Ducati SuperSport Forum banner

Clutch lever misalignment

3K views 26 replies 8 participants last post by  sirmium 
#1 ·
Since I bought the bike I noticed that clutch lever seems misaligned and uncomfortable. Can anyone tell me if this is normal?

I don't see anything bent or out of place, lever or lever attachment point. Lever is adjusted all the way down, but when pulled in it goes over the bar, if I push down on it its still not in the middle of the bar. There is some play in it but not enough to justify this. Thanks in advance.

This is pulled all the way in and up. This is what happens when riding as your fingers naturally pull in and up.
41953


This is all the way in and pushed down.
41954
 
See less See more
2
#2 ·
Did you buy your bike used? I would think that something must have been bent in order for that to happen. Mind you, the lever is cheap and easily replaced. The damage could be further up at the lever hinge area. If the clutch lever has taken a hit and replaced, they might have missed the damage at the hinge.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I bought bike used, I can't see damage if there is any. Bike has only 4800 miles, no sign of any damage anywhere whatsoever, this is why it's confusing to me.

What's my best solution? Replace hinge or perch, or replace whole assembly? I assume ton of people have spare levers, not sure about hinge, few perches on the ebay.
Any aftermarket options that are better since I'm already replacing?
 
#4 ·
I'd try to reason what is bent and what not. Original lever is cheap and aftermarket lever is an option too, but you might have to replace other parts to get the lever to align.Play is not indication of damage, mine has about centimeter/half an inch up/down. But lever aligns with handlebar.
 
#5 ·
i just took it apart, nothing that looks bent there. Just seems too much play. I ordered whole assembly(lever, perch, cable...) for $45 of ebay. That way i can compare and troubleshoot(and have spare parts).

I also need to order new handlebars, need to push handles about 10 degrees forward.


From the pictures, can you tell if anything is missing? like another washer?
41956
41957
41958
 
#10 ·
Did you also check the very small section of the lever that inserts at the pivot point? The grip part could be straight and the pivot section just a bit off, not obvious, that is exaggerated by the other end of the lever.

Here’s how mine looks fully depressed... sorry for bad pic, but can see proper alignment. Something is definitely off on yours.

 
#12 ·
The tolerances of shift levers vary from bike to bike. My stock clutch lever worked fine, but when I upgraded to the Ducati Performance lever it would not actuate smoothly. It was about 0.2mm too thick. I had to sand off the difference from the pivot point of the replacement lever. Perhaps the previous owner expanded or widened the lever grip portion to accept an aftermarket lever. Or the existing stock lever was hit from above and widened the grip where the lever pivots.

Without squeezing the lever, does it move up and down? It should not move more than 2-3mm.
 
#14 · (Edited)
@makemann here is the measurement from ground to tip of the lever without squeezing it. about 1-1.5cm delta, but perpendicular to handle is bit worse(since it's hypotenuse of the triangle).

41977
41980


And part i orderd from ebay turned out to be a dud. Completely bent, although less loose in the perch compared to my lever. I need to check why.

41981
 
#18 · (Edited)
@makemann here is the measurement from ground to tip of the lever without squeezing it. about 1-1.5cm delta, but perpendicular to handle is bit worse(since it's hypotenuse of the triangle).



And part i orderd from ebay turned out to be a dud. Completely bent, although less loose in the perch compared to my lever. I need to check why.
That seems to be way too much movement. As @Matt_SSS asked above, does the clutch lever still have the round plastic shim installed?

I took my stock lever and measured it for reference. If yours matches (9.17mm or just under 3/8”) then the lever clamp is too wide.
41986
 
#19 ·
41989

Lever
41990

Opening between bushings
41991

Opening at the perch end.

I just did some measurements of lever and opening. Comparing opening to the spare one I got is similar also lever thickness is similar, although plastic bushings do seem
little bit thinner . I do finally see very slight bend too, ever so slight but gets exaggerated at the lever end.


And bend, trying to visualize
41992
 
#23 ·
So new (used) lever came in, old one is definitely bent now that I took it out and compared. That fixed one issue, although it still feels looser than I would like it to. I will also swap plastic microswitch assembly to see if it makes it any better. (If it doesn't fix it, I think I will put plastic shim in there to tighten it up @JayS )

Old on the left, new on the right
42047
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top