finding neutral at stops once in a while riding my bike on the street.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Bleed the master first, a couple of pumps and a quick turn on the 11mm boxed wrench should fix the problem, the air rises so most likely the problem is at the top.
Congratulations, she's a beaut!

Also check for some wetness around the slave mounting points, hard to notice until it's too late but the stock slaves are known to leak, it happened to me that's why I was losing air.
 
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M
#6 ·
Thanks La Rossa,

I did just that! Bled the line from slave to master and it seemed to do the trick. I didn't take it out and ride yet, but that seemed to do the trick! Very easy fix, I'll just automatically do this whenever the clutch starts feeling weird!!
 
M
#8 ·
Hey Templeton,
Ya, I found a video on YouTube showing how to bleed master + slave. It was actually pretty easy, and after the dude on the video called out anybody who couldn't do it themselves, I had to do it myself, and as I said: extremely easy. About 15 minutes of your time and my clutch is now better than new!

I'm not a pro or anything, but try it out! Super easy!!
 
#9 ·
Good job Mustache, and welcome aboard.

Just flush and bleed your clutch fluid as soon as it looks discoloured and you'll be good.

I syringe the dirty fluid out of the reservoir, top up with new and bleed it through both nipples (top and bottom).

I use a light-coloured fluid (Castrol Response) for this reason.

Obviously the fluid dirties more quickly riding in traffic, so it's not a regular mileage thing.
 
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