Looks like the recurring problem I was having with the clutch on the 1098s hasn't been sorted after all. How very irritating!
For the last two to three weeks, I have just been riding the FireBlade. It started when the weather turned and from then, it was just the bike I went to each morning. Lately the Blade has been sounding a bit rattly, so with fantastic weather, I got the Ducati out instead and it quickly became apparent that all was not good with Bologna's finest.
My clutch has been very, very, very slowly been loosing pressure, highlighted by a little free play at the lever. When it was serviced back in March, Artur bled the system thoroughly and lever was rock solid, but within a few weeks of riding, the free play came back. Leaving the bike for a few weeks certainly hasn't helped as even with a period of inactivity, the level of free play has increased and the biting point has moved closer to the bar.
You can see from the above that something is mixing with the chain lube and slowly dripping down onto the lower fairing and top of the sidestand, which in the past was put down to a leaking seal behind the front sprocket. In a strange twist, the level of free play doesn't actually stay constant and when the system is hot, the biting point moves back away from the bar. All very confusing.
So what to do? Well, I'm all booked in at Moto Rapido in a few weeks so they can have a look at it. It could be that the clutch assembly is on the way out, or that the master cylinder needs a rebuild, but that wouldn't account for the loss of pressure at the lever. It's a nice little Italian mystery, one which I'm looking forward to hearing the solution.
For the last two to three weeks, I have just been riding the FireBlade. It started when the weather turned and from then, it was just the bike I went to each morning. Lately the Blade has been sounding a bit rattly, so with fantastic weather, I got the Ducati out instead and it quickly became apparent that all was not good with Bologna's finest.
My clutch has been very, very, very slowly been loosing pressure, highlighted by a little free play at the lever. When it was serviced back in March, Artur bled the system thoroughly and lever was rock solid, but within a few weeks of riding, the free play came back. Leaving the bike for a few weeks certainly hasn't helped as even with a period of inactivity, the level of free play has increased and the biting point has moved closer to the bar.
You can see from the above that something is mixing with the chain lube and slowly dripping down onto the lower fairing and top of the sidestand, which in the past was put down to a leaking seal behind the front sprocket. In a strange twist, the level of free play doesn't actually stay constant and when the system is hot, the biting point moves back away from the bar. All very confusing.
So what to do? Well, I'm all booked in at Moto Rapido in a few weeks so they can have a look at it. It could be that the clutch assembly is on the way out, or that the master cylinder needs a rebuild, but that wouldn't account for the loss of pressure at the lever. It's a nice little Italian mystery, one which I'm looking forward to hearing the solution.
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