Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

Hi Folks, it's me again and no doubt I am being a nuisance.

As some of you may know, I am an old bag who is now in her fifties and is feeling rather cross about it. For some time now I have been struggling with my clutch lever and have been looking for something to help. I have arthritis in my hands and in particular in my left hand, meaning that I struggle with the clutch.

Recently while bored, I was on Instagram, watching bike videos when I came across Rekluse Autoclutches. A quick search through their site shows that they make a kit that works on the SV engine. Obviously, their website is all about how brilliant they are for dirt bikes, but for mildly disabled, irritated old bags, it says very little. Do any of you know anything about them or have you used them? Obviously, I am about to go and do a deep dive on the internet (God help me, it's a scary place!) to see what I can find, but I know that there are some real genius level nerds here who might know some useful information.

Love you all
Jayneypants
XXXXX

PS. I have finally given in and acquired a new bike... :smt101

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

My knowledge is a little light, but what I've read about them suggests the work by "centrifugal force".

Low revs engage the clutch, high revs disengage the clutch. So to change gear you roll off throttle and wait for revs to drop then select gear...

Sounds like you'd need to get used to it.

You only need the clutch changing down or low speed anyway [emoji3] Although clutch less downshifting is a thing you can learn.

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Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

This is my understanding too.


Better this than having to give up riding altogether. :cool:

I had to pull over while driving the car yesterday because my hands got too painful to hold the steering wheel. The fact that I was doing doughnuts in the Boots carpark, had nothing to do with it! :scratch:

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

Is changing to a semi-automatic bike an option?

e.g. https://www.yamaha-motor.eu/gb/en/motorcycles/y-amt/

Not cheap though.




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Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

From what I can gather, the Rekluse system would be about £1K, as opposed to £10k for a new bike.


Also, I have had a Yamaha... :nomore:
It was a complete dog and no matter how much I replaced or parts I had fixed, it never worked well, the hateful pile of... :compcrash:

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

My complete knowledge on the subject:

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

That was interesting SH. seems that for trail riding the clutch still occasionally needs to be used manually. I'd guess that wouldn't be the case on the road though.

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

My 1999 SV clutch is very light and easy to use. I have Arthritis in one of the fingers on my left hand but I can easily operate the clutch with two fingers. Remember you don't have to pull the lever in all the way if setup correctly and match engine speeds :)

I made a page on setting up the 1999/2002 SVs that may help even with other years,

http://straticus.epizy.com/SV650ClutchLifter.html?i=3

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

Unfortunately, my years as a professional climber combined with a congenital medical condition that effects my joints, means that my hands are effed and getting worse.

When I was climbing, I was working through the E grades in trad and 6b/c in sport. I often used to hold with my left, while placing gear with my right and this is why my left hand is so damaged. I am looking at knuckle replacement in the future, combined with fusing my first finger joints in both hands and I am worried that this will put an end to my ability to ride, hence why I have been looking for alternatives to hand controls. Currently I have to tape my fingers and wrists before every ride and can only wear lightweight summer gloves due to the malformities in my finger joints. Heated grips are an absolute godsend that allow me to ride almost all year.

On a more fun note, so as not to sound so defeatist and depressing, my nieces find my hands hilarious and call them Witchy Fingers, because they are so crooked. I also have to eat with special cutlery that has bigger handles because I cannot hold normal knives and forks. My daughter has a very rude name for this set, which we shall not repeat here! Disability is just a part of life and I refuse to give up having fun while I still can. I could also make a very rude joke here about my choice of life partner, but we are all mature adults and shall not lower ourselves to such filth! :laughat:

I am glad that you are still able to ride, I don't know what I will do when I can't ride anymore. The wife has suggested a side car, so I countered that by suggesting that she insert her head up her back passage. :smt038

Re: Auto-Clutch Conversion
 

If it gets that bad I've chatted with a few Honda DCT owners who love them,

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-...a/nc750x/2021/

Also,

https://global.honda/en/newsroom/new...31107beng.html