First ride with Rekluse, WOW!!!

[YamahaWR450FMike]

Why do those who are blind continue to offer opinions on colors? It is like writing a note to a person born deaf and asking how they like rock'n roll.

If you don't have a Rekluse don't opine or write an baseless opinion. Ask questions and gain knowledge. As you can see on this thread those who have experience love it, those who don't just sound stupid. BTW, you still SHIFT with a Rekluse...geez. ?

ok, well maybe I'm misunderstanding how the rekluse clutch works.

[ncmountainman]

its basically a centrifugal clutch,you still use all of your gears. the only thing it replaces is hand clutching,which can still be had with a manual override ?

[sorbs]

Okay, now that is a good way to get into this thread.

Imagine having both front and rear brakes on your handle bars like a mountain bike and still by your right foot (advise getting the dual brake kit). Also, being able to stop while going up a hill to get around a log or some other obstacle without needing to think about feathering the clutch to keep the motor running. If you ride technical stuff you'll be through it, sitting on your butt, while your buddies wonder where you went as they stall, overheat and fall down. Yes, it makes that big of a difference.

It is not an automatic transmission. It is an auto clutch that gives you the perfect shift (if installed correctly) every time and puts you in neutral when you come to a stop keeping the motor running. You still need to kick the shift lever to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th gear manually but that annoying left hand pull on the handlebar is gone forever.

[holeshot]

I don't know about Bubba, but Reed runs a slipper clutch on his bike. Not exactly the same as a Rekluse, but close.

Jerry

A slipper clutch and an auto clutch are two different animals. The slipper clutch partially disengages when you're decelerating (slowing down) to decrease the engine braking effect that four strokes have. Some riders consider "four stroke engine braking" undesirable.

[jackofall]

Mountainman or anyone: I just installed my first Rekluse and need some advice. My bike stalls when I try to stop. I've made adjustments on the spring and bolt as far as I can, but it still happening. I did the break-in procedure recommended by Rekluse and it got a little better, but still stalls at a stop unless I keep my foot on the brake and the RPMs up some. Any help would be appreciated.

[sorbs]

You need to check your clutch plates gap (RTFM the install guide for tolerances) or your clutch plates are too worn.

[Alley Cat]

I don't know about Bubba, but Reed runs a slipper clutch on his bike. Not exactly the same as a Rekluse, but close.

Jerry

I hope your joking.......

[ncmountainman]

Mountainman or anyone: I just installed my first Rekluse and need some advice. My bike stalls when I try to stop. I've made adjustments on the spring and bolt as far as I can, but it still happening. I did the break-in procedure recommended by Rekluse and it got a little better, but still stalls at a stop unless I keep my foot on the brake and the RPMs up some. Any help would be appreciated.

if your bike is running rich the rekluse seems to amplify the problem and will stall at low speeds,thtas if everything else is correct ?

[Irregular Pulse]

I have been told (this is my first clutch machine ever) that you don't really need to even use the clutch while riding if you're shifting. I used to have an auto clutch on an old 4 wheeler and am interested in this rekluse some day for my WR450. Just curious as to not needing to shift while riding a manual clutch then why have an auto clutch??

[Chas_M]

Just curious as to not needing to shift while riding a manual clutch then why have an auto clutch??

For the same reasons you need a manual clutch. The auto clutch more or less takes the place of the manual clutch. Think about when you have to use a manual clutch. The auto clutch does the clutch slipping for you.

[BWB63]

Just a look at the Rekluse used in another type of bike. In the Yamaha 400~450's it works well but.....

For the tricked out XR650R -> What a piece of junk!!!!!!!!! It lasted less then a year in race conditions. 1200 miles. I know there are riders out there that like it for trail riding and I have said, 'it works for that" so before the few of you flame on me that use it for that, I want to say for racing it sucks!!!!!!!!! Two bikes the CRF250 (bored) and 680cc XR650r with cam have had nothing but, trouble. The XR650R Finlay busted off the tabs of the clutch basket. I talked to Al Youngworth many times and he seems like a very nice guy. I called within the 30 day to return it but, he talked me into keeping it and he would send me a newer model to try that disengages the pressure plate like a real clutch. He didn't and I called many times. I never got a newer better nothing. In the end I had a clutch basket get destroyed and it is defiantly caused by the Rekluse clutch. It applies the pressure mostly at the top of the basket and not evenly over all the disks. I am not happy with the out come and think that I was right in trying to return this clutch for what I was going to apply if for. So, in the end, if you are going to race your bike or put it through it full potential Don't use this Clutch!

