Four things that don’t get much publicity:
First, you can remove the rubber gasket and space the stock clutch cover with the brass bushings embedded in the gasket instead of running an open clutch cover. So you get the full-noise effect without exposing your clutch to damage or quite so much road crap and rain. This works better on older (1998 and older) models, with covers that didn’t have sound deadening material in them. Obviously you can get an “undeadened” cover from an older bike if you want to do the mod, they are mostly universal fitting. I prefer the sound of this setup to my old carbon fibre cover and most open covers - it’s loud enough to be heard but not too loud, and it resonates nicely inside the space of the cover. And then you have the peace of mind of a solid metal cover protecting your precious clutch pack. If you want to space the cover out further, you can get 5/16″ OD brass plumbing grommets from any hardware store to replace the teeny gasket rings.
Second, and this tip comes straight from a former Ducati race mechanic, take off two of the six clutch springs on the pressure plate. Obviously remove two that are diagonal so it is even. This isn’t pretty if you have an open cover, I know, but you don’t need the force of six springs to handle the torque output - four is more than enough. So you can reduce a bit of pull effort and shave a few ounces (grams?) off the clutch pack at the same time, for free!
Third, regular cleaning of the clutch plates is critical for making them last, but there is a little trick to add life to the clutch pack. If you pull out a partly worn clutch and look very closely at the friction plates, you will notice one side wears slightly faster than the other side. Take note of which side this is (I forget if it is facing the inside or the outside, it’s been a while since I did it last) and simply flip each friction plate over after cleaning so the worn side is facing the opposite way. This will even out the wear on the friction plates if you do it regularly.
Fourth, If you want to increase the lever travel, I discovered this little trick. You need to have Brembo adjustable levers to do this. Instead of lining up the adjustment wheel with the numbers, just put it halfway between 1 and 2 (1 being the furthest out). It will give you another 1/2″ of travel, which is a significant difference. On most adjustable levers it would just slip out of position, but on the Brembo levers it will stay in place between two cogs.
Cheers
Jason Cormier