[SeVen50]

Okay I'm going to come out and say it. I don't really appreciate the dry clutch sound.

I'm looking at a '95 900 with 33,000kms on it and it is in superb condition with awesome custom upswept pipes and I am really keen but I just find myself thinking...'will that rattle sh1t me up the wall ?'

What do other people think - does it grow on you or do you still hear it and think the bike is falling apart ?

My 750 had a wet clutch and I really liked that all you could hear was the exhaust note, is there anything you can do to take the edge off the rattle that doesnt cost an arm and a leg ?

 

[Mark1305]

I don't hear it very much when I'm on the bike. With aftermarket cans and an open airbox, that's mostly what the rider hears.

The most effective way to keep it quiet is keep the stock cover on and maybe change out to an aluminum clutch.

I don't care for that rolling hammer mill sound either, but it doesn't bother me either. When I repalce my clutch in the near future, I am going to switch to aluminum plates (stock steel basket still in good shape) to reduce a little noise.

 

[S4_newbie]

It reminds me of my future ....ching ching ching ching ching.... I won the lotto machine !!!

But I really dig the sound. I pull by a coffee shop with where all these Harley guys hang out (funny huh, people in my neiughborhood haning out for coffee rather than a bar), and they ask me, what the sounds is. It just mystifies them.

For me, I lvoe the sound. Its destinctive, just like the exhaust note or a harley or a Ducati. It adds character, and some people know Ducs are coming when they hear it from a distance.


One rider said my bike was broken, and hears osmething loose....I loved that....of course, it was a squid thinking he knew about all bikes LOL

 

[troyslap]

The newer ones have a rubber ring around the cover that helps deaden the sound. Most dealers have them laying around from all the people putting open covers on. Also run the stock cover.

 

[SeVen50]

Thanks for your feedback - anything in particular I should check on a '95 900 ?

The layout of lots of things was very different to my '99 750 but on the outside at least everything seemed in order.

I'm yet to ride it - I'll let the guy wait a day or two before I go back so I dont seem so keen...mind you the next person that looks at it will buy it cos its fukn immaculate and the pipes are a work of art.

 

[Mark1305]

Mine is a 95. They seem to be a good year. They seem to be beyond the broken cylinder/head studs that plagued 900s thru '94. Make sure the cam belts were changed on schedule. A compression test is always good if you can get the owner to allow it. It only takes a few minutes (5 or so) to open the clutch and check the wear on the plates if you take a set of t-handle allen wrenches with you.

The fuel pump on all mid 90s 900s should be reaching the end of its service life by now. The good news is that a rebuild kit is available for $5.99 plus S & H and the hardest part is getting the pump out of the frame to install it.

With that many kms on it, the valves will require less frequent adjustments assuming that they are in spec now.

I did find the steering head bearings to be very dry when I checked them a couple of weeks ago. A few more months without fresh grease and they could have suffered damage. So that's worth looking at after you get the bike.

Beyond that, it's normal wear and tear items like brakes, chain and sprockets, tires and stuff.

 

[test-reg]

one of the reasons i bought the 750 is i didn't like the dry clutch rattle. my next bike will have a dry clutch...the sound does grow on you!

 

[Speeddog]

I've grown to really enjoy the dry clutch sound, myself...I always thought it was Italian Speed Metal ???

A tight clutch basket/plate stack and the OEM later model steel/rubber sandwich cover with the gasket will make it about as quiet as it'll get.

 

[SoCalSar]

It's expensive, but the STM 48 tooth clutches are supposed to be much quieter than the stock Ducati clutch rattle machine. I'll have one in a couple of weeks and I'll report on it. Don't let me forget.

 

[S4_newbie]

why don;t you put a closed cover on it with the rubber seal. that should muffle the sound enoough. then every now and then, open it up and listen to it.....music to your ears !!!

 

[Race_Day_Dennis]

With my stock cover, I don't really hear anything. IN the near future I plan to get an open cover. I would have sooner, but I was waiting on my pipe mod. I did not want the clutch louder then the pipe.

 

[Doc]

I don't particularly like the sound but it has grown on me on the Duc. I still hate the way it sounds in my wife's Porsche. She likes the sound on both.

Also, you do not hear it while riding.

 

[S4_newbie]

yes, that is true, you deifnatlely do not hear it while riding...plus, the exhaust will drown it out