Clutch Cable Snap

carib821 · Mar 6, 2015

2013 HS. CC snapped (@ the gear lever) going into 1st gear. 10500 miles in 13 months. Still on stock tires so I'm not riding "hard". Had the bike towed to the dealer and they're saying the cable/labor is not covered under warranty but will ask Ducati to replace. WHAT???

Is it a design issue, poor quality cable or maintenance problem?
I wonder if the new 821 Monster or the 2014-2015 HS's have this issue?

Wish me luck.

pacaver · Mar 6, 2015

That's unusual with such low miles. Do you ride in salty areas? If so, maybe it's a corrosion problem, but my DR650 (which runs through the salty roads of winter) made it to 50K miles before the cable broke at the engine. No evidence of corrosion, probably just wear and tear. My guess in your case is a defective cable.

krolinked · Mar 6, 2015

I had the same issue with a cable snapping at about 3-4000 miles. New bike as well.
After they replaced the cable it has lasted about 20k miles so far. So I think it was a bad cable.

carib821 · Mar 6, 2015

Thanx for the replies. @capaver, I'm on South Florida so no salt issues, so it just may be faulty. My hope is that Ducati replaces under warranty.

Dealer says it look like it was cut. Huh?!!! I was riding when it happened!! Are they suggesting I cut the cable myself??? Wat da Hell!!!!

Any other 2013 bikes with this issue, please chime in, perhaps there is some kind of defect in the cable. Thanx again.

bicyclemarkm · Mar 6, 2015

carib821 said:
Dealer says it look like it was cut. Huh?!!! I was riding when it happened!! Are they suggesting I cut the cable myself??? Wat da Hell!!!!.

If the cable was kinked during installation, the residual stresses in the individual strands can form stress risers that will fatigue under repeated loading. This can easily happen at the attachment of cable and lever. This failure can easily look like shearing (cut). Since others are not seeing this same cable failure, my guess is that this is the cause versus design or materials. Regardless, for a clutch cable to fail in this short amount of time, there was either a manufacturing or assembly defect. Like you said, "cut the cable yourself??? WTH!" paraphrased.

I hope Ducati standy by their product.

gatdammit · Mar 6, 2015

Sux bro.

Most of us on here have had very good experiences with repair work under warranty. Many of us got multiple sets of rotors/pads.

r3monkey · Mar 6, 2015

put "clutch cable" in the search part of the forum . there have been quite a few failures . show the page to the dealer and say it is a common fault so there must be a quality issue with the cables.

wheelieboy1 · Mar 7, 2015

I bought my HS back in Dec and have only had a chance to ride it 2 times due to the weather here in the north east. I joined this forum to see how others like these bikes and to be honest, I'm scared to take it out on the road when the weather breaks. Between rotor issues, neutral sensors, clutch cables, etc.... these things sound about as reliable as the Chinese scooters you buy at Pep Boys. My last bike 2011 Z1000 had just under 10,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I didn't do anything except change the oil, tires and brake fluid. I'm really starting to have buyer's remorse and question the reliability of such an expensive machine.

peoples1234 · Mar 7, 2015

wheelieboy1 said:
I bought my HS back in Dec and have only had a chance to ride it 2 times due to the weather here in the north east. I joined this forum to see how others like these bikes and to be honest, I'm scared to take it out on the road when the weather breaks. Between rotor issues, neutral sensors, clutch cables, etc.... these things sound about as reliable as the Chinese scooters you buy at Pep Boys. My last bike 2011 Z1000 had just under 10,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I didn't do anything except change the oil, tires and brake fluid. I'm really starting to have buyer's remorse and question the reliability of such an expensive machine.

It is like most other model specific forums, people come to ***** and find out info. I wouldn't get to discouraged just off of what you read. What you really want to do is ride, and the weather in breaking in the mid atlantic area. It won't be long.

There are certain design characteristics (brake pad build up, surging/twitchy throttle) that I find frustrating/annoying, but nothing that is a deal breaker for me.

r3monkey · Mar 7, 2015

i have done over 7000 miles on mine ,mainly riding it like an ***** ,and all i have managed to do is break a rear wheel spoke ,most probably due to jumping hump back bridges .

wheelieboy1 · Mar 7, 2015

You are right Peoples1234. Winters seem to get longer and more brutal around here the older I get and I do just want to ride. I got a great deal on my bike just before the holidays and have it just sitting in a heated garage and haven't been able to enjoy it.

