Rekluse Auto Clutch

[TE250Guy]

Put the 15T sprocket on and it made a huge difference. No more lugging and great downhill braking. No need to slip the clutch in tight maneuvering. Didn't lose much at highway speeds. Haven't ruled out the Rekluse yet. I'll see how this works on a fully loaded bike in mountainous terrain first part of next week.

 

[Matt Crawley]

Engine braking is not a problem. If the back wheel is driving the engine, it is spinning the engine faster than idle, thus clutch is engaged. You have to slow to nearly idle for it to cut loose, and free wheel.

Well put.

Another way to say it is that the Rekluse will provide engine braking right up until the point that a normally clutched bike would stall. I feel like this is important because I have accidentally stalled my Terra by braking too much in 2nd gear. I didn't lock the rear wheel but I was going too slow for 2nd. With Rekluse the clutch would have kicked in allowed the bike to idle.

 

[TE250Guy]

I understand and have always been aware that the engine braking still happens. I was just trying to envision a tight turning downhill scanario where I was assisting the engine braking with the rear brake and locked up the wheel momentarily. This is not an unusual situation as I feather the brakes. But with the Rekluse, I would go into freewheeling. Seems like brief tweak on the throttle, though counterintuitive, would restore engine braking. Just need to develop new habits I guess.

 

[mag00]

Well put.

Another way to say it is that the Rekluse will provide engine braking right up until the point that a normally clutched bike would stall. I feel like this is important because I have accidentally stalled my Terra by braking too much in 2nd gear. I didn't lock the rear wheel but I was going too slow for 2nd. With Rekluse the clutch would have kicked in allowed the bike to idle.

LOL, happened to my Strada (no Rekluse) today. I was on some dirt, in second and messing around with the abs etc. Choked it out.

 

[Matt Crawley]

I was just trying to envision a tight turning downhill scanario where I was assisting the engine braking with the rear brake and locked up the wheel momentarily. This is not an unusual situation as I feather the brakes. But with the Rekluse, I would go into freewheeling. Seems like brief tweak on the throttle, though counterintuitive, would restore engine braking. Just need to develop new habits I guess.

I think that is a very accurate assessment. It will be interesting to see exactly how this plays out in real life.

 

[Matt Crawley]

Dropped the Terra off last night at Rekluse.

Logan met me after hours and gave me a tour of the facility. All I can say is WOW! Rekluse is a SERIOUS player and they will be on a lot of bikes in the coming years. The technology they are using for process and automation is amazing. They are so tech that they build their own robots that then build clutches.

On top of that they are seriously focused on development. They had 30+ bikes in there for development of new products. Harley's, Goldwings, Yamaha 125s, euro factory race team bikes, snow bikes, etc, etc.

I've been around a few different manufacturing operations and I was VERY impressed by how they think and execute. If the product is as good as the business I will be very happy indeed!

 

[TE250Guy]

Dropped the Terra off last night at Rekluse.

Logan met me after hours and gave me a tour of the facility. All I can say is WOW! Rekluse is a SERIOUS player and they will be on a lot of bikes in the coming years. The technology they are using for process and automation is amazing. They are so tech that they build their own robots that then build clutches.

On top of that they are seriously focused on development. They had 30+ bikes in there for development of new products. Harley's, Goldwings, Yamaha 125s, euro factory race team bikes, snow bikes, etc, etc.

I've been around a few different manufacturing operations and I was VERY impressed by how they think and execute. If the product is as good as the business I will be very happy indeed!

Sounds very promising. Thanks for the update, Matt.
Due to a medical procedure that I will undergo in the next few weeks, I will be restricted to pavement only until September. Hopefully this timeout coincides with the Rekluse release for the Terra!

 

[mag00]

Dropped the Terra off last night at Rekluse.

Logan met me after hours and gave me a tour of the facility. All I can say is WOW! Rekluse is a SERIOUS player and they will be on a lot of bikes in the coming years. The technology they are using for process and automation is amazing. They are so tech that they build their own robots that then build clutches.

On top of that they are seriously focused on development. They had 30+ bikes in there for development of new products. Harley's, Goldwings, Yamaha 125s, euro factory race team bikes, snow bikes, etc, etc.

I've been around a few different manufacturing operations and I was VERY impressed by how they think and execute. If the product is as good as the business I will be very happy indeed!

Dang, wish I could have done that. Kid in a candy store so to speak. It's always a pleasure to deal with top notch companies.

Did he say how long before you get it back?

 

[Matt Crawley]

Dang, wish I could have done that. Kid in a candy store so to speak. It's always a pleasure to deal with top notch companies.

Did he say how long before you get it back?

I got it back the next day! He did the install Friday morning and had it fully tested and wrapped up by 2pm Friday. Logan said the install was super easy. No problems or special things to be aware of. I have a hurt leg right now so I only did a parking lot test but wow, WOW, WOWEE! This is awesome! At slow speeds in 1st/2nd the Rekluse slips the clutch perfectly - Every. Single. Time. And it's seamless. In 2nd gear I couldn't even tell it was working... the bike just slides into idle if you're going too slow and then slides into power as you give gas... And there is NO lugging. It slips the clutch instead of lugging. I'm sure there are plenty more pros/cons to discover but I am very happy so far.

Unfortunately Rekluse won't have TR650 kits ready for sale for 3-4 months. All of the "work" is done but there is a TR specific part that needs to be machined and they are backlogged on production.

Big thanks again to mag00! This project would probably never happened if not for his trying the BMW clutch. You da man mag00.


