Leaking clutch cylinder

[The Dark Side]

Yes the clutch slave cylinder gave up. I replaced it today on warranty but I still fear it might leak again. Anybody knows if this is a comon problem on 2003 Monster 620?

[spacemonkey]

Common on all of 'em aint it?

[crust]

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Spareshack do an alternative clutch cylinder

:) Crust

[M900nster]

I haven't looked closely at an M620i but if the slave cylinder is anything like the one on the M900 or ST4, I've had experience alright:
My '99 M900 started leaking fluid from the clutch slave cylinder before the machine had done 4000 miles. The cylinder was replaced under warranty, but I didn't keep the bike long enough to know how long the replacement cylinder lasted: I part exchanged the M900 for a '99 ST4 (my wife and I wanted to do more touring and the ST promised pillion comfort and luggage capacity). But guess what? The ST4 developed the same clutch leak! I could have had this sorted under warranty too, but I had no reason to believe the replacement cylinder/or seal would last long, plus I'd seen an ad. for the TechMoto clutch slave cylinder which promised a lighter action as well as better seals. It was not a cheap thing (@ £105 I seem to remember) but the TechMoto cylinder does exactly what it says in the ad. I even measured the difference in lever pressure with a spring balance and it does take approx 30% less pull to bring the lever back to the bar: This is a boon in heavy traffic! The thing also has a properly fitting rubber boot to keep road dirt, water, etc (flung from the chain) from getting into the cylinder. It is the ingress of muck that causes the standard cylinder to corrode, become rough, and shred the seal. 5000 miles and two and a half years on, the Techmoto cylinder is still giving good service.
The ST4 is a really great bike for distance work, but I was missing the Monster, so I studied the bikes for sale ads, and before long found myself the owner of a very nice 1996 M900. Now I've got two Ducatis so I'm a very lucky boy! My 'new' Monster's service history included an invoice for the fitting of a new slave cylinder piston seal and, you guessed it, it was leaking again. The clutch action on the '96 bike is lighter than that of both my previous ('99) M900 and the ST4, so I decided that before I go the the expense of another TechMoto cylinder I'd see if I could stop the original leaking. I took the cylinder apart and polished it inside to a mirror finish. The seal still looked good so I put it back to see if it would work. The body of the standard slave cylinder doesn't actually have a lip for the rubber boot (or gaiter) locate over (it just covers the end of the clutch push rod and sort of presses up against the cylinder), so I smeared a good dollop of anti-corrosion grease around the piston, cylinder, pushrod, gaiter, etc. as I assembled things. I only did this a couple of months ago, but so far it seems to be doing the trick.
Hope the above is useful.
All the best
Henry

[Pedro]

Early 900s have a crap design cyclinder which can be swapped for 748/998 versions - much better design. You also need the pushrod from the same model. Well worth doing

Not sure about 620s can't remember what the cylinder looks like........

Ped

[Will]

I'm not aware of the clutch slave cylinder being a issue on the 620 - although I understand that some earlier Monsters did have this problem.

I have now done 12,500 miles in just under 2 years and apart from 'flaky paint' on the crankcases the bike has been just fine - I do pamper it though and never never take short cuts when it comes to servicing it.

Will

[The Dark Side]

Thanks for the info guys.

I did some research and found that spareshack sells a replacement clutch slave cylinder and also a replacement slave cylinder piston with 10 years anti leakage warranty. So if it leaks again i'm going for one of those.

Anyway except for the leakage the bike has been problem free for a litle less than a year and 10500 km and the clutch feel is just as i want it. Not too heavy or too light. :)


And a reminder: Ducati uses hydraulic clutches on ALL its models while some Japs still use conversional clutches on their 1000 cc Supersports. :lol: :twisted: :lol: