Yes, you did read that right. An automatic clutch. Not so much a clever accompaniment to a jockey shift, more the perfect tool to make light work of traffic.
It doesn’t replace the clutch lever – indeed, you still pull the clutch in to engage first gear, and it’s recommended that you still use the clutch through the box – but you don’t need to use it when rolling to a halt or pulling away from a standstill, in which case it is reckoned to be smoother than the lever.
Rekluse suggest that it’ll control take off better than most riders can with no shake or judder, and no chance of stalling – even pulling away clean from a standstill in second!!
And how does it do this?
With a new set of plates topped-off with a billet EXP pressure plate – which is the clever bit.
It takes some setting up but the rewards in traffic on a stock motor are less heat, smoother acceleration and low speed control, and on a tuned motor – Rekluse fit them to big inch, high-horsepower motors as a matter of course – it transforms any journey.
For our purposes here, we are talking about a new addition to Rekluse’s range: for 1995-2020 Sportster models. It has just hit Drag Spec’s 2020 catalogue and we understand Leeds Harley-Davidson have fitted one to one of their demos, and sold a couple of conversions off that already!
No modifications to stock components are required, and the original clutch lever can still be used conventionally – albeit with an improved action – and the proof of the pudding will be the traffic light dragstrip … self-isolation aside, I must get along and give it a try.
Rekluse VTwin Core EXP Clutch Kit
Drag Spec 11300313: For 1996-on XL models £752.51