So this may sound stupid, but here goes. My friend was telling me that some folks get rid of their clutch alltogether and go with a rekluse with front and rear brake levers on the bars. Sort of like a mountain bike. The reason this topic interests me is because I am a big downhiller getting into mx. Seems like it would work well for me. Any thoughts? I dont mind the clutch and am slowly getting used to the controls. I was just curious on this setup.

wouldn't the front and rear breaks be opposite of a mtb? Even if i got a rekluse (NEVER going to happen), i don't think i'd want to get rid of the clutch. I have heard people on here who like them for mx, i've never tried one for moto or trails.

i don't know of anyone that has a Recluse that got rid of the manual clutch, i have 2 of em.. one on each crf450r.. You still need a manual clutch.

I *think* what the OP meant was getting rid of the clutch lever altogether. A Rekluse doesn't "get rid of the clutch"; it modifies the existing one (or replaces a lot of the clutch's parts.....).

And some folks do indeed take off their clutch lever & set their bars up with a a left-hand rear brake (LHRB), while keeping the front brake in it's normal spot on the rt. side.

Am I correct in assuming that's what you wanted to do, Brawwwp?

Jimmie

Yea, you can pull the clutch lever and put in a rear brake.

Honestly, you can still feather the clutch with a rekluse, so if you owned one, generating drive can still be done the old-fashion way. So for me, I'd keep the clutch lever in tact.

If I owned a 4 stroke, the first thing I'd buy is a rekluse, I think its an amazing product and well worth the price of admission. I think its not worth while in a 2 stroke because they already have very little engine breaking, easy to use clutches (in most cases) and are easy to re-start when stalled.

Thanks for the input. I figured that would be the answer. I'm gonna leave it be for now and become a good rider the way everyone has. I'll use the clutch!

You should really dide a bike with one before you decide. Leave all the "good riders don't need one" bs where it belongs(in the trash) and check it out. I rode a CRF with one and swore my next bike would have one on it. I installed one on mx KX a few weeks after I got it and couldn't be happier. Pair it with a Barnett basket with the stainless steel inserts and you have a smooth and bulletproof clutch. I ride mostly MX wth some desert and trail riding mixed in, and it works perfectly in all situaions.

wes513v, on 19 January 2012 - 05:05 PM, said:

Could not agree more, wes513v! There are a lot of fast riders out there using these things for a reason!

I've ridden a bike with a Rekluse, and wound up really liking it. I had a preconcieved notion that I would not like them, but spending some time with one changed my mind. The Core 2.0 model, or the Core EXP (my friend has the one that has the complete clutch basket from Rekluse; whichever model that one is.... ) works just like a conventional clutch at the lever on starts, "clutching it" situations, & etc.. It has kept him from killing an engine previously prone to flame outs (2007 CRF450) out on the track, and works even better for that in off-road races/trail riding situations.

For the life of me, the only 2 possible situations that I may not like the Rekluse would be Situation #1) Not having compression braking on some hills. On slick, slimy, muddy downhills, I have come to like the compression braking on my Yamaha. And situation #2) may possibly be that you can't bump start the bike with one. On the other hand, the bike ain't as likely to die/flame out with the auto clutch, so that point may well be a wash......

Now, if the original poster is simply wanting to have his dirt bike feel similar in controls to his mountain bike, converting his left side handlebar control to a LHRB could be a good way to go......

Jimmie

I have a core exp on my ktm 350 that is now a 400 and its awesome

Really you just forget its there and just use the clutch as normal, but where it shines is where through fatigue you forget to modulate the clutch properly in a corner or stomp too hard on the rear brake where you would normally stall, it saves you !!

Im not gettin any younger and want to enjoy my limited time at the track so it was worth every cent IMO, you still shift, fan and slip the clutch as per normal. The only thing that sometimes is a pain is making sure the free play gain is right in the lever but once you get that sorted its fine.

I've got a core exp 2.0 in my bike and i notice the clutch lever is stiff to pull in which will likely cause arm pump earlier, anybody else notice a stiff clutch pull with their rekluse?

And how would I make the clutch pull lighter?

