Sick of bleeding clutch 1299s

What to do? Aftermarket slave and master cylinders? Put up with it? It’s getting boring pulling the lever back to the bars looking for a gear. Bike is a 2017 model, surely someone has sorted the issue out by now. Thanks guys.

I have installed an Oberon clutch slave last week. I went with the silver color and i must say i am very happy with my choice! It was shipped very fast and install was a breeze. Looks way better than the original slave and lever pull seems a bit lighter. Can't tell if it fixed the bleeding issue yet because i haven't ridden the bike after the install but i have good hope it is fixed now. Hoping for some nice weather next week and will report again after testing it.

How much do you like other aspects of the bike? I am soon ready to bleed my clutch for 2nd time in 18 months, (7000 miles.) If you like the bike a lot, you could get the dealer to weave their expensive magic, or could fit Oberon yourself. People even sell them used occasionally. Watching the LAUNCH videos for the1299 FE, recently, the fluid in the reservoir was going black already! If the feeling riding your bike is as orgasmic *(YES!) as mine was this MORNING, spend or do whatever it takes, HAHA!
* 90 miles of new 60 section Pirelli scrubbing in, NO cars mid bend, or series of bends, coffee half way. Best short ride of my life, maybe. Chicken strips still have their own postal district, mind!! Seem bigger on the larger section tyre. I leave my riding buddy behind on the twisties, (inexperienced) but his strips are 3mm or so. Dave

bleeding takes 2 minutes, no big deal. I know its annoying, it seemed a lot better after a flush though. 25,000kms and I've done it 3 times? If i could be bothered Id rebuild the slave, probably a new 50 cent o-ring is all that's required.

Thanks for the replies. It’s definitely not a big deal, but just one of those things that’s annoying at times. I was just curious as to wether there was a tried and true solution people had found. I think I’ll give the cnc slave a go. Mine has about 11000k and I’ve bled it twice now, hopefully there’s no underlying issue.

Smoking ape said:

It’s definitely not a big deal,

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... until a dot of DOT4 gets on ur TFT or paint and chemical burns it

Buy a vacuum pump and use it at the master. Put it on the bleeder, pump it up to 15 pounds of pressure and crack open the bleeder and close it before it reaches 0. It takes 10 seconds and will firm up the lever. By now you should be able to tell when you need to bleed it by the amount of slack in the line.

This is not a fix but it’s fast and effective.

So has anyone replaced the whole system? I did a search but I’m assuming it’s in a build thread. I’m wondering if changing out the master and slave will solve the issue. Yes, just cracking the master carefully to bleed is fine but surely there’s a proper solution. Don’t mind spending some money

Smoking ape said:

So has anyone replaced the whole system? I did a search but I’m assuming it’s in a build thread. I’m wondering if changing out the master and slave will solve the issue. Yes, just cracking the master carefully to bleed is fine but surely there’s a proper solution. Don’t mind spending some money

Click to expand...

The senior members discussed it before using aerospace grade lines and Ti fittings.
I installed DucaBike clutch slave and problem solved. It isn’t difficult to correct the problem and it’s not a problem you need to live with

You’re the man Kev. New slave it is, thanks

DucatiKev said:

The senior members discussed it before using aerospace grade lines and Ti fittings.
I installed DucaBike clutch slave and problem solved. It isn’t difficult to correct the problem and it’s not a problem you need to live with

Click to expand...

Yes, that’s what the dealer told me, it’s the slave cylinder. They opened it up and observed what ever problem. Mine was supposed to be replaced under warranty but they didn’t have one. I was supposed to return when they ordered but guess what, my lever never got soft again.

Smoking ape said:

So has anyone replaced the whole system? I did a search but I’m assuming it’s in a build thread. I’m wondering if changing out the master and slave will solve the issue. Yes, just cracking the master carefully to bleed is fine but surely there’s a proper solution. Don’t mind spending some money

Click to expand...

Yes, I’ve replaced the slave and master. That was two years ago and I haven’t had to bleed since.

What two did you buy?

Oberon and a RCS 16.

Oberon has been discussed here more but I got DucaBike slave. Either will give an upgraded feel over the factory slave. It just feels more premium

I was looking at the RCS 16 and the CNC slaves last night. The slave cylinders come in varying sizes, up to 30mm. Does anyone know what combination of the 2 would be best? The master’s bore is 13mm I think, I’m not sure what the 30mm is referring to.

It's the MC that is getting air into it not the slave. One pump and crack the bleeder on the MC and away you go . All Ducati been that way.

There are instances when the master cylinder may turn out to be the culprit, but issues with the slave have been reported since the release of the Panigale... excessive heat leading to piston jamming, frequent bleeding of the clutch circuit, etc. In my case, simply replacing the OEM slave with an aftermarket unit (Oberon) solved the problem... my master cylinder remains original. It should also be noted, however, that replacing the clutch fluid at the required intervals (and sooner never hurts) goes a long way to ensure proper performance of the clutch circuit as well. It's not difficult, time-consuming, or expensive, and it's necessary as moisture will accumulate in, and degrade, any circuit (brake or clutch) over a period of time. Once you hit the 3-4% mark, or thereabouts (the wet boiling point), the boiling temperature of any fluid (DOT 3, 4, 5, etc.) will be reduced by more than 25% (>100 degrees). Once that occurs, the problem will worsen as air will be introduced into the fluid at an accelerated pace. If I break the bike down at the end of each riding season (which I do), and replace the clutch fluid and bleed the circuit, I can ride an entire season without bleeding the circuit or adjusting the position of the clutch lever, and the fluid in the reservoir never discolors.

I brought this up to the dealer and they said the slave master has an issue and they will check it. They opened it up and said yes, you have the same issue but we don’t have a replacement. The put it back on but guess what, I’ve not had to bleed the master since.

Therefore I am wondering if the issue is the seal on the slave master and pulling cleaning and replacing can cure the issue.

For me I finally figured it out, I honestly just put some damn thread sealant around the bleed off the master. It hasn't gotten soft a day since, it was a miracle cure. Before, I was bleeding it EVERY single time I wanted to ride it, talk about seriously annoying and a dumb problem to have on such an expensive bike.