Lifestyle Cycles Product Review: Rekluse Apex Clutch

"Hey, it's Kevin with Lifestyle Cycles again, and I've got Danny who's come all the way from Boise, Idaho, to talk to us about the Rekluse clutch line. Danny, really a pleasure to have you here."

"Yeah, great to be here, Kevin. Thank you very much."

"All right, Danny, it's great to have you at the shop today. I appreciate you taking the time to come in and see us all the way from Boise, Idaho. I'm really looking forward to seeing what all you brought down with you."

"Well, thank you. I'm happy to be here today. Today, we'll talk about our Apex clutch. This is something new from Rekluse. So, what separates Rekluse from the other clutch manufacturers is, I believe, our innovation and our patented technology."

"To start with our patented fixed pinhub technology, what we do is we use steel pins on our steel plates rather than having them engage against aluminum. Steel's always going to win and notch out an aluminum hub. With steel on steel, our plates slide up and down smoother, providing better clutch modulation. With this clutch system, we're able to fit 18 friction plates. More friction plates mean more torque transferred to the rear wheel, and we can achieve this with a lighter clutch lever pull than stock. We can transfer up to 200 foot-pounds of torque. In most builds, you're probably going to be under 150 foot-pounds of torque. With 150 foot-pounds of torque or less, you'll have about a 20 to 30% lighter clutch lever pull. If you combine this with a hydraulic model and our slave cylinder, you can reduce it by up to 50%. This allows for a 50% lighter clutch lever pull and provides the most durable high-performance clutch available for V-twin motorcycles. There's really nothing like this on the market. All of our parts are billet machined: our pressure plate, our center clutch hub, our clutch basket. These start from forged blanks, making them even stronger. When something is forged, a chunk of aluminum is heated up and smashed with great force, stretching out the metal molecules, making it less brittle and less likely to break."

"Another thing we do, again being very innovative, is using these little steel inserts. These go into an OEM basket and protect against notching. Every time you accelerate and decelerate, your friction plates hammer back and forth. By putting steel inserts in there, we protect the basket and provide a smoother surface for the friction plates to slide up and down on, improving clutch modulation."

"Another innovative technology with Rekluse is our friction plates. We use a much thinner friction plate than stock, so in the same space, we can fit many more frictions. Again, more frictions mean more torque transfer. In this clutch, we fit 18 friction plates, which is up to eight more than the stock clutch, a big improvement in torque capacity."

"Also, on our friction plates, there's a patented profile on the friction pad design, much like a tire tread. We're actually dissipating water out of the way. What we're trying to do is scoop oil and bring it in between the plates, helping oil flow in and out between the plates to keep the clutch cooler. The same goes for our components; we engineer and design these for oil flow. You'll see big openings here and on the bottom. The pressure plate allows oil to flow through, keeping the clutch cooler."

"Looks like great technology. Looking forward to trying some of these out. I know we've been ordering some of the clutches lately and have had great responses from our customers. Now that we've had you in here to explain a little more, I see us moving a lot more of the product. Fantastic."

"Well, I hope you do. Again, this is something brand new from us. I truly believe there's no more durable clutch available for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It's great for a big engine build. There's nothing stronger. What separates us is we're rooted in racing. We've been part of the factory efforts from Harley-Davidson in flat track. We've won championships with Jared Mees using our products. We learn from racing; what wins on Sunday sells on Monday. We take everything we've learned, and the culmination is this clutch. We work with factory teams in every racing discipline, from off-road to street racing to drag racing to flat track. With these teams, we learn; they're the ones putting the abuse on the clutch. They build high horsepower, and they need to get that power to the ground. So, we innovate in our technology to build components that help transfer that power to the ground and keep the clutch cooler."

"Another thing I didn't touch on with the plates is they have a steel core. Stock friction plates are made from aluminum, which has a higher thermal expansion rate. When it heats up, it expands, causing clutch fade. With a cable clutch, you get more free play in the lever. With our steel plates, steel has a lower thermal expansion rate, so they expand less with heat, resulting in less performance loss in demanding situations."

"What are some of the advantages you've heard from your dealers and retail customers about the new clutch?"

"With our clutches, one thing is just moving a bike off the showroom floor. I'm sure you've had someone walk through the door with a hand issue or just looking for a lighter clutch lever pull. Pulling in the clutch in stop-and-go traffic is really tough all the time. I had carpal tunnel surgery myself. With this particular clutch, because we use 18 friction plates, we can reduce the clutch lever pull. If you combine this with our slave cylinder, you can reduce the clutch lever pull by about 50%. We've had a couple of customers in, which is why we've been moving the product lately. We had an older gentleman, about 80 years old, who wanted to ride again. He bought a trike from us but couldn't grab the clutch, so we installed one of your clutches, and he could ride again. There was also a young lady on a Sportster who had carpal tunnel in her left hand. With your clutch, she was able to ride her bike again and really enjoy it. So, it's not only about horsepower; it's also about taking care of people who can't always grab those really hard clutch levers. It also improves modulation, giving you a better or broader friction zone. Rather than the clutch lever being an on/off switch, it gives you more throw of the lever to fully control the clutch, making it less likely to stall the motor."

"Yeah, looking forward to getting one on my bike for sure."

"Fantastic. Let us know."

"Well, you heard it here. It looks like this guy's got the stuff. Stay tuned for us putting some of these in bikes and doing some installation videos that you'll find on our website, YouTube, Instagram, and everything else. I really want to thank you for coming out today and taking the time to give us some education on all that stuff."

"Thank you; I appreciate it, Kevin."

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