- This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 6 months ago by megaspaz.
Riding the Clutch-good or bad?
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September 29, 2008 at 6:16 pm #2168RupmiscParticipant
This subject came up in the current thread on downshifting. It seems sufficiently different to be addressed as a a separate subject.
I was taught in my beginning MSF course, to use the friction zone to modulate speed, especially at low speeds and in tight figures. I was told that with a wet clutch, what would in a car be called “riding the clutch” was perfectly fine and customary in a motorcycle. I also seem to remember that books like Precision Motorcycling teach this.
The Ducati 696 has a very small friction zone, and Ducati seems to say “do not ride the clutch”.
So, does anyone know the answer, at least for a recent model bike with a wet clutch?
September 29, 2008 at 6:44 pm #12958Sangria7ParticipantWas told the same….ride the clutch. As in my instructor’s words “The clutch is your friend.”
September 29, 2008 at 7:21 pm #12959MunchParticipantIf Ducati is supposed to be the performance masters that they claim they may be more engineered to “go” then to “travel” Meaning the difference between say a tricked out Honda compared to a Camry used to commute.
talking to some people at the MSF course Ducati’s were meant more for straight away take off speed and not so much as some of its competitors in turns. Would atleast explain to me why they would say that.
If you have a wet clutch system I would definitely use the clutch as a control mechanism …. the reason its lubricated is for life and heat reduction to reduce wear by leaps and bounds against dry clutches, which use friction plates and heat like your brakes to produce the desired effect.Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a prediction, but today…… is a Bi**h
September 29, 2008 at 7:41 pm #12964MattParticipantDucatis are different from most other bikes, they don’t use a wet clutch, they use a dry clutch just like a car’s, which means you have to treat it just like a car’s.
You can slip the clutch to control your speed, but only a very low speeds, and only for a short period of time.
Several older european bikes (70s Moto Morini and BMW) also used Dry Clutches. Two guys at my ERC course had them, the bikes DID NOT like the extended low speed maneauvers.
“A day without a surprise is a day you didn’t spend riding a Ducati”
I don’t know the reason *why* Ducati uses dry clutches… are they more efficient or lighter? Anyone know?
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“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”September 29, 2008 at 8:21 pm #12969ranetteParticipantMy Ducati definitely has a wet clutch and I’m pretty sure that Rupmisc’s Monster does as well.
September 29, 2008 at 8:25 pm #12970BenParticipantThe reason why a lot of ducatis use a dry clutch is because of the cool sounds it makes, duh!!!
Ben
~Best Beginner Motorcycles Admin(Side note, first time I heard a ducati I was like, “Man, that motorcycle definitely needs a tune up, listen to it idle! It sounds like a bunch of bolts rattling around in a can.”)
September 29, 2008 at 9:25 pm #12975RupmiscParticipantFirst, many Ducati (singular plural?) had dry clutches. The 696 has a wet clutch. Its a great clutch for downshifts – very forgiving. It is not good for instant acceleration. Still the manual says don’t ride it. I believe that is also true of Ranette’s GT1000, but don’t know if its true of Megaspaz’s 848. We should ask.
Others here, have suggested that you shouldn’t ride wet clutches generally. That was different from what I have heard, and Ducati aside, I wanted clarification. You might look at the downshift thread, for some posts that suggest not riding the clutch.
So I take that using the friction zone to moderate speed is both good, and desirable?
September 29, 2008 at 10:38 pm #12981megaspazParticipantthe 848 and 1098 use wet clutches. and riding the clutch is perfectly fine.
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