Well, I am sure I have lugged the bike at times but, not in higher gears. I do keep the rev's up and am usually all on or all off "balls to the wall" rider. I do not think I should have to completely change my riding style to make an after market piece of junk work while racing. The shock from coming out of orbit and going to WOT is what ripped this clutch basket apart. Would never happen with a stock clutch setup....never. I am not going to baby the bike coming off a four foot drop off into a wash because the clutch can't handle it. It was nothing but trouble to drop two in the heat of the moment and this time the clutch (Z-start) is fully responsible for the destruction. It applies almost all the pressure on the disk just below the pressure plate. I was in the air off the side of a hill mid~upper third got about 4+ feet of air from the bottom of the tires and landed 54 feet from take off, on landing I grabbed the throttle to lock (WOT) and the z-clutch applied all the pressure to the first plate and that plate took out all the posts off the clutch basket. Yes, I agree if you are not going to uses all the bikes power in every and anything coming at you this clutch will work but, anything close to either extreme (lugging or racing) forget this junk and move on. Al Youngworth has a good idea on the clutch I never got and I would have loved to have had it but, I was forgotten and I got tired of calling trying to make it happen. He didn't keep his word and I was dropped. If it would have come about and worked it would have been good advertising but, this clutch stinks on the DRZ400E also. Pastrona used it for a while and had nothing but, trouble shifting. DRZ and XR650R do not have a tranny that was designed to handle clutch-less shifts well. The CR, CRF, KTM are also in the rpm's almost always, very few times will I find myself anywhere near 3000rpm or below on these higher strung bikes so, wearing the clutch disks or scorching them isn't as much of an issue. One other major issue I have with the Rekluse is the throw-out bearing! This was way toasted on mine and caused much play in the pressure plate. Not designed to handle the bike just made to work with what they made. They have a good Idea and made it work without infringing on other patents not engineered something to withstand the full power of our bike. I am mostly unhappy because I was led along so I wouldn't return the thing inside the 30 days of the money back guarantee. I believed he was making a tricked out auto clutch and I was going to get to test it. I called, wanted to used it in three different Baja races but, in the end it all turned out to be a snow job.

Just to give insight to the throw out bearing, I did have a clutch perch adjuster - thing. So, yes, I would try to use it to slip the clutch at times and hammer it when I needed it to down shift now, in a hurry, hoping it would help release the clutch sooner. It does help but, at break neck speeds sometimes you want the clutch to disengage now!

[byggd]

WOW.....that's only the second time I have heard of someone being unhappy with this product and the FIRST time I have ever heard of anyone being unhappy with their customer service. No offense to the Honda XR series but compared to the WR series it is old technology and I would venture to say my 02 426 puts out darn near if not just as much torque as the 650. Maybe there was a problem with your bike in the first place?? ?

[Chas_M]

I have heard of this happening a number of times with big bore high torque bikes. What's the sense of having an auto clutch if it doesn't allow use of the engine's low and mid range torque without burning up the clutch plates.

[jackofall]

Put my Rekluse in a couple days ago. I had to make some adjustments as it broke in and now I LOVE IT. Went for my first ride today, it is amazing how nice it is in the tough technical climbs. I was able to crawl over ledges and faces. The rekluse combined with my trials tire has turned a great bike into an awesome bike. I don't think I will ever own another bike without installing the Rekluse as soon as I get it. It was worth every penny! ?

