Can you get a slipper clutch for an SV?

Stew,,,They do cost a few bob don't they?

[Balky001]

Some interesting points and some techy stuff too! It remind me a bit of similar debates when ABS started becomong standard on cars - a good driver could outbrake an ABS system but then 99.9% of people couldn't, and the benefits in the wet or keeping stable were greater than the 2 feet a F1 racer may be able to stop the car in the dry (compared with the ABS system).

In practise, maybe a slipper clutch is an indulgance few will ever make use of but may talk about lots in the pub. But where some riders may like to feel if the back end is moving you are near the edge, well if you actually were, you'd feel it using a slipper too. If you are moving and you are not near the bikes limit is may be poor downchanging/clutch. I don't think a slipper changes the ultimate grip/lean of the bike. However, it keeps the suspension smooth, you get lots of engine braking if you set it up that way and whilst you may not use it on every corner or even every day, but when you do its does help on all surfaces and most speeds. It's also a big bonus for those that don't usually use the back brake. I have to agree with some others though, the blip and brake skill maybe be lost if slippers become standard on all vehicles.

[SVGrandad]

Originally Posted by northwind

Hmm... have you got a pointer for where on the site that is? Looks interesting stuff.

Er yes. Try www.bankspower.com then click "Knowledge", then "banks Talks Tech - Main Page" then "Understanding Todays Diesel". It is about halfway down the article. Sorry about the long track!

[northwind]

As far as i can tell from reading that, he's not referring to engine braking at all there, but to what he calls compression braking- loss of power through the compression stroke.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by bankspower

The higher the effective compression ratio, the greater the pumping loss. The good news is, no matter whether the pumping losses are high or low, these losses are mostly recovered on the power cycle. That’s why there isn’t any “compression braking”, as we’ll explain next.

Seems to me they're actually saying "compression braking" is a bad term.

"Engine braking" usually refers to the overall braking effect of the engine & drivetrain, including frictional losses etc.

"Compression braking" usually refers to the specific component of engine braking caused by the pumping of the cylinders, which is usually the largest factor, and what varies between engine configurations etc. It's a bad term because the compression losses are recovered by rebound on the next stroke, and is actually caused by pulling a vacuum against a closed throttle on the intake stroke.

As diesels effectively have a permanently open throttle, they shouldn't have much engine braking at all. However everyone I've ever asked says that they do, so the theory goes out of the window at that point...

quick link to article: http://www.bankspower.com/Tech_todaysdiesel.cfm

PS I don't know anything at all about slipper clutches