ok go easy on me, i haven't really typed out reviews before on here but i thought id tell ya what i think about the EXP clutch

ok so i got a 08 rmz 250 that i have been trying to make into a wicked woods bike witch i think i have buy now, but i just got my Rekluse EXP put in before a camping bike ride.

1st thing, its amazing! being a woods rider and not killing it trying to go up step hill climes or coming in to a corner and going over logs just snap the throttle and you go its sweet.

if you have watched the install video on Rekluse.com its as easy as they show it. the book that they give you shows pictures and its super easy. took me about 20 min. but getting the 1/8 inch pull back on the clutch lever was kinda tough for me. i had to adjust my cable out about an inch. making my stock clutch feel really hard. its hard to pull in. but thats miner knowing that i dont have to use it anymore.

after i got my lever pulling back just right i was shocked to shift in to first and let go of my clutch and have it stay in neutral. . . its sweet. you give it gas and it goes.  so after some driveway riding the next day i loaded up and went and did some real riding. on the trail it feels like im cheating. you could be in third and start to lug a little and you can still grab your clutch lever and rev into higher rmp and pull out of it. or if you coming into a turn really fast and gotta slow down you can step on your back break and your bike wont die first off and right when you give it gas you still have enough momentum to pull you right through it. that is one of my favorite parts about the exp. the corning is amazing. witch brings me to engine breaking, my 2nd favorite thing about it. its hard to describe but its almost like you can control your engine breaking, witch i like. if your going down a gradual hill in third and you stop giving it gas the bike will engine break but slowly start to fade because your starting to go slower then its like your in neutral again. but if you start going to fast again down that same hill just give it gas and how ever high rmp you reved it to you got that much more engine breaking and it starts to go down again. and same thing if you want to stop engine breaking completely just pull in the clutch, wait tell your coasting, like you were in neutral and let it out the lever. then you can start it again buy giving your bike gas and it starts again. plus if your going down a steep hill and feel the need to use both breaks you can with out killing it it will stay in first or second and you could skid your back tire for days, i don't know why you would want to but you can. i hope that makes since because that's the best part about it i think, not over reving your bike down hill or shifting up and worrying about going to fast. plus its fun to use like that, for me it is at least.

also fowling slower riders on xr 100 and drz 125 witch i did alot its nice to be in second gear and just putt around. you never kill it from stalling and once you see that they made it up a step hill or over a nasty root section you still can twist the throttle and mob right over it. i have a 250 but i bet if you have a 450 and your fowling your little kid or your girlfriend /wife it would be nice to not ride your clutch out all day.

so thats about it.

the goods

-never killing it
-faster cornering
-better bike control
-controlling engine breaking  (some might not like that but i do)
-fun!!!

the bads

-no compression start
-forgetting your in gear when you start your bike and giving it gas. i did that once and it shot out right under my legs. hahah so remember to start in neutral or pull in the clutch lever.

hope this helps for those thinking about getting one of the Rekluse Clutches. if your on the fence about it i hope you get it. its amazing and super fun!

Good write up!

Thanks for the review.

BRDYDVS12 said:

I never really thought about that. Too bad they can't build in some sort of override to lock up the clutch for this purpose.

EKhatch said:

Revloc (which I have ridden) had that feature, I've never used the rekluse exp but on paper they look like they work ~ the same and I'd bet that if you re-adjusted your clutch cable to be loose, you may get bump-start-ability with it as well. Then again, rekluse made no mention of this feature (if it could, you would think they'd mention it being that it is a + selling feature) so maybe not. It is nice being able to stop at the top of the hill and just start rolling down, bump start, and be on your way. I guess that's why bike's come with e-start!

So the question to rekluse exp owners would be: if you adjust your clutch cable looser (after proper initial setup) can the bike stall at idle? If so, will it drag the rear wheel afterwards? If the answer to those 2 questions is yes, then one should be able to bump start.

TheLetterJ said:

the answer to those questions is no. at least for the EXP.

you can put your bike in gear and roll it around, its a little tougher then if it was in neutral, but you still can. the easiest way to tell is if it rolls backwards freely, that you can tell right away that your in neutral(if you cant tell by shifting lol)

also if you loosen that cable back up(to make it easier to pull in) it will mess with the install, and your Rekluse wont work. i know they give you stiffer springs and looser springs for the actual exp component. im not sure if that could make the lever feel more loose or more tight, but i know it sill wont make your back tire lock up.

i believe the EXP PRO model is the only one that will do compression start for a swift 899$ or the EXP for 399$.

does anyone have any insite on the other springs rekluse gives you and if looser springs will make my clutch lever pull in easier? its pretty hard to pull in lol

I have a 2011 RMZ450 with the EXP and love it. Works awesome.

