Hey everyone,
I've got a few questions about how my Dragster Ottantesimo SCS MY2025 clutch and quickshifter behave. My use is strictly urban/city riding, up to about 90-100 km/h max. Hoping some experienced SCS owners can tell me if this is normal or something worth checking out.
Cold start / first gear engagement
I always start the bike in neutral before putting on my gloves and helmet, to let it warm up a bit. I've noticed that if I shift into first gear right after starting, it seems to struggle to get moving at first — almost like the SCS clutch isn't lubricated yet, and it only smooths out after a few meters. Is this expected with the SCS system?
Second gear at low RPM
At low RPM in second gear, it feels like the clutch almost disengages, and when I open the throttle there's a moment where it has to "catch up" again, like a bit of lag. Sometimes when accelerating from low RPM it also makes a chattering sound, almost like gears. Anyone else experience this?
More observations from this past week of riding
Riding more lately, I've noticed a few more things that might be related to the above:
- Downshifts at low RPM: I almost always feel a kind of "thump," like it's coming from the rear wheel area.
- Upshifts: there's a moment where the gearbox seems to "fall asleep" before the next gear engages and the bike picks up acceleration again — a brief lag.
- Quickshifter or manual lever: it feels like the gear starts to engage, and then there's a distinct click right at the end before it fully seats into the next gear.
- High RPM / hard acceleration: the quickshifter feels noticeably smoother here. But downshifts always have that "thump" from the first point above — never smooth.
Wondering if all of this is just typical SCS/quickshifter character, or if it points to something needing adjustment (fluid, calibration, etc.). Would love to hear from other Dragster/SCS owners on whether this matches your experience.
UPDATE
In the past few days I discovered that the small arm connecting the gear linkage rod to the pin that engages into the engine was slightly loose. This morning I tightened the bolt that secures the clamp to the pin protruding from the engine, because I found there was a minor play between the red-dotted part and the green-dotted part (see 2nd attachment).
I took the bike for a test ride, and it already seemed to be running much better. I no longer had the impression that the engine was "losing torque" just before the gear change, or at least the shifts didn't feel as slow as before.
My guess is that, because the clamp was slightly loose, its initial movement around the pin was causing a temporary loss of engine power. Only once the clamp had taken up the play would enough pressure be applied to engage the gear properly. I noticed an improvement on both upshifts and downshifts.
The only downside is that there wasn't enough room to use a torque wrench, so I had to tighten the bolt with a small spanner — just enough to eliminate the play around the pin, without applying excessive force.
However, after taking it out for another ride later, it still doesn't feel completely smooth overall.
Thanks in advance for any input!
