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.

[iancp5]

I take the point.
I notice the previous owner has put a new, large and robust kill switch within easy reach of the thumb on the left handlebar. I guess that is for those; "Oh shiiiiiit" moments.

[kim]

I have had 2 stuck throttles in the past 3 years on my 300. One of them ended with me in hospital, but "luckily" only bruised from A to B.
Needless to say what I think of no lever.

My mate has a rekluse on his RM250 with an additional brake lever and just loves it. As the RM has a cable clutch its a bit easier to install than the GG hydro clutch.

A proper dialed in Rekluse is a delight to ride and it makes me a overall much faster rider as I basically never stalls.

[iancp5]

Rode the bike for the first time yesterday. It's a 200 and the lower torque was much easier than the 300. No more arms being wrenched out of sockets when tired! The brake on the bars took a bit of getting used to but once I had, I liked it. It's a bit harder when you do stall it, especially on a steep climb. I think I need to raise the tickover a bit as it stalled a few times.

[barbwire44]

I have the rekluse pro, in one of my bikes and it is great. I do wish they had an overide of some sort so you could bump start it, or for the real reason, dragging the bike down something I don't wanna be on the seat for.

[stay_upright]

I'm re-reading this and still thinking about a rekluse as I stall a lot in races etc and it certainly costs me time.

I'd like to use a LHRB though I think that would make me faster as well. I guess the first stage could just be to run a clutch and see how that goes.

As far as a LHRB goes what would you guys think of a secondary lever as the clutch and/or maybe use the brake pedal as a clutch and a big kill switch on that side...

But a kill switch won't kill a 2 stroke at max rpm WOT right?

[Skidad]

Nope, kill switch wont kill a 2 stroke with a stuck throttle going WFO.

Bunch of clever different methods being used over on KTM Talk to allow both the LHRB and the clutch lever. Once I get my new EXP I will eventually add the LHRB to the clutch on the bars and also keep the rear brake pedal.

Here is a link to one of the threads going on right now. If not a member just register. Plenty of practicle stuff crosses over.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=380458

[bchatt]

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Nope, kill switch wont kill a 2 stroke with a stuck throttle going WFO

That's a worry. Are you saying the engine no longer requires a spark to ignite the incoming mixture?

[Eric K]

Originally Posted by bchatt

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Nope, kill switch wont kill a 2 stroke with a stuck throttle going WFO

That's a worry. Are you saying the engine no longer requires a spark to ignite the incoming mixture?

Give it try yourself in a wide open area and see what happens - hold the throttle open and see what the kill switch does.

[biggstr6]

It will only take one Stuck throttle to make you want a clutch lever.

2 weeks ago I got totally surprised by a stuck throttle on my 300 in the woods , Went through 2 small trees and finally stopped by a big tree. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I didn't have the presence of mind to pull in the clutch. I took a pretty good hit,got bruised and swollen in the groan area ,& sprained my right wrist . I think about how much worse it could have been.

I rode yesterday and am making a habit of keeping a finger on the clutch, But I'm finder that harder to while standing.

Ironically , I was looking thru the manual ,and it gives a warning to keep your air filter clean as "a dirty air filter can let grit get into the carbuarator and cause a stuck throttle that may result in an accident"

I think that is exactly what happened to me as I had been riding in a sandy area several times and had not cleaned my air filter . When I did it was full of grit & dust etc...

Really not too crazy about gasgas 's air box design.