De'duc'tive reasoning..Transparency...Impending recall?
Hey RunDuc1199,
Check this out and you should have a permanent solution. I don't believe that any service charge to you is justifiable!
Here's the two most insightful excerpts from researching results of:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ducati+1199+panigale+clutch+recalls
Eureka!!!
If you're unable to perform the steps in 'COMPLETE REMEDY' below, simply write them 'ALL' down for the service tech?
SYMPTOMS:
MichaelDorian wrote elsewhere: "I have that exact same problem. It's definitely heat related. It started to happen after I did my first track day of the season on this bike. It happened after a couple of sessions. The symptoms were as follows.
1. The clutch felt hard to pull and wasn't smooth. It's as if the bolts were rusty of something. I would describe the clutch as sounding crunchy.
2. There's a grinding / crunching sound coming from what appears to be inside the engine.
3. When the bikes been off, sometimes I can still get the crunch sound and clutch lever feel if I pump the lever. That was the only way I could prove it to the techs.
4. The clutch appeared to still work as I was able to finish the day. " Thanks Michael!
>>====> COMPLETE REMEDY:
Provided elsewhere by Mig1199 (& Thanks a ton Mig!):
"The greasing and cleaning has nothing to do with the tight manufacture tolerances. Tight tolerance is tight tolerance, no matter if you grease it or not. For 1199 Owners with tight tolerance issues - the clutch master gets stiff. Meaning the metal expands with the heat which greasing will not cure.
Only cure for tight tolerance problems or stiff clutch action is: Remove your piston slave, scotch brite it and apply a metal polish compound to polish the cylinder walls. Once Polished, apply heat resistant grease onto the cylinder slave, dab a bit on the rod end and add a thin fillm of [High Temp] grease on the long rod. Then, re install.
A must to replace stock original clutch fluid to Motul's DOT 5.1 RBF600 brake fluid which has a higher boiling point.
With that all done, problem will be solved 100%. Iv'e done these myself on my previous Ducati's in the past.
Had "similar" problem with my Panigale "S" when I first got it. It had a "Creaking" sound but never felt stiff. Creaking sound was dryness...and lots of dirt. Infact I showed my bike to Ducati Manila's CEO - Toti Alberto. He felt my clutch and heard the creaking sound...he said to bring it in.
I decided to work on it myself. So I simply removed my clutch slave and cleaned all the filth and grime coming from the front engine sprocket. Regreased all parts as mentioned above, replaced my clutch fluid, now have more than 9,000kms and never had the problem since. I do this every 4,000kms though due to the location of the slave which is in front of the sprocket..thus, Slave cylinder captures dirt so easily.
I just replace my clutch and Brake fluid from time to time as I do lots of tracktime. Frequent trackdays degrades your brake, clutch fluid and engine oil too. So I replace them often. Never had issues since...
Thanks "
Brand allegiance calls for more than lost saddletime, lacking transparency and ignorance of customer yo~yo cost and effect imho.
Best successes to you RunDuc et al!