Dry clutch on the street...opinions

Obviously there are plenty of folks with the V4R and SP2 that ride primarily on the street with their dry clutches. Considering an STM conversion for my '20 PV4 base strictly for experiential/emotional purposes. Not worried about oil contamination or the 2 HP I could get at high revs ... nor am I scared away by the need to change the pack every 5k miles...don't mind doing that myself.

Purely from a street usability standpoint, in traffic, at stoplights, etc...for those who have used both...is it that finicky/grabby/short an engagement range that I'll notice a huge difference? Or are usability issues largely overstated?

A016738 said:

Obviously there are plenty of folks with the V4R and SP2 that ride primarily on the street with their dry clutches. Considering an STM conversion for my '20 PV4 base strictly for experiential/emotional purposes. Not worried about oil contamination or the 2 HP I could get at high revs ... nor am I scared away by the need to change the pack every 5k miles...don't mind doing that myself.

Purely from a street usability standpoint, in traffic, at stoplights, etc...for those who have used both...is it that finicky/grabby/short an engagement range that I'll notice a huge difference? Or are usability issues largely overstated?

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I've got both. The engagement if the wet clutch from standstill is beautiful compared to the dry clutch (below 8k). It's so much smoother. Higher up the revs, after quite a few race launches, the wet does, also, become grabby.

dry clutch on the street will need to be replaced a lot sooner then 5k miles

KarlKani said:

dry clutch on the street will need to be replaced a lot sooner then 5k miles

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I’m not sure where this idea is coming from, but the dry clutch(es) don’t need replaced often. They may/will require service to adjust stack height if the rider likes beating on the clutch with drag starts, etc., but not “replaced”. They will get noisier with mileage as the plate/basket interface wears, but a dry clutch should go 12-15k miles before “needing” replacement parts.

ask a Ducati tech

It actually depends on your local traffic. Is there lots of traffic? Or you are pretty much free? I don't think the STM dry clutch would do well under those circumstances. The STM utilizes a specialized clutch spring which makes it extremely heavy to modulate the clutch. It's entirely different from the standard 6 clutch springs you see on the old gen Ducs. Those are my experience from riding the STM dry cluch on a Hypermotard 950.

So there’s a Fair point… If the STM is significantly different from the stock SP2 or V4r stock clutches that would definitely be something to consider…

I do encounter a fair amount of traffic where I am.

A016738 said:

So there’s a Fair point… If the STM is significantly different from the stock SP2 or V4r stock clutches that would definitely be something to consider…

I do encounter a fair amount of traffic where I am.

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The stock dry clutch on all the V4 models are STM, and I think around 3-4k miles before needing a new stack, for street use.

A016738 said:

So there’s a Fair point… If the STM is significantly different from the stock SP2 or V4r stock clutches that would definitely be something to consider…

I do encounter a fair amount of traffic where I am.

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Not only it's different from the standard wet clutch on V4, it's also different from the standard 6 springs dry clutch on old gen Ducs.

5k miles on the dry clutch would be a stretch. I think on average it’s lasting 3k for street riding

A dry clutch is more trouble than it's worth really in any scenario. YES, it can be cool but racing with one is a nightmare and there is little to no REAL benefit on the street.

I have had 2 different older Ducatis (749R and S2R1000) with dry clutches, and between the two of them, probably 20k street miles. Never had any issues with the clutch.

Unless somehow modern dry clutches have miraculously become less reliable, I think frequent pack changes are an urban myth.

TomFoolery said:

I have had 2 different older Ducatis (749R and S2R1000) with dry clutches, and between the two of them, probably 20k street miles. Never had any issues with the clutch.

Unless somehow modern dry clutches have miraculously become less reliable, I think frequent pack changes are an urban myth.

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My 3 Ducatis all have dry clutches. The oldest, my 2011 1198SP has 8400 miles on it. The next is my 2012 Hyper 1100SP with 5100 miles. I’ve had both apart once to clean the slipper mechanism, but the friction plates were/are fine.

