New Clutch Q

Howdy Gurus:

I believe my pig is just about ready for a new clutch. I'm near the end of adjustment at the engine, with just a little left to play with at the lever. The "grab" has gone spongy, as well, which can be frightening when the front wheel needs to come off the ground ASAP.

Before I venture into a new clutch, I thought I'd ask for some advice first.

Shall I stay stock, or are there some aftermarket clutches worth examining? The bike is an '02R. She's a dual sport, but my main concerns are for off-road usage.

Also, I've never changed a motorcycle clutch before. Being somewhat mechanically inclined, I should be able to do this myself, correct? Please say "yes."

Thanks for any tips!

Dave

clutch is easy if you are a little bit handy,i have used barnet clutches for a long time,30 years plus,have one in my vtx,will use one in xr when i need it.xx

Thanks guys!

Doug:

I've got some research to do on the Revloc. It's a new concept, to me. I see Dual Sport Armory carries it, which is cool.

XX:

The Barnett looks very straight forward.

"clutch is easy if you are a little bit handy..."

Yeah, I'm a tad bit handy, although it's been about 30 years since I changed a clutch (M-22 tranny on my '70 GTO). I'll study up reading the service manual before attempting anything. I wish the manual had girly picts on every other page to make it more user friendly.

Dave

Dave I have the Revloc on my bike. Friggin' love it. Tames the beast in the woods but the snarl is still there when you need it. Long shot but if you are ever out this way (Virginia) come take it for a spin.

Thanks for the offer, husky123. I'd take you up on it if I was within a few hundred miles!

I think my biggest issue with the Revloc is the price, and the "age" of my bike. If my XR did not have a bazillion miles, I'd pull the trigger in a NY minute. Maybe it's time to find a fresh one.

husky123 wrote:Dave I have the Revloc on my bike. Friggin' love it. Tames the beast in the woods but the snarl is still there when you need it. Long shot but if you are ever out this way (Virginia) come take it for a spin.

I was just reading the info on their site...Tell us more about your experiences with it please. Might have to be a double post...One here and/or a full write up in the review forum?

Was it installed during any of your helmet cam footage? It would be interesting to see the clutch in action...I can't grasp the concept of an automatic dirt bike. Sounds like you could focus a lot more on just riding!

Focker wrote:

husky123 wrote:Dave I have the Revloc on my bike. Friggin' love it. Tames the beast in the woods but the snarl is still there when you need it. Long shot but if you are ever out this way (Virginia) come take it for a spin.

I was just reading the info on their site...Tell us more about your experiences with it please. Might have to be a double post...One here and/or a full write up in the review forum?

Was it installed during any of your helmet cam footage? It would be interesting to see the clutch in action...I can't grasp the concept of an automatic dirt bike. Sounds like you could focus a lot more on just riding!

I tell ya Focker you hit the nail on the head with your last statement. The Revloc is the real deal. It is built like a brick sh*thouse and replaces your entire clutch (inner/outer hub and all) unlike the Rekluse. The concept, believe it or not, is actually quite simple. Various weighted and sized ball bearings get centrifugally "thrown" out is engine rpm's increase. This pushes the pressure plate down onto the clutch pack until after a certain rpm (and this depends on how many and weight of your balls ) full lock up is achieved. With the Revloc you can set your "stall" (for you auto tranny guys) for low to high depending on how you like it. I personally like a fairly low stall with a quick and hard lockup. I have mine dialed. It's dead sexy.

I know what a lot are saying....not for me, I'm too good with the clutch already, I like to have full control of ever situation....blah, blah. I used to be that guy. For a desert guy, you know, maybe the auto isn't the best, hell I don't know but I'd say if you ever ride in the woods and auto is pure magic. It's like having a little itty bitty Scott Summers sitting on your clutch perch working it for you. I sometimes talk to my little Scott. "Scott, nice and easy here on the clutch...that tree's at least 18 inches in diameter". Oh, he's good, real good my little Scotty.

When you let your conventional clutch out, you let it out different EVERY time. The auto's are mechanical, it engages the same time, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Once you get used to it you can exploit this activity. I know exactly how my clutch is going to engage every single time....low speed, high speed, etc.

