Hello from Cheshire

[Conman]

Hello from North West England.

Got my 950 from Ducati Manchester in June in exchange for an F800GS. Done a couple of trips to Europe and I also commute on the bike in all weathers (except for snow and very icy) and I have ridden in all weathers 

So far it's been excellent - not perfect - butmuch better than I hoped so I'm very happy 

[buzzardbilly]

Hi Conman and welcome to the Forum . Agree  it is a good all rounder -  It might be interesting to hear about the bits you don't like about the 950 to see if it matches with comments from others

[Murf46]

Welcome to the forum

[thenozzle]

Hi and welcome to the forum Conman 

[neilb]

  to the forum, Conman

[Dave G]

Hi Conman. Welcome to the MTS club.
I'm from Cheshire too so will have to watch out for each other 😀

[Xtourer1200]

Welcome,
enjoy the ride.

[Conman]

Originally Posted by buzzardbilly

Hi Conman and welcome to the Forum . Agree  it is a good all rounder -  It might be interesting to hear about the bits you don't like about the 950 to see if it matches with comments from others

Hello everyone and thanks for the welcome.

I guess my main gripe (and I've been a bit of a moaner about this) is the combination of a clutch that won't slip until it's hot and a gearbox that won't move between 1-N-2 unless it's very hot. I spoke to Ducati Manchester about this and they said the old "they're all like that sir". By that he means that it was a problem even on the Hypermotard (or Strada I can't remember which)  from where the engine is derived. I believe Ducati have even re-designed the clutch but I'm still struggling.

It's not so much a problem when I'm touring because on the open road it's fine. Commuting is a different matter as I'm crawling through traffic pretty much all the way apart from a 15 minute blast. In the summer, after 15 minutes the clutch is fine and the gearbox is not a problem and I've got used to it now. However in the cold weather (I've been out regularly in -3C to +6C) the engine cools right down and the gearbox I'm guessing is even colder so 1st gear becomes nigh on impossible without killing the engine.

Now the good news! I decided to have a go at sorting it myself and the first thing I did was to adjust the clutch cable half a turn tighter. What a difference. Why didn't I do this earlier, I've rebuilt bikes and ridden for years so it's not like it's all new to me  The clutch feels more controllable and 1-N-2 is possible if stiff and very clunky. Mind you I've not ridden it much over Xmas so I'm not counting chickens but signs are good and it'll be the icing on the cake as far as the bike's concerned 

Also operating the heated grips is a PITA    

[neilb]

Why this is a problem on some bikes and not others, I have not a clue. Within the first 100 miles of ownership I was not giving any thought to the gearbox; no problem at all with changing up, down and finding neutral, even in temperatures hovering above freezing. Over the past 4500 miles it has developed in to one of the slickest gearboxes I've used. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

[buzzardbilly]

I am sure it gets better over time for most Ducati's   - I did have a problem getting into neutral but this gradually went away as was completely solved by the time it got to  2000 miles. My false neutral when changing down from 6th to 5th also appears to have gone away once I reached 3000 miles .

Getting the right clutch feel/slip has never been a problem on my bike even when cold although I did adjust the free play early on