Rekluse Noise

[IMCanadian]

I recently installed a rekluse auto clutch on ny 05 450R everything seems fine and it works great. The one thing I do notice is that in first gear some times when I excelerate hard from a complete stop I hear a squealing noise from the clutch (it's only temporary and doesn't happen everytime.) I also notice that it happens sometimes when I accerlerate on a slight incline (transmision under more load).

I called rekluse and they said that this is normal for the 450R. That they do make a noise sometimes when in first gear. I'm happy with this response but I thought I'd check to see if any of you have seen this happen. Please note the perch is adjusted properly and my gap is at 0.034".

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Kev]

Your right on....Get use to the noise...it's normal.

You may also get that noise if you lag the engine. It's just the clutch doing it job...

Kev

[shamisc]

How often do you have to adjust the clearances? Is it really worth having. I would love to have one for tight trails.

yeah, i've been thinking about one too.
because, i catch myself shifting without the clutch during xc races in the tight wooded sections.

i heard you need to readjust it after every ride....**** that

[jlm996s]

i heard you need to readjust it after every ride....**** that

Well, you heard wrong. I check mine when I change the oil, but it hasn't needed adjusting yet. I've had mine for almost a year and used it in the dunes, atleast 10 races, and several hours of trail riding. I love mine....no complaints here!

[Colby@C&DRacing]

Originally posted by jlm996s
Well, you heard wrong.

exactly

When I first got mine in July of 04 I didn't check it for 6 months after install, "I would not recommend this" but after some ridetime on a rekluse you will know when it needs adjusted.

[Kev]

I check mine perodically...about every 4-5 races....
I've not had to make any adjustments yet, and have had a friend have to change out 1 rekluse plate to put it back into spec.

Good to check it every now and then, as if those screws come loose, they will cause problems, as I have had them come loose on me because of maybe not making sure they were torqed down properly or such.

Kev

[jchurch]

Let me tell you my Rekluse story..... I had a Wolverine for a couple of years back in about '96. I used it to drag deer and other utility chores only. That was my total ATV experience, until my nephew talked my into buying a 450R this spring. I found a left over '04 for a good price and dove into the sport quad thing with virtually no experience whatsoever. I could ride it in the wide open sections without stalling the bike, but if I got into the woods or anywhere tight, I was kicking every 15 seconds. Talk about being POed. With advice from a buddy that runs in the front of alot of local harescrambles, I installed a Rekluse in the new R. At this point I had ran less than 2 gallons of fuel through the thing. ....This is where the story really starts to sound like a Rekluse ad. We installed the clutch on Saturday night before the first D 11 HS at Reno, Ohio in March. I did the breakin Sunday before the race, tried a few dead engine starts, rode it around the yard a few times and promptly went off to compete in my first 1.5 hour HS with a grand total of two gallons of sport ATV experience. I'm not gonna tell you I won or anything like that. I had a blast, finished one lap down to the pro riders, missed a check point once, couldn't stand up after the race, couldn't get my arms high enough to get my shirt off, couldn't get up my steps without using both hand rails until the following Thursday, BUT, I only stalled the R one time during the 1.5 hour race. (tree induced roll over) It was unbelievable how easy it was to ride. I can assure you, based on my experience before the race, I would not have finished one lap without the Rekluse. As tight as that track was, I would have been stalled constantly. My guess is....the more experienced you are with a clutch, the less of an advantage the Rekluse would be.
About the noise....I installed mine with advice from Charles at Rekluse. He suggested that I prelaod the cushions with brass shims to remove any slop between the cushions and the Hinson basket. I found .020" shim stock to fit very snug. After the first race, I pulled the basket out to make sure the shims were not doing anything funky. They looked exactly as I installed them with no noticable increase in slop. The air gap on the clutch pack had increased by approximatly.002" during the breakin and first race. I checked the gap after each hour or so of riding for the next 6 hrs and could not detect any additional widening whatsoever. I now check the gap at much larger intervals and the clutch seems to be doing perfectly. At the recomendation of Rekluse, I initally filled the tranny with Rotella. The whirring or screatching sound you described was there from the start. Sometines, when starting on a hill and when everything was hot, it almost felt like it was chattering. I switched to CenPeCo 15W40 heavy duty diesel oil and most of the noise cleared up. For the last few hours, I have been using CenPeCo 50 weight Racing Oil. It does not have any of the friction modifers that coat the discs but has far less detergents and more antiwear additives than the diesel oil. So far, I have not heard any noise, at all, from the clutch. It turns over a little harder when it is completely cold, but once it warms up, there is no disadvantage whatsoever.
If I can help in any way, let me know.....JC