There is also no stalling with autos. That's right, zero. It has saved me more times than I can count. If you've ever stalled your bike you may, just may, not be as good with the clutch as you think. And say bye bye to left arm pump! Focker you said a mouthful, it let's you concentrate more on just riding. The gnarlier the conditions get the more the Revloc shines. Side benefit, hope everyone's sitting down.....longer clutch life. I've had mine in for over a year and have taken the beast to some deep dark places and it's still rockin' like the day it was new!

Now in the interest of full disclosure, YES we sell these. But trust me this is not the salesman writing this post. Revloc is sponsoring our Baja team and hooked us up. I thought "I'll give this thing a shot for a week or two and then take it out". I use my bike for everything....hard core offroad, moto (stop laughing), street, ds, whatever. It's staying in my sled! No way it's coming out! My BRP is now a scalpel.

Focker, I'll do a full write-up for the site in the next month or so...complete with install and pics if you'd like.

Lee

Dave P wrote:
I think my biggest issue with the Revloc is the price, and the "age" of my bike. If my XR did not have a bazillion miles, I'd pull the trigger in a NY minute. Maybe it's time to find a fresh one.

Dave P. the beauty of the Revloc is that you can exchange it between like bikes. So, if you put it in your XR650R you can put it in any XR650R . Its a simple 1-1.5 hr job and its a 3 out of a 10 scale on skill level.

I hear people say they cant get used to an auto clutch. This is not like an automatic transmission. You still bang gears and can use your clutch in the normal fashion. You just dont need to use the clutch if you dont want to. Think of it like an electric motor and a rheostat. You give it a little throttle you move a little, you wack the throttle and the front end comes off the ground. In race situations, I typically ride a gear high and use the throttle instead of the clutch to lift the front wheel. Works for me.

I use an autoclutch on my race bike. I have had an autoclutch on 2 race bikes covering the last 4 years. I just changed out fiber plates for the first time in 2 1/2 years. They are pretty much maintance free and will take some serious abuse.

Doug

Doug,

I have a Rekluse Z-Start on my KTM 300 EXC and it is like cheating when riding in the tough stuff, it is truly amazing. Another benefit is when you crash you can usually pick up your bike still running, a plus when you do not have e-start. Since acquiring my XR I have been checking into using a auto clutch on it as well and it does not seem to be very common, I believe I read on TT that a few had tried the Rekluse on the XR650R and had durability problems and had taken them off. What is your opinion on the differences between the Revloc and the Rekluse? I am very interested in putting one on the big XR if they can handle the torque its engine puts out.

Paul

desertfox, pm husky123. He has one on his XR650R.

I received this answer via a PM from Doug regarding a Revloc question I had.

Do you still maintain engine braking?

Doug wrote:Yes you do. You can even use the clutch when blasting out of corners if you want to. You really lose nothing over a clutched bike, except you can go into a corner hot, lock the rear wheel and not have to worry about stalling. You can get into a free wheel situation if you let the bike go to idle while going down a super long hill. But all you do is crack the throttle and it picks back up. I have done that probably a dozen times in the last 4 years. Dollar for dollar its the single best mod for a bike. If my race bike were to break down I could race my 650R in a hare scramble just because I know the autoclutch would save me from stalling out and I wouldnt need to start the beyotch on the side of a mountain.

To piggyback on to that....I've been hammering my Revloc for over a year and I've NEVER had it "let go" or freewheel going down a hill. The lock up is so low you'd have to be a gear or two high for that to happen and like mentioned IF it does you can just blip it and get it back. Kinda counter intuitive to blip going down a nasty hill I know. I suppose if you had yours set for a very high stall it would be easy to freewheel but most people don't like that much slip.

If you are a cool trail rider and are not going to flog your pig to it's full potiential then the Rekluse is awesome. I had one for about 10 months before it destroyed the clutch basket into small pieces.

I would never use one again. It works very very well. I loved it till I hated it!

I have talked to the owner several times and he made lots of promises of a better unit and I would get one to test but, he never came through - I see him as the normal lier, to busy to make good on his word or fallow through for the customer. There came a time when my time is more important. I would have even bought the new one but, as far as I know it never came around for the XR650R.....there is one for the CRF450. If it would have worked as stated I would have worked as hard as I could shouting it's praise all over the forums! But, instead I have very little to say that would help. It does work for the average to good rider and work very well. It has it's adjustment problems but, they are not hard to over come.