Matt

 

[engineerk9]

I got it back the next day! He did the install Friday morning and had it fully tested and wrapped up by 2pm Friday. Logan said the install was super easy. No problems or special things to be aware of. I have a hurt leg right now so I only did a parking lot test but wow, WOW, WOWEE! This is awesome! At slow speeds in 1st/2nd the Rekluse slips the clutch perfectly - Every. Single. Time. And it's seamless. In 2nd gear I couldn't even tell it was working... the bike just slides into idle if you're going too slow and then slides into power as you give gas... And there is NO lugging. It slips the clutch instead of lugging. I'm sure there are plenty more pros/cons to discover but I am very happy so far.

Unfortunately Rekluse won't have TR650 kits ready for sale for 3-4 months. All of the "work" is done but there is a TR specific part that needs to be machined and they are backlogged on production.

Big thanks again to mag00! This project would probably never happened if not for his trying the BMW clutch. You da man mag00.


Matt

Awesome - thank you

 

[TE250Guy]

I got it back the next day! He did the install Friday morning and had it fully tested and wrapped up by 2pm Friday. Logan said the install was super easy. No problems or special things to be aware of. I have a hurt leg right now so I only did a parking lot test but wow, WOW, WOWEE! This is awesome! At slow speeds in 1st/2nd the Rekluse slips the clutch perfectly - Every. Single. Time. And it's seamless. In 2nd gear I couldn't even tell it was working... the bike just slides into idle if you're going too slow and then slides into power as you give gas... And there is NO lugging. It slips the clutch instead of lugging. I'm sure there are plenty more pros/cons to discover but I am very happy so far.

Unfortunately Rekluse won't have TR650 kits ready for sale for 3-4 months. All of the "work" is done but there is a TR specific part that needs to be machined and they are backlogged on production.

Big thanks again to mag00! This project would probably never happened if not for his trying the BMW clutch. You da man mag00.


Matt

So, how is it working out?

 

[Ziggy]

Wandered in here. I see the AdventureExp3.0 has been made for the Terra.

In Aus it's not listed on Sutto's site.

 

[Matt Crawley]

Hey Gang.

Reporting back after a summer using the Rekluse. I love it. It's awesome. The "Pros" are amazing and the "Cons" not a big deal.

Makes it VERY difficult to stall the bike. Even due to bad ECU programming, sensors, etc. Highly recommended!


Matt

 

[Ziggy]

Thanks.
Is it available?

 

[Matt Crawley]

Looking at their site it appears to be. $649 usd https://rekluse.com/product/adventure-bike-exp-clutch-kit/


Matt

 

[gullywasher]

Thanks for the update Matt. Me thinks I will be getting one.

 

[Rapid Dog]

I don't claim to be wise, and I my Rekluse experience is on dirt bikes and a DRZ, not the Terra yet. But here is my opinion:

1) Someone told you that you do not have engine braking during a decent with the Rekluse. That is not true as long as it is set up correctly. If you are experiencing engine braking, then the wheel is being turned fast enough that the accompanying engine speed will be above idle (thus the clutch will be engaged.) You won't have any if you kill the engine though. I prefer my engagement point as close to idle as possible, but you should experiment.

It is possible that the surface is loose enough that the rear wheel would be skidding more than turning in which case you could lose engine braking. But if that is the case, then the engine brake becomes less effective than the rear brake anyway, so no loss.

Unrelated side note, but also, practice using your front brakes on descents if you can. Most of the weight (and available traction) is going to be on the front wheel. I've had so many "experts" tell me that you shouldn't use the front brake on steep descents, but I don't know where that nugget of advice comes from. I find the front brake to be the most effective tool for controlling descent. I'm sure there is a point where a descent is so steep and/or the surface so loose that perhaps front brake isn't advisable, but I with my meager skills have probably looked upon such descents and considered them "end of trail" obstacles rather than challenges to be conquered...

...what he said...
O.K., I just wandered in here too, but I'll toss this in. I had to relearn dirt riding after a 20 year hiatus, but it came back to me fairly well.
That said, when I'm rusty I'll find myself stepping hard on the rear brake (panic), especially downhill....S-L-I-D-E....

Back in the day front braking was a big no-no. 'You wash out the front!".
A lot of desert racers threw away their front brakes completely, not that they worked that well to begin with...
To this day people believe the same.

Modern riding shows just the opposite in theory. Using the front brake on both dirt and street allows more tire contact patch on the ground, resulting in better traction as gullywasher said.
You just need to learn a more refined approach. Downhill or or slamming a turn, front brake is your best friend.

As a point of reference, I have a 'slipper' clutch on my KTM 450EXC that was installed when I bought the bike. Thought I wouldn't like it.
I LOVE how the thing works.
It may not have the snap of a standard clutch bike, but I like how it revs-and-catches in a smooth linear fashion. I like how it lets me descend without fret.
Overall it's made me a better rider.
I've torn into the clutch pack and after many miles it shows zero wear (plates maesured against a new clutch pack).
Only drawback that I see is the bike is near impossible to drop into neutral at a stop. That and the bike needs to warm up the oil before it's dropped into gear.
I have no experience with the Rekluse though...
My2Sense

 

[mag00]

I received my updated parts the other day, need to install them. Good quality. I have doubled up the friction discs, and the new setup is a thick friction and thicker first drive plate. Not in any real hurry to install, it works fine as is. But I am curious if it adjusts better with the new parts.

 

[Next]

Man. I want one of these so badly. I've been spending on camera gear lately, so I should probably hold off. The Rekluse is definitely in my TR650s future though.

 

[FabOneUp]

By far the best and easiest (not the cheapest!) improvement for our bikes! No more clutch fade either. I literally installed it and took off on a 2400 mile abusive ride through Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Zero issues, hundreds of smiles...maybe thousands.