[stuart]

Hey all,
I'm still pretty new to motorcycles -- I bought my used 2000 M750 about 3 months ago. It has 14.4k miles on the odo. Everything has been going pretty well, but lately the clutch has been acting stranger and stranger. Finally today I couldn't even start the bike.

The problem: Any given day I'll start the bike up for the first time, let it idle for a minute and warm up, then put it in first gear and go. Lately the bike has been slightly pulling when i switch to first, even though the clutch lever is all the way pulled in, and the gear should be disengaged. It's strange behavior, but after a few minutes of riding and warming up, it acts normal (no pull when stopped at a stoplight).

So today i go to start the bike for the first time and the bike lurches and stalls out when I shift to first, as if i popped it in gear without the clutch disengaged.
I tried pushing the bike in neutral, getting a running start, then shifting to first, which i was able to do successfully.
Once again, after riding around and shifting gears, eventually the bike started to behave normally. However there were abnormal sounds (seemed abnormal) coming from the bike when I was in motion.

So what do you think? Bad clutch? Should I try to get it fixed, or buy a new one? Aftermarket? I'm new to all this so I'm really curious to get some info.
Thanks in advance.

Stuart

 

[test-reg]

before anything else, check your cluth slave cylinder. if it's OEM, they like to leak.

 

[MostroRodento]

Well at first you are describing the classic Clutch Slave Cylinder failure. The fix is to replace it with one of the aftermarket units such as an Evoluzione or YoYodyne slave assembly.

You likely have leaked the hydraulic juice out of the clutch control system through a failed slave cylinder

The abnormal noises coming from the bike under load are what I would be concerned about. I hope you haven't busted a tooth on a tranny gear

Stop trying to ride the bike in its current state and get the clutch hydraulics fixed.....and hope that nothing of greater consequence has occured from banging the gearbox around.

 

[MonsterHooligan]

make sure your clutch fluid is full too...that would do the same thing.

 

[stuart]

Hi,
Is there a recommended brand of clutch fluid? I'm going to pick some up on the way home from work today - and i need to know whether I can just go to Advance autoparts or head over to the duc dealership.
Thanks again!

 

[OT_Ducati]

any brand will work, DOT 3 or 4. i'm not sure what is in it from factory. i put DOT 4 in mine, i have a vacuum pump, so i was able to pull out old fluid, and replace with new.
do not use DOT 5.

 

[RAT900]

DOT 4 is recommended.. as said above, DO NOT use DOT 5.

Ducati official recommendation used to be AGIP DOT 4 but any reasonable brand should suffice