Rekluse technique

[WoodsRider]

A few years ago I was giving some new members a tour of our club property. One of them had just bought a used KTM 200. I noticed he was having difficulty staying on two wheels when making a right turn. Then I watched as he tried to climb straight up a tree. The guy was laying on the ground mumbling something about a sticking throttle. I told him to pull in the clutch and was suprised when he told me he couldn't. It was then I realized his bike had an auto-clutch without a manual clutch override.

I spent an hour in the woods tracking down the source of his sticking throttle. The throttle cable had been rerouted and was catching on the steering damper every time he turned right. The jesus (where'd that) clip (go?) had popped loosed at the top of the carb and was pulling the slide up.

Over the years I've had two of those "shat my pants" moments when the throttle stuck. Totally unexpected and luckily I have enough functioning brain cells to pull in the clutch. I won't ride an auto-clutch bike without a manual override. When someone says something about blowing up the motor I just remind them a complete engine rebuild is a whole lot cheaper than a broken femur.