The WR426F project bike is now fitted with a Rekluse EXP 3.0 automatic clutch. The full Rekluse Core kit is not available for that bike but the, lesser expensive, EXP 3.0 is. At less than half the price of the full kit, it appears to be a good deal.
Installation was about as simple as a regular clutch job and adjustment was too tough either. However, our install required more adjustment than the directions implied.
The directions say to take up all of the cable slack and check, what they call, the free play gain. Well, this required using nearly all of the adjustment available in our clutch cable. However, once adjusted it worked pretty well.
The break-in process was simple enough and resulted in slightly more adjustment to the clutch. After the first ride (a short trail loop), a little more adjustment was necessary to prevent stalling. After that, things were good.
One of our first tests was on a series of down-hill switch backs. The rear end was periodically locked up, without touching the clutch lever, in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear with no stalls. After that we experienced, unplanned, both low-speed and a high-speed low-side get offs. The bike kept running both times. When then experienced a moderate speed loop-out on a hill climb. The bike ended up upside-down and died. Though that was to be expected. There was also a high-speed high-side where the bike also died. Again, not necessarily unexpected.
My biggest concern was the possibly of losing compression braking. However, this has not been a problem yet. Over several down hill runs, the compression braking remained consistent even after occasionally locking up the rear well. This is most likely because I have a habit of hitting the clutch and blipping the throttle when I lock up the rear. While I kept my hand of the clutch, I continued to blip the throttle after each lock up.
Overall, I’m really happy with the Rekluse EXP 3.0 clutch kit’s performance. I’m looking forward to putting through some longer-term abuse.
