Oberon Slave Impressions?

[whrami]

Anyone swapped in an obsron clutch slave? I have one on order rather than seal replacement

[ghostrider990]

Subscribed.

I have purchased a similar product in past years for my Aprilia, and the overall improvement was lighter clutch pull, and "slightly" smoother shifting.

Little known fact: the rubber seals on the slave cylinders will deteriorate over time, and can be vastly extended by purging the DOT4 brake fluid, and using DOT5 silicone, also by lubricating the inner seals with Silicone grease.

But be warned....the two fluids are NOT compatible, and need to be used independent of one another.

[MAN OF BLUES]

I'm assuming the choice was made after reading this
http://forum.cog-online.org/concours-14-zg1400-general-chat-and-tech/clutch-lever-tension-adjustment/msg634604/#msg634604

I like that part, but I caution about messing with fluids....
All seals will go bad, no matter which fluid used... that said, a simple flush and fill, won't suffice if you choose DOT5.

Also, the Oberon site specifically notes "for use with Kawasaki approved fluid"...
so if you ran DOT 4, as shipped from factory, which has permeated all the seals in the master cylinder also, and the hoses..
In order to switch to DOT5, you would need to completely replace the master cylinder rubber bits, and clean or replace the lines also, along with the swap... stick to the DOT4, make it simple, one fluid for all the hydraulics, that can be bought at any gas station in an emergency...

[ghostrider990]

I won't disagree MOB. 

IT's a PITA to change those fluids, but I can attest to the longevity of the DOT5, from what was once a high-maintenance item for flush and fill.

What are you - the Engineering Police?? 

all good my friend.

gr

[MAN OF BLUES]

I won't disagree MOB. 

IT's a PITA to change those fluids, but I can attest to the longevity of the DOT5, from what was once a high-maintenance item for flush and fill.

What are you - the Engineering Police?? 

all good my friend.

gr

No, far from EP
Just really practical, and hate to see people over compensate a simple procedure, and add cost..
Nothing wrong with the Oberon thing, I really like the looks, and the cost also..
To me, simple flush by bleeding, and fill, periodically works, and I've got 30+ year old bikes that show it to me..
Its all good tho,
 

[whrami]

I just figured I have ss lines installed now and the lever is failing to return intermittently the last few cam, might as well upgrade!

[whrami]

I made an electronic vacuum bleeder from an electronic vacuum pump that pulls ~20 in/hg and flushed it with a large Valvoline dot4 bottle. I have some belray dot4 waiting to flush again when the cylinder goes in.

Should I rebuild the master? 2008 /w 36k

[Colt45]

I have an Oberon on my Duc.  I like it, a little lighter lever pull, attractive, but in the end, a slave cylinder. 

To my memory Ducati does not/did not sell overhaul parts for brakes or clutch systems.  Oberon is not cheap, but cheaper than Ducati OEM and is said to have better seals.   

[GKreamer]

What about DOT 5.1?  Not silicone based and is supposed to be compatible with DOT 3 & 4.

[MAN OF BLUES]

What about DOT 5.1?  Not silicone based and is supposed to be compatible with DOT 3 & 4.

I guess it all boils down to ...why?
The sytem was designed for dot4
DOT4 fluid is cheap, and available everywhere...
DOT 4 is what you have in your complete brakensystem currently... why do DOTx just for clutch...?
Clutch never sees the temperatures brake fluid does, therefore the "benefit" of high temp reduction of chanced boiling, is lost...

A little reading, in simple terms..

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/brake-fluid

The one thing I find interesting, and have know as a trait of silicone oils, even tho they do not absorb water, its a tradoff as they are highly compressable compared to glycol, glycol/borate fluid.. innessence, this means you need to compress them more, as in more volumn, and pressure, to get the same mechanical output and resultant pressure, say on a piston, as the glycol based fluids.

Pay$$$ for something that really has no benefit, and as a fluid, should be changed periodically anyways, no matter which is used, is a choice you have to make.
Seeing as the clutch system gets actuated 10x or more times as much as the brakes do, and there is more contamination because of this, it only makes sense, to me anyways, to keep it simple and cost effective, while still maintaining OEM spec.
YMMV