[sandman]

i was just browsing on the internet when i found this awsome site. been a crf owner for a year now but always into hondas. to the point. i was thinking about getting a rekluse clutch and read the product review on this site. i was just curious if anyone has used one in the sand. the review says nothing about sand riders. i know they recommend replacing five of the ball bearings with a different material ball bearing but ive only heard the guys pitching for the sale if you know what i mean. i want to hear it from a person that has bought one and used it out on the sand... someone not trying to sell it to me. ive noticed that one of the problems ive had is stalling when landing after my jumps. any info would be appreciated.

[slomotobug]

I don't own one, but have ridden a 450R with a REkluse installed, I liked it in the tight, technical rocky stuff, but hated it in the sand washes, also I didn't like it while going through sandy corners. I ride with a couple of guys that have the Rekluse and only one of tham has had it in the dunes, he swears by the thing everywhere else, but says he would actually prefer a standard clutch in the dunes. I'm sticking with the standard just for that factor. I think the Rekluse would allow me to be faster in some sections of trails I ride, but I'm not out there to race, I like just play riding on trails, exploding every berm I find and seat bouncing little bumps and jumps just playing around, I couldn't do that when I was riding the bike with the Rekluse, I couldn't get the quick burst of power out of it like you can with a flip of a standard clutch.

[crfsonly]

welcome to the group! here's my "pitch" on the rekluse. i ride with one on my X and it shines in tight technical situations. dunes are neither really. having said that it can function there just as well as a standard clutch. the issue with the rekluse is it's ONLY a auto clutch...not an automatic transmission. you still have to listen to what the motor and terrain are telling you from a gear standpoint. sure it will allow you to run up a hill a gear high, slipping the clutch for you if necessary, but should you be a gear high? you could run up that same hill a gear high with a standard clutch but you'd have to manually slip the clutch to make it...most would just downshift. with the rekluse it can "slip" your mind to downshift because it clutches so well and without intervention. it is possible for this to happen in the dunes or deep sand.

having said that if i was riding mostly in the sand/dunes i'd stay with a manual clutch.

ken

[sandman]

thanks ken

[cruisers450]

used mine for the first time today on my 06 crf450r,one word.unbelievable!its transformed it totally,seams alot easier to ride and i did the same route i did when i ha the clutch and i was alot quicker,and i never got arm pump!

awesome unit for sure and highly recomended,its just so much easier overall,it only stalled on me one time from my stupidy of sliding it sideways into a corner full lock and pinning the throttle to spin it up all at the same time lol,that was it.

i felt like a kid ina candy store once again. 2 thumbs up.iam using the heavier spring as well.

[crfsonly]

great review...sounds like another happy rekluse customer!

ken

[buldog]

I have one in my 2004 250x. Both hare scramble and moto x it performs flawlessly. In fact I let a friend take it out yesterday and the thing was higher and faster than I ever could. His take was he loved it.

[Old Dude]

Clarify something for me please. How does it work for pitching it into a corner and pinning it out? Buldog addresses this to a certain extent but I see a lot of verbiage about smooth roll on 2nd and 3rd gear starts etc. If you pin it is it gonna grab and go with the high revs or slip with the sudden application of throttle..what? Are you saying that you never have to blip the clutch to get the "R's" up if you are a gear too high coming out of a corner?
I got money in my pocket (room on the card) and am waiting to hear about knee surgery. Will have time to wrench while healing and will be ready to rip after that.
O.D.

[mhugdoc]

old dude, the cool thing about the rekluse is that it really works well for the aggressive rider as well as the putt putt guy. I have put about 200 miles on mine and except for a little rattling at times it works really well. one of the things i like best is that i can break hard into a corner, keep it in 3rd or 4th and once into the corner i give it full throttle and bam!! your flying out of the corner.... I am much more aggressive with the rekluse.....slamming on the rear brake to get into a sharp corner to get the bike pointed in the right direction is also aided in that you simply brake, slide and hit the gas full while maintaining the gear you were in. Also you can hear the motor tell you when you need to shift down, and occasionally you will need to.
my only complaint so far is the rattling, but my speed is up and stalling is gone. also get the pearch adjuster because you can make it where it functions like a manual clutch in the sand if you like.