[ncmountainman]

well my big a$$ races it and it did have a issue with a stock basket(only after a year of hammering though?) which has been addressed with a new billet piece that has not worn at all,in fact between that and their new anodized pressure plate; i've not had to adjust the install gap after 3 races and multiple rides(all new clutch) which is kinda amazing and just tells me that they are making efforts to improve what they have. anyone thats ever ridden with me knows i pound the $hit out of my bike and do not baby anything. my yz450 is modded about as much as possible without going big bore. i'm sure if you consider the forces that my 6'4" 290 lb frame puts on the bike it would be equivilent to what a normal sized pro rider would be giving it (even though i'm middle of the pack B class) the rekluse may take a little more effort to maintain than a stock clutch but if maintained its fairly bullet proof. as far as changing your riding style; yes i did have to a little but only because you can find extra speed by doing so. it smooths things out so well and makes riding so much easier that you find yourself going faster. if anyones ever been to a GNCC and watched yeehaw soliman(not saying he runs a rekluse),he is so smooth he actually looks like he's going slower than everyone else....smooth is fast ?

[ChaseJJ]

I've been running(mainly XC/Enduro racing) a Revloc(same as a Rekluse functionally) equipped KTM525 for 4 years and can tell you that unless you are an accomplished A/Expert rider that uses the clutch properly and to their advantage(I have not seen many that truly use it properly) you will go faster with less effort with an AC than without one.

I rebuilt the motor at 1100hrs and the gears and clutch basket were in excellent shape. I NEVER use the clutch to shift anyway. I learned when I was a kid to shift by just a small backoff of the throttle to relieve the pressure on the gearbox to intiate a shift.

The additional deal clincher is the left hand rear brake kit(LHRB). This is the BEST advantage to using the AC. I would not ride without it any longer and most people who have any time on the LHRB cannot go back to a bike without it. It is the most advantage to anyone riding technical terrain, the more extreme the bigger advantage.

I cannot wait to get my 2007 WR450 with a Rekluse AC and LHRB with the small manual clutch lever. This should be even better than my 525EXC which is restricted to the LHRB only due to the hydraulic clutch setup.

All this said, if you spend lots of time on MX/SX tracks an AC at this time is probably not for you. I do know that most of the MFGs are testing their own versions that promise better performance in the future for all applications including MX/SX.

As far as having more fun using a clutch than riding with an AC? I just don't think you can dislike it if you have spent any time in technical terrain with it.

[Chas_M]

I've been running(mainly XC/Enduro racing) a Revloc(same as a Rekluse functionally) equipped KTM525 for 4 years

Revloc same as a Rekluse functionally......Not quite. The Revloc auto clutch has been proven to work better than the Rekluse on big bore bikes.

[ChaseJJ]

Revloc same as a Rekluse functionally......Not quite. The Revloc auto clutch has been proven to work better than the Rekluse on big bore bikes.

I cannot speak to the reliability of the Rekluse only to the Revloc(zero issues). I think "functionally" they operate in the same way with centrifugal force advancing the pressure plate with increasing force related to RPM.

Obviously, the way in which they address clutch basket forces is night and day different.

That is an argument I know is like oil discussions in these forums. So I want to avoid that if possible.

Rekluse is a respected company that stands behind their products as is Revloc.

Rekluse seems to be more strongly marketed than Revloc and is certainly more affordable.

I am not aware of the "proof" that Revloc is better with big bore motors. Where is this located? I'd like to see it.

[Chas_M]

I am not aware of the "proof" that Revloc is better with big bore motors. Where is this located? I'd like to see it.

I am aware of numerous instances where the RevLoc has proven to work better than the Rekluse in big bore engines, several of which I have personally witnessed and verified. This situation has been well documented in ThumperTalk, KTMtalk and Husaberg.org.

The main problem area with the Rekluse, at least in its current configuration, is that the clutch plates don't lock up tight enough during mid rpm situations.

For several of these instances, click

here, here, and here.

[dirtysouth]

Actually I have heard it is breaking into the racing circuit. Picture this, at the start of a race you click it into second and when the gate drops you pin the throttle and smoke everyone into the first turn ?

Bump second....Go to third!!!!!!!! I do it from stop lights and I don't even ride the Rekluse or whatever...Just nail it and go...People behind me get little quik...This info seems pretty convincing though..I may have to convert.