Bruder · Mar 8, 2015

A little bit lubrication and it lasts forever! Thats the trick

I'm sure you can afford a new cable only 30 US

Gruss Steffen

appliance821 · Mar 8, 2015

It would be helpful to know where the break is. I doubt it was kinked - the sheath and cable are sold as as a single assembly and the routing is a leisurely loop over the engine.

appliance821 · Mar 8, 2015

wheelieboy1 said:
I bought my HS back in Dec and have only had a chance to ride it 2 times due to the weather here in the north east. I joined this forum to see how others like these bikes and to be honest, I'm scared to take it out on the road when the weather breaks. Between rotor issues, neutral sensors, clutch cables, etc.... these things sound about as reliable as the Chinese scooters you buy at Pep Boys. My last bike 2011 Z1000 had just under 10,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I didn't do anything except change the oil, tires and brake fluid. I'm really starting to have buyer's remorse and question the reliability of such an expensive machine.

Never had a problem with mine - you can't expect european bikes to be engineered to japanese standards. Don't be frightened - just ride.

Use the winter to go over the bike - add a 4mm allen to your kit, some spare fuses and 24mm wrench. Should keep you from being stranded.

I've had 6k miles of trouble free riding.

Bruder · Mar 8, 2015

In this forum, it is always Ducati's fault, never the owners fault! Would be interested to know why people drive Ducati just to complain? I think there is a better way don't buy Ducati! The second sentence is always my Japanese bike was much better!

Please do me a favor buy BMW!!!

Gruss Steffen

peoples1234 · Mar 8, 2015

Bruder said:
In this forum, it is always Ducati's fault, never the owners fault! Would be interested to know why people drive Ducati just to complain? I think there is a better way don't buy Ducati!

Gruss Steffen

I'm not following your logic. How is it the owners fault for the clutch cable snapping? There isn't a clutch fairly that is going around snipping cables, so there must be another common factor...Ducati.

No bike is perfect, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't hold Ducati to a standard (not up on a pedestal). In this day and age, certain things are just not acceptable. If people didn't "complain", then we would all still be riding little Cucciolo's around.

Bruder · Mar 8, 2015

It's always breaks at the top where the clutch lever is! so a little bit oil from time to time and thats it! Thats old!!

With Ducati you need to do a little more than driving!

The quality of the complain makes it!!!

Gruss Steffen

AussieHyper · Mar 8, 2015

appliance821 said:
Use the winter to go over the bike - add a 4mm allen to your kit, some spare fuses and 24mm wrench. Should keep you from being stranded.

I've had 6k miles of trouble free riding.

Quick question...what's the 24mm wrench for? Do you mean open ended spanner or would some good multigrips do the trick?

zippy49 · Mar 8, 2015

Stay calm and do your maintenance

Steffen is apparently having a bad day, but he's basically correct. If that cable broke right at the lever end, then it was from corrosion and lack of lubrication. The barrel end must be free to rotate in the lever, or it will always cause this kind of failure. These bikes do seem to have a problem with corrosion and water entry, but I suspect that some owners use too much pressure when they wash the bike or are careless about maintenance, especially in wet conditions. That would include lubing the clutch cable end before 10k miles.

When some of the magazine guys whined about the clutch action, that started the criticism. Then we have the complainers on the forums, like baying hounds. The end result is that dealers are having trouble selling them and resale values have plummeted. I'm with Steffen, you can ask for help but please quit yer bitchin'. Or go elsewhere, please.

zippy49 · Mar 8, 2015

AussieHyper said:
Quick question...what's the 24mm wrench for? Do you mean open ended spanner or would some good multigrips do the trick?

I think that's for getting to the fuse block under the LH fairing. You have to hold the flat nut thing on the back of the mounting bolt. I'd think an adjustable wrench or a pair of slip-joint pliers would do fine. Yes, you can get to it without removing the fairing, but not until you get a good look at it first.

Clutch Cable Snap

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