Note that the newest V4R and maybe the V4SP2 have a much smaller diameter STM dry slipper than my 2021 V4SP. I believe this small version may wear much quicker than all previous versions. See photo attached.

I've seen a lot of guys here in Australia now complaining about their worn out dry cutches in their SP2s but they're all guys that only ride to photo locations in the city for instagram photos 3500 kms was the most recent one. Possibly more prevalent on the newer model bikes in this circumstance due to the taller first gear.

Here's is one other little thing to add make sure to clean and grease the ball bearings in the clutch hub (Might be 5 bearings in there) I think I put 3 on the pic below . One of the ball bearings fell out of the pilot hole on mine and the hub was just stuck. How to know if this is happening you will get very heavy drag on the clutch. Sucked because I was out in the middle of no where when I really noticed it. Attached a pic for reference. I do this around 1500 miles when I inspect the clutch pack. Just my opinion but the dry clutch on the 2019 V4R is not good for stop and go traffic/City riding mainly it needs to be moving all the time otherwise its eating itself. If you plan on riding it in the canyons, mountains and tracks that's where it would be great. But stop and go traffic is a nightmare for the baskets and clutch packs. Again this is just my experience with the V4R (3 clutch packs and 2 clutch baskets with 9k) on it. Maybe 500 miles of that was city traffic when I first got it for engine break in. Also buy the STM clutch tools Ducatit basket tool you will need all of these if you want to do the work by yourself it's very easy to work on.

'20 V4R here. Street use only. 8400 miles. Have gone through 2 clutch plates + 1 basket. Currently on 3rd set of plates and a new basket.

- Original plates change at 3500 miles
- 2nd set plates + original basket change at 7250 miles
- Currently on 3rd set of plates + new basket 8400 miles (should've switched out the basket sooner tbh)

Clutch plates lasts 3-4k miles
Basket until worn about 6-7k miles (if worn will cause CLUTCH DRAG)

My personal experience.

So the surprising Datapoint here is the basket replacement intervals some people are having. Not that it’s a huge deal, but definitely wouldn’t have guessed that the basket itself would be such a consumable.

A016738 said:

So the surprising Datapoint here is the basket replacement intervals some people are having. Not that it’s a huge deal, but definitely wouldn’t have guessed that the basket itself would be such a consumable.

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In neutral, it rattles back and forth with combustion pulses - all edges in contact with the clutch plates end up serrated like steak knives.

A016738 said:

Obviously there are plenty of folks with the V4R and SP2 that ride primarily on the street with their dry clutches. Considering an STM conversion for my '20 PV4 base strictly for experiential/emotional purposes. Not worried about oil contamination or the 2 HP I could get at high revs ... nor am I scared away by the need to change the pack every 5k miles...don't mind doing that myself.

Purely from a street usability standpoint, in traffic, at stoplights, etc...for those who have used both...is it that finicky/grabby/short an engagement range that I'll notice a huge difference? Or are usability issues largely overstated?

Click to expand...

I went through this process and being honest with myself their were two pluses, one was the project i.e. playing with the bike is fun, and the other was the style/noise/unique factor so enhance my enjoyment. I did a lot of online scrolling through the threads and what i realized is that there are old school die hard Ducati guys to whom dry clutches were synonymous with real Ducatis and wet clutches were a corporate sell out, and those who listed the benefits of clean oil, crisper gearchanges and slightly extra power plus easy service.

Ducati in their wisdom have joined the rest of the world and uses wet clutches across their range for all the benefits they give to street riders and only offer the dry on limited sports models, in theory dry is better for the reasons the die hards give but the cost to keep them fed and watered is high. A friend has a dry on an 1198 and his toolbag which he takes every where has spare fibres and steels along with the tools to do a quick changeout, which btw is easy but do you want to have that hassle?

15,000 refreshes are one thing but under 5000? That would feel like every five minutes to me! All that being said, its your bike/toy/hobby and if you want a dry clutch just do it- they are a feature, look and sound unique.

No problem with my dry clutch. And I do normal use city and track. I don't really have issues with start and stops.