Wet clutch or dry clutch?

ofdave

Member
they feel the same but wet clutches do better if you do a lot of low speed stuff where you are slipping the clutch a lot
like in the "friction zone" on the ride like a pro videos. Wet clutches don't burn (glaze) as easy
 

Merlin III

New member
Yes, that seems to be what the experts say, but with my BMWs with dry clutches, I have never had a problem. As I said, good subject.
 

randy1149

New member
Wet clutches have the advantage of the cooling by the oil it's in. The down side you can't use friction additive oil to get better MPG... they will slip.
 

ofdave

Member
I never had an issue on my BMW either (2002 R1200C), which I never should have sold-I miss that one.
Interesting, the adjacent county to where I live used Harley police bikes for years. About 5-6years ago they switched to BMWs. R1200RTP
They were going through clutches in only a few thousand miles. That led to some retraining on low speed riding and the problem went away. In 2014 the R1200RTPs they began getting didn't have any problem as BMW went to wet clutches in 2014 I think, when the R1200R got the water cooled motor that the R1200GS got earlier.
Most of us who ride "normally" would likely never have a problem with a dry clutch bike. I think Ducati still has them on several models as does Moto Guzzi and probably several others.
 
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Merlin III

New member
I think the original thinking was that it is (was) a bad idea to mix clutch residue with engine oil that circulates through your engine. I rebuilt a clutch on my BSA Victor in 1970 and it was messy in that the throughout bearing had disintegrated.
 
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