[Hondathumper450]

I just bought a rekluse with the perch adapter. when you say ratteling what do you mean? what rattles?
I got the perch adapter so I can use it like a regular clutch if needed but most of my riding is in the tight woods where the first gear is just to tall to idle through the tight twisty stuff

[crfsonly]

when you are a gear+ high the clutch can make a 'chatter' sounds when it's auto-slipping clutch. this is typically indicating you need to shift down a gear.

ken

[GhostX]

Ken,

Is there enough demand/market for the Rekluse to trickle down to the smaller CC'ed bikes? (230/150 CRFS)

I know there is a strong demand for the bigger trail bikes, but I would think it could be an effective sell at the entry/beginner level. Your thoughts?

[lumpdog]

I spoke to a guy at a race meeting recently who had a Rekluse on a KTM 200 .
He described one of the problems as being...

"when you ride down a long hill OFF the throttle the engine will be on tickover , so by the time you get to the bottom of the hill and start to apply throttle the transmission can be at say 50mph but the engine is only doing 1000rpm in second gear , the trouble is when the clutch re-ingages and revs its self to destruction "

Again this is just complete rider error , would you coast down a hill in second gear (clutch in ) , gathering speed just to dump the clutch out when you got some real speed up by the bottom of the hill NO WAY .

I think one serious problem with the Rekluse is that people assume that because "it can" then "its OK"

The same as Sand riding , just because the clutch will feather out the effect of riding a gear high doesnt mean to say that you should - all you gonna do is wear out your 1st clutch plate`s in a hurry
After all who would try and pull away in 3rd with a std clutch ??.......... You can with a Rekluse

[kicken]

I don't have one, but a mate just installed one he bought second hand in his '03 KTM 525 .. he's suffered badly from joint pain and tendinitis in his clutch wrist over the last couple of years.

His comments were ... this thing slips badly when RPM's were low ... eg. 4 gear cruising then open the throttle....

He did some research, called rekluse who recommended removing some of the steel ball bearings and insertings some tungstan ones. He replaced 5 (of the 30) steel ball bearings with tungstan ones and immediately found it was heaps better ... engaging at lower rpm's.

He ordered another 5 and got it almost perfect. The downside was with all of the extra inertia and weight, the idle had to be turned down so it only engaged when he opened the throttle.

We ride heaps of single trail (zig zag between trees which your handle bars scrape both sides) also in and out of creek beds and then open mountain climbs.

His only comment was that when locking up the back break full noise into a berm, then blasting out ... he stalled about 1/2 a dozen times (due to low idle).

So the strength of engagement had been dialled in, but the rate of engagement could be changed by installing a stiffer spring. Then he could increase the idle slightly and remove the stalling.

Overall, he's paid $450AU so far and with the amount of tweaking possible he's REALLY REALLY pleased; so much so that if I ride the bike I might get one for my CRF450

BTW, he's still got his hydraulic cluch installed and uses it rarely ... but he reckons that 2nd gear race starts are unbelievable ... so much so that it's scary trying to keep the front wheel down!

[JAWS]

I have ridden mine on my 450X in Oregon, which didn't test it too well, aand loved it there, and then in Kennedy Meadows that really tested it and loved it there. It did everything I asked of it without stalling or causing issues. The free-wheeling when at idle is something that you get used to. The only time it was any issue at all was when I was stopped on an incline. You have to keep the brake on to prevent rolling. Not too bad. I have recently purchased the left hand brake accessory. Haven't gotten it on yet, but I think it will be another great help in the tight downhill, switchback, rocky stuff when I need both feet out.

Couldn't be more pleased.
Joe