Mr. Neutron, on 19 January 2012 - 06:41 PM, said:

is there any noticible difference between the core exp and exp2.0 feel wise?

billbanshee, on 02 February 2012 - 10:33 AM, said:

The only bike I've ridden with a Rekluse is that '07 CRF450.His Rekluse is the Core EXP model. It was somewhere around $800+ in cost. Came with a clutch center hub part, springs, plates, the expanding ring (EXP?) portion of the equation, a clutch cover, and a few other odds & ends. My ridin' buddy said the Core EXP is a little more "durable" for harder riding/racing & such. The $400 EXP 2.0 expanding ring comes with just the ring, and I believe, some springs. You remove several stock friction & drive plates, and the space where those plates were gets taken up byy the expanding ring unit. So the EXP 2.0 actually has less clutch plates in it than stock. Most feel the Core EXP, with the extra plates/ longer center hub/cover to allow more plates is the more durable of the two. But really, the feel and the way both of those clutches work should be pretty much the same.....

The clutch pull on the Honda behaved pretty much normally. My own '06 YZ450F (no Rekluse, yet....) has a pretty light pull at the lever. The Honda's seemed to take a little more muscle to pull in, but not excessively so. I'm certain the Honda's pull already was stiffer than that of my Yammie. You can still fan the clutch lever to get the revs to pick up when, say, coming out of a corner with a jump right after that corner, going up a jump face, or whatever. Works just like a normal clutch. One thing I wish I'd tried was a few practice starts. They're supposed to be really good for that......

Hope this helps some!
Jimmie

Mr. Neutron, on 19 January 2012 - 06:41 PM, said:

you still have normal compression braking above idle, the only time it's a problem is if your bike it shut off or your rpm is so low the clutch does not engage

I keep all mine set to tug at idle, which means on downhills I have never had one loose compression braking

I have two 300s, each with a Rekluse (Z start pro) and a left handed rear brake (LHRB). I mounted the LHRB just above the clutch lever so it's the dominant lever, took me about 5 minutes to get used to it, and yes, I do ride a mountain bike and I am able to switch brain cells from between the KTM and the mtn bike. The LHRB makes my KTM like a 300 cc mountain bike, and steep downhills are something I now look forward to instead of fear as I can scrub just enough speed with the rear brake instead of relying 98% on the front brake.
For you mtn bikers - when you decend gnarly stuff are you more on the rear brake or the front?
Thought so..

Oh yeah, the Rekluse has increased the fun factor as well....

dyrtmon, on 02 February 2012 - 06:23 PM, said:

Hey, mind sharing your setup? I thought in order to have a LHRB with the ktm hydro clutch, you have to get rid of you clutch lever?

Brawwwp, on 17 January 2012 - 06:25 PM, said:

Its nothing like stupid! I set my bikes this way and like it verry much. Makes me a better rider allthoe i´ll never be realy good :-(
Changed the levers on my MTB so i dont get confused. But you need a powerfull bike to start with because you cant use the clutch to rev it up. Then its sheer heaven! You allmost never stall it. The both brakes on the handlebars give you immens control in every situation and you have perfekt feel on slippery uphills whilest little chance of rolling backwarts because you have the rear brake in your hand. Maybe the realy fast riders dont like it but as an everadged rider i´ll go places with it that i´d never see without it.

molotov_billy, on 07 February 2012 - 11:46 PM, said:

PM me your email and I'll send you a pic

I purchased a 2005 wr250f recently that had a rekluse z start pro and rear hand brake set up. Only problem was the previous ower was a pro mountain biker so had set up the Yamaha with a LHFB ! (Left hand front brake) When learning to use the bike a mistaken grab for the clutch would lock up the front wheel and the right hand would activate the rear brake. Too dangerous so I had the cables switched to make it a LHRB and standard right hand front brake. After a couple of weeks of trail riding I really started to liike being able to put both feet down on a technical downhill section or turn the bike around after a failed hill climb while holding that rear brake with the left hand. However your left arm can get pretty tired when doing a lot of braking so I am having the brake pedal put back on and will have the dual action option now.
The Rekluse z start also took some getting used to as when in the hills you have to find a dang tree to park your bike against when taking a break because or it will try to roll down the mountain and its also harder to tell when you are in nuetral for backing the bike out of problem since there tends to be a little clutch drag in gear when the bike is running or not.. Also no bump starting. I didn't like these things at first but as I have gotten used to them they seem like less and less of an issue and the fun of riding up the rocks with the Reckluse doing all the modulation work is more than worth it. I have gotten out of shape and going off the trail onto some big boulders where I would have stalled before and the rekluse just let the bike idle down till I was ready to hit the gas again. A great friend to have. I have the shorty lever clutch override lever by the way but don't use it much. I ride at altitude and have the highest rpm engagement spring in which isn't too high at all on mine.

Mr. Neutron, on 19 January 2012 - 06:41 PM, said:

Well...

Quote

Also this is a great comparison for anyone wondering what the heck the difference is between the three.

http://www.rekluse.c...rt_faq_cc.shtml