I ordered mine on Tuesday from Rekluse. I cant wait to try it out.

you'll love it!!!

Does the EXP come with 3 set of springs or 2?   I figured 2 ....for light and hard.

I believe I seen on there site two different color springs. Red for heavy and Blue for light. something like that.

The  EXP has wedges and I believe you can change them out to change the engagement characteristics of the clutch but dont know if that makes the lever pull any easier.

On a cable clutch bike you could easily adjust the EXP so you could bump start.  Even with a hydro clutch, in an emergency, you could pop your clutch cover and set your gap so you could bump start. (as I was installing mine, I experimented with the full range of adjustments and had it where I could stall the bike if I didn't pull in the clutch)

I think it just comes with 2 sets of springs, red and blue.  The Husaberg default setup was 3 red and 3 blue.  I think you can order different weight wedges to customize even further.

I have had the priviledge of riding this bike set up as it is and i will say the EXP was the icing on cake. I have ridden a few bikes with the Z-Start pro and thought it was nifty but not enough to make make me want to buy one. I think it was a combo of install and adjustment hassle..call me lazy haha. but the EXP was so simple to install and easy to adjust. And on this particular bike it really made me grin the whole time i rode it! ...that is once i got use to the clutch pull great review!

Does anyone have some long term test data about this product. Are you having to replace any parts more often?

Can anyone tell me the difference between the Core EXP ($900), EXP 2.0 ($500), and the Z-star pro ($629)?

robacks, on 23 January 2013 - 07:35 PM, said:

I have Rekluses in 4 bikes, over 500hrs between them and not one single problem with them.

originalmonk, on 23 January 2013 - 09:01 PM, said:

Now, Thats a good reveiw.
It seems a Rekluse coupled with a Smart carb is the new norm.

originalmonk, on 23 January 2013 - 09:01 PM, said:

Going on 5 years with my Z-Pro, no problems here either, 100% bulletproof so far. Only downside is now that I have a second bike, I want one for it too.

3000 miles on my first exp 2.0 with a WR450F, then 7000 miles on another one with the FE570 and not a hitch.

i geared both bike up for a mix of dirt and adventure riding, but found if you gave them a handful of throttle in higher gears the rekluse would slip until it got to around 4000rpm. very annoying so got the heavy wedges which cured the problem. they charge $99 for four bits of metal which was a bit of a rip off, given they claim on the website the basic model is fully adjustable as is... but if you are running typically low dirt bike gearing then the standard wedges seem to suit most riders.

the weight of the wedges does not affect how hard the clutch is to pull in, only the speed the clutch engages at. the rekluse needs heavier clutch springs to work effectively, you can't do much about the heavier feel. the different coloured springs only determine at what revs it starts engaging at.

bump starting with the exp 2.0: yes, if you have a clutch cable just back off the adjustment till the rekluse stops working then just go for it. if hydraulic, as mentioned above you need to pop off the sidecover and adjust the rekluse till it's not working, so just carry the rekluse tools with you on rides. or a set of jumper leads.

i did a write up on the base model rekluse here. most of it is applicable to all models, other bits are berg and hydraulic clutch specific.

in terms of extra wear, with the basic model in effect you are ditching a third of your clutch plates to install the rekluse so at a guess you would wear your clutch plates out a third faster?

Edited by OZ DRZ, 24 January 2013 - 02:26 PM.

I'm looking to get a new clutch next winter and ive just started my research. It seems like the the rekluse is a legit clutch besides the bump start thing. It's between Rekluse and Hinson now. I am leaning torward the Rekluse because it's a little cheaper and the auto clutch sounds amaizing. I was just wondering with the auto clutch when in the air and you want to bring the nose of the bike down do you still have to grab the clutch lever while tapping the back brake or does the auto clutch eliminate haveing to do that too. If so it might be the one to go with for me. That's just one less thing I have to worry about. Of course I'll still probably do it out of habbit though lol.

mbshaw23, on 25 January 2013 - 09:29 AM, said:

You don't have to pull the clutch in when tapping the rear brake. And the bump starting issue, you can just add slack in the clutch cable till the Rekluse disengages, bump start it and then tighten the slack back up. Its very easy to do.....

I've been riding with mine for about a year now and it's crazy how easy it makes ALL riding.
The super traction is the most unexpected and best part of the clutch for me. If it does start to spin (unwanted) just let off a half second and get right back on it again.

I almost think it's too easy sometimes, almost boring, then I do something that seems crazy hard and succeed and stop worrying about how easy the old stuff is.