2020 v4s clutch is slipping when hot

My dry clutch went at about 2500 miles not 25,000….about 2/3rds if that was at the track….though I think the reason mine went was from using the clutch to hold the bike still at stoplights on the street.

When they go bad they seem to slip under load at a specific RPM range, and then that range of RPM that it slips at keeps expanding.

Mine went at the track, I’d be doing a hard pull and suddenly there was diminished power from about 9.5k rpm to about 12k rpm then it would grab again until redline, then the slippage range would be from about 8.5k rpm to 13k etc until it was slipping through the about the entire rpm range. Took about 3 twenty minute track sessions to go from a small rpm range of slippage to unridable. But I was trying to keep up with Tony Elias at the time during some coaching.

Yeah the key is 2/3 at the track. If you've club raced you know the seasons 8-10 weekends. If you run all the practice sessions and say 3 races on sundays you're changing the clutch pack before the third weekend. But they will last 25k on the street if you keep adjusting the stack height and shuffling the friction plates. And if you're not constantly slipping it on the downshifts. When it started slipping in that first session you needed to come in and adjust the stack. They typically start to slip first at the torque peak in sixth. You can run the stack taller then specified (more 2mm plates) and increase the pressure plate load. This gives you a greater range of wear before they start to slip.

baggerman said:

Yeah the key is 2/3 at the track. If you've club raced you know the seasons 8-10 weekends. If you run all the practice sessions and say 3 races on sundays you're changing the clutch pack before the third weekend. But they will last 25k on the street if you keep adjusting the stack height and shuffling the friction plates. And if you're not constantly slipping it on the downshifts. When it started slipping in that first session you needed to come in and adjust the stack. They typically start to slip first at the torque peak in sixth. You can run the stack taller then specified (more 2mm plates) and increase the pressure plate load. This gives you a greater range of wear before they start to slip.

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Good know thanks, and might be the difference between ending a track day early or not.

Steven31371 said:

Good know thanks, and might be the difference between ending a track day early or not.

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Hey Steven, I changed the clutch spring on mine. Feel was the same, should help the pack last longer

I with Rick agree more spring pressure is always good.

duca_monkey said:

I have a 2020 V4S and I'm the second owner, bike has around 2k miles. I've only had it for a few month and this is my first Ducati and first bike with a hydraulic clutch, so no idea what to expect. This issue is that when bike gets hotter clutch engagement point moves higher and eventually clutch starts slipping: RPM grow higher but bike doesn't accelerate. I've also recently installed aftermarket levers, but I doubt this has anything to do with the issue, clutch was acting the same with standard levers also. Any ideas or\and suggestions are welcome.

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Did you ever get to the bottom of this with the dealer?? My clutch is doing exactly the same thing on my 2018 v4s. I’m sure it’s just plates from a worn clutch as it’s on 9300 miles however didn’t want to spend a fortune replacing everything to find out it’s the slave or something!

Jamescrawshaw said:

Did you ever get to the bottom of this with the dealer?? My clutch is doing exactly the same thing on my 2018 v4s. I’m sure it’s just plates from a worn clutch as it’s on 9300 miles however didn’t want to spend a fortune replacing everything to find out it’s the slave or something!

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yes, took it to the dealer, they've replaced the clutch and blamed it on the incorrectly installed aftermarket clutch lever, it's been ok-ish since then, but the clutch bite point definitely changes when bike's hot.

duca_monkey said:

yes, took it to the dealer, they've replaced the clutch and blamed it on the incorrectly installed aftermarket clutch lever, it's been ok-ish since then, but the clutch bite point definitely changes when bike's hot.

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Ah okay, could be the same as mine then as the lever had literally no freeplay and I reckon it’s been slipping for some time! From what I’ve researched it seems the clutches wear out pretty quick on these! I’m going to order a new clutch pack and see how I get on. Thanks for your help

I struggled with this problem on my panigale v4 for a long time and finally found the cause.
In my master cylinder my cup appeared to be completely swollen.
Even more very hot.
At that point, the oil could no longer return sufficiently and continued to build up pressure.
See photos.