So I installed a Rekluse 2.0 in my 2014 Gas 300 the other day. Saturday I was able to take it out for the first ride. Just so we are all on the same page, this is the Core EXP with the full basket and Rekluse adjustable slave. I set the gap per the manual and everything functioned 100% on the first attempt.
The purpose of my buying this product was because I am a hare scramble/enduro racer and we often ride 40-65 miles of pure tight bar banging single track. Often it is very tight for miles and you are just crawling along in second gear. It gets extremely tiring, and I am constantly feathering the clutch for miles at a time. So, I thought, why not try a Rekluse and I can focus on riding the not worrying about trying to keep the bike from stalling.
A couple things that I noticed which I was a little disappointed. All the write ups I read, stated that the clutch lever still works and feels as OEM if you decide to use it as such...wrong!
First the clutch pull is much harder (I mean noticeably harder). Rekluse response to this is that you no longer need to use it so it is irrelevant. I will get back to this later.
Second, you can not rev the bike while in gear with the clutch pulled in. Even with the clutch pulled in 100%, the bike still moves forward and engages. So no motocross style starts or building revs for a massive clutch dump. Rekluse has a way you can adjust the slave to get around this, but then that causes the clutch to constantly slip, dramatically increasing clutch wear and also reducing rear wheel power. So this is advised against.
Third, since the Rekluse is slipping slightly at low speed, it takes some of the bottom end grunt out of the bike.
In all the Rekluse write ups I have read, I don't recall ever hearing about these drawbacks.
Now, how does this effect my style of riding?
I am a hare scramble/enduro racer (not a pro or A rider by any means), but I am aggressive and are focused on maintaining momentum. I ride in fast sandy single track. There are no rocks, so even the tight stuff can still be done in 2nd/3rd with some clutch work. It is more like mini-motocross racing without the big jumps. There are big berms with steep lean angles, tons of roost and fast large whoops (think J day). I often enter a corner the same way an old school motocrosser would...hard on the brake, dragging the rear to rotate the bike, revs up, then a dump of the clutch to pull you out of the turn.
I immediately noticed I was not able to do this with the Rekluse. If you rev the bike, it will move forward, screwing up your angle of attack. If I pull in the clutch it helps a little, but it still moves forward and I can no longer get that dump the clutch snap point and shoot control.
It wasn't until I installed the Rekluse did I realize how much I was modulating the clutch in the turns to get the perfect amount of rotation and slip in order to get the rear wheel placed. Never thought about it, just 2nd nature.
Now there are MANY MANY faster riders than me who swear by the Rekluse, but I personally found it very challenging and just could not get the bike to turn. I felt much slower and could just not rail turns like I could with a standard clutch.
So, with the above stated, I could just continue to modulate the clutch in the corners (with less feel), BUT doesn't that negate the entire purpose of the Rekluse? And I could never deal with that hard clutch pull for long. If I were going to continue to modulate the clutch, why would I want to deal with a significantly less sensitive clutch that is 5x harder to pull? Seems damned if I do and damned if I don't...
I am going to get more seat time on the bike with the Rekluse and are HOPING it is just an adjustment phase, and that eventually I will get to that "ah ha" moment where I "get it" and can adjust my riding style. But I have a race in less than 6 days as of right now, I am down from my usual pace and confidence.
The purpose of my buying this product was because I am a hare scramble/enduro racer and we often ride 40-65 miles of pure tight bar banging single track. Often it is very tight for miles and you are just crawling along in second gear. It gets extremely tiring, and I am constantly feathering the clutch for miles at a time. So, I thought, why not try a Rekluse and I can focus on riding the not worrying about trying to keep the bike from stalling.
A couple things that I noticed which I was a little disappointed. All the write ups I read, stated that the clutch lever still works and feels as OEM if you decide to use it as such...wrong!
First the clutch pull is much harder (I mean noticeably harder). Rekluse response to this is that you no longer need to use it so it is irrelevant. I will get back to this later.
Second, you can not rev the bike while in gear with the clutch pulled in. Even with the clutch pulled in 100%, the bike still moves forward and engages. So no motocross style starts or building revs for a massive clutch dump. Rekluse has a way you can adjust the slave to get around this, but then that causes the clutch to constantly slip, dramatically increasing clutch wear and also reducing rear wheel power. So this is advised against.
Third, since the Rekluse is slipping slightly at low speed, it takes some of the bottom end grunt out of the bike.
In all the Rekluse write ups I have read, I don't recall ever hearing about these drawbacks.
Now, how does this effect my style of riding?
I am a hare scramble/enduro racer (not a pro or A rider by any means), but I am aggressive and are focused on maintaining momentum. I ride in fast sandy single track. There are no rocks, so even the tight stuff can still be done in 2nd/3rd with some clutch work. It is more like mini-motocross racing without the big jumps. There are big berms with steep lean angles, tons of roost and fast large whoops (think J day). I often enter a corner the same way an old school motocrosser would...hard on the brake, dragging the rear to rotate the bike, revs up, then a dump of the clutch to pull you out of the turn.
I immediately noticed I was not able to do this with the Rekluse. If you rev the bike, it will move forward, screwing up your angle of attack. If I pull in the clutch it helps a little, but it still moves forward and I can no longer get that dump the clutch snap point and shoot control.
It wasn't until I installed the Rekluse did I realize how much I was modulating the clutch in the turns to get the perfect amount of rotation and slip in order to get the rear wheel placed. Never thought about it, just 2nd nature.
Now there are MANY MANY faster riders than me who swear by the Rekluse, but I personally found it very challenging and just could not get the bike to turn. I felt much slower and could just not rail turns like I could with a standard clutch.
So, with the above stated, I could just continue to modulate the clutch in the corners (with less feel), BUT doesn't that negate the entire purpose of the Rekluse? And I could never deal with that hard clutch pull for long. If I were going to continue to modulate the clutch, why would I want to deal with a significantly less sensitive clutch that is 5x harder to pull? Seems damned if I do and damned if I don't...
I am going to get more seat time on the bike with the Rekluse and are HOPING it is just an adjustment phase, and that eventually I will get to that "ah ha" moment where I "get it" and can adjust my riding style. But I have a race in less than 6 days as of right now, I am down from my usual pace and confidence.
