Failure of hydraulic clutch

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Styler

Styler

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Joined
Apr 3, 2012
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Location
NW Arkansas, USA
:mad:
Ever since the first break-in service (621 miles) I have had the hydraulic clutch fail at a consistent 1,000 miles. Bleeding the system fixes it every time; however this get extremely old. I'd love to be able to take this bike on anything more than a day trip without having to travel with fluid, wrenches and a bleeder hose.

Now, I've had the dealer look into this and they worked with Ducati NA to try and fix the issue. They replaced my master cylinder and slave cylinder and sent the old stuff back to Ducati for inspection and analysis. Anyway, as you can see from my previous comments, this did not fix the issue.

I know from friends with 1198s and 1098s that this was an issue in the past as well, something that could only be fixed by replacing the slave cylinder with an aftermarket part.

Has anybody else had consistent failure with the hydraulic clutch? If so, did you ever find a fix?
 
I never had failure, but I did replace my SC just for piece of mind. The stocker is very poorly made (it's CHEEEAP), but unlikely the root of your problem. :(
 
TransNone13 said:
I never had failure, but I did replace my SC just for piece of mind. The stocker is very poorly made (it's CHEEEAP), but unlikely the root of your problem. :(
Click to expand...

The dealer is looking into it again; but, during the interim, what aftermarket part did you end up replacing the OEM SC with?
 
Well, this time, instead of bleeding the master first, I bled the slave cylinder first. No bubbles or anything out of the ordinary from the slave bleed and I had little improvement at the lever.
I then bled the master cylinder and had both air and these dark streaks of fine black-coloured fluid amongst the normal coloured fluid flush out. Anyway, I had immediate improvement at the lever. A few more times and with no more air bubbles in the stream and the lever pressure back to normal I closed her back up, despite the continued pulses of some kind of black-coloured substance continuing to be flushed out of the system. The streaks of black-coloured substance did not come with every pulse of the lever while bleeding; however, it did not appear to be reducing in frequency and since everything was working, I figured I would not get any more improvement by continuing to flush the system.
So there you have it. (Until next time.)
 
Styler said:
Well, this time, instead of bleeding the master first, I bled the slave cylinder first. No bubbles or anything out of the ordinary from the slave bleed and I had little improvement at the lever.
I then bled the master cylinder and had both air and these dark streaks of fine black-coloured fluid amongst the normal coloured fluid flush out. Anyway, I had immediate improvement at the lever. A few more times and with no more air bubbles in the stream and the lever pressure back to normal I closed her back up, despite the continued pulses of some kind of black-coloured substance continuing to be flushed out of the system. The streaks of black-coloured substance did not come with every pulse of the lever while bleeding; however, it did not appear to be reducing in frequency and since everything was working, I figured I would not get any more improvement by continuing to flush the system.
So there you have it. (Until next time.)
Click to expand...

I've only bled three times to replace parts and never did it otherwise.
 
Last edited:
...it was a known issue for many owners, from as far back as early 916 days (1994/5) - unbelievable how it has never been resolved.....

-- theories abound as to the cause....nobody has ever produced a definitive answer - i carry an 11mm open end wrench and a small shop rag...i've left the house many times with a limp lever :) and was always glad i had the wrench with me, so i didn't have to run back home to take care of it - motion-pro just started selling a mini bleed wrench that looks small enough to be carried easily and it has a nifty 1 way valve that prevents fluid from going all over the place while bleeding
 
Same here... Bled it just about every other week. Finally mentioned it to my dealer and they replaced it toot sweet. Great ever since!

Tom
 
Just out of curiosity what fluid are you guys using when you bleed the clutch? I swapped all my brake and clutch fluid our pretty soon after getting the bike (maybe 100 miles) with Motul RBF 600 and haven't had any issue since. My stock fluid turned dark very quickly and I am now at almost 1700 miles and fluid still looks new all around and no problems with the clutch.
 
Thanks for posting this, I have also had to bleed mine a number of times. I will also now report it to the dealer.

I tried at the slave cylinder, but it it is definitely up at the master cylinder, takes a minute but is a PITA, as it is happening regularly.

Cheers
 
WV 1199 said:
Just out of curiosity what fluid are you guys using when you bleed the clutch? I swapped all my brake and clutch fluid our pretty soon after getting the bike (maybe 100 miles) with Motul RBF 600 and haven't had any issue since. My stock fluid turned dark very quickly and I am now at almost 1700 miles and fluid still looks new all around and no problems with the clutch.
Click to expand...

Indeed; that's the stuff my mechanic has been using since the first service and I continue to use. At this rate, it feels as if it's more expensive than tires and probably not any better than the regular fluid.
 
Wel the Motul has a much higher dry and wet boiling point than regular fluids you find at parts stores, so it wont boil as easily and make your clutch feel all spongy. Definitely worth it though.
 
Why do Ducati even use a hydraulic clutch?? Every Jap bike I have had used a cable.. and that worked great....
 
I had my dealer file a claim last time I was in with regard to this issue. I suspect it's at the master, as bleeding at the slave has no effect, but a single pull with the master bleed open fixes it for another week or two.

I suspect this system will move toward a cable in the next few years, Stw, but we're stuck for now. At least Ducati have decided a wet clutch is liveable in lieu of dry. Amazing they can shed an entire frame...but not a frikkin' hydraulic clutch actuator!
 
I think the standard brake/clutch fluid that they use in the factory on assembly is cheap.
and causing all these problems.
the amount of money you pay for a 1199 you expect the best highest quality oil in the brake/clutch system. yes?
 
Mike Ducati said:
I think the standard brake/clutch fluid that they use in the factory on assembly is cheap.
and causing all these problems.
the amount of money you pay for a 1199 you expect the best highest quality oil in the brake/clutch system. yes?
Click to expand...

Yes; that is true, one expects quality materials. However, since replacing the OEM hydraulic fluid with some heat-resistent Motul fluid has failed to address the issue on my bike (even after replacing the OEM master cylinder with another OEM unit), it is unlikely that the quality of the fluid has anything to do with it.
The fluid is not around long enough (flushed every 1,000 miles) to degrade.
I think from now on, instead of completely flushing the master, slave and hydraulic lines, I will just bleed the master cylinder with a few pumps to remove the air.
 
Styler said:
Yes; that is true, one expects quality materials. However, since replacing the OEM hydraulic fluid with some heat-resistent Motul fluid has failed to address the issue on my bike (even after replacing the OEM master cylinder with another OEM unit), it is unlikely that the quality of the fluid has anything to do with it.
The fluid is not around long enough (flushed every 1,000 miles) to degrade.
I think from now on, instead of completely flushing the master, slave and hydraulic lines, I will just bleed the master cylinder with a few pumps to remove the air.
Click to expand...

-- as stated previously.....carry the 11mm with you.....you're gonna need it :rolleyes:
 

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