Rekluse Core EXP review

Let me just start by giving Sutto’s a big thank you. After the birthday ride Scott loaded my bike onto his trailer and took it into work with him. He called me on the Monday and put me in touch with Shaun who was going to fit the Rekluse. He talked me through the process and offered some set up suggestions and answered a few questions I had. He was great to deal with and soon enough I had a call that the work was done and the clutch was in. Thanks to Moose for getting my little Yami back to Choppy and from there it was an easy Friday arvo drive to pick her up and bring her home. You can’t go to Choppy on a Friday and not drop by the shed so I caught up with Mick and the crew.
I hadn’t ridden for 5 weeks so I was super keen to get out there but Saturday I had to do some maintenance and look after the little ones. I fitted a new air and oil filter and gave her a fresh drink of Silkolene’s finest in readiness for Sunday.
We have had a lot of rain in the past month even by our standards so it would be soft out there and traction would be tough to find in spots so it was looking like it would be a real test of the Rekluse. TB had called me on Friday night and suggested that I just ride it as if it was a normal clutch and not over think it. That was good advice as I went out and settled into my ride as if nothing had changed. I think this really is the point of the Core EXP versus the original Z Start Rekluses. If you use the clutch as per normal it is as if nothing has changed albeit the throw on my cable clutch was much lighter. I have always been pretty fussy about keeping my cable clutch light but this was a new level altogether. From what I understand the original Rekluse made your clutch lever redundant and in fact some moved their back brake up to replace the clutch that had now gone the way of an appendix. I can imagine how this could alienate a lot of riders, particularly the old school, but the Core EXP is different. After a few km’s warming up I stared shifting without clutching and the engagement was clean and the power feed was smooth. In fact it was consistently perfect in its engagement. There are a lot of better riders on this site than me but I can occasionally make the perfect shift but all of a sudden I was doing it every time and the drive I was getting was excellent. It is worth mentioning here that my experience is based on the changes I felt on a 250F. Different capacities would take advantage of the Rekluse in different ways and I can imagine a big bore spending all day in 3rd just tractoring around but on a 250F you still have to be in the right gear to make up for the lack of pure grunt.
By the 10k mark I was starting to really experiment and fighting instinct and not using the clutch at all and even brake sliding into corners with no clutch and driving out of them without feathering. In a very short time it started to feel quite natural and I began to challenge the Rekluse to see if it would live up to its claims. I will break my ride down into three components so as to best explain what I experienced today.
Climbing:
Let me start by saying having the Core EXP in your bike is a game changer. Jumping on a mates Rekluse equipped bike and doing a lap up the street or around a paddock is not a fair test. The only fair test is to have it in your bike, on your home terrain. Climbing with the Rekluse Core EXP is a revelation. It really is that good. I have some hills that are too fast for second but have me constantly feathering the clutch to keep my bike in the meat of the power in 3rd. On entering the climb I clicked into 3rd and opened the gas. There was no labouring just a clean drive and incredible traction. I found I was ready to click 4th earlier than usual so I had carried more speed on a know section of trail. Later in the ride I decided to try a greasy hill that I would normally avoid on a day as slick as today but by now I was well and truly in test mode so I took it on. Not only was it super slick in the way only red clay can be, the recent rains had torn a diagonal rut clean across it. I looked ahead and saw no real option so I just gassed it up the middle. Once again it tracked straight and true and fed the power on perfectly. It got so slick and steep towards the top that I instinctively grabbed some clutch and it killed my momentum. As soon as I let it out it dragged me up and out of a section that should have been a lot more difficult than it was. Last climb to test me was a rocky loose one that had recently had some 4bies up it so it was cut to pieces. I was that full of confidence by now that I attacked it a gear higher than I normally would. As if to slap me back to reality I cross rutted and low sided back down the hill. My bike was virtually upside down with fuel pissing out the breather hose yet the bike kept running. I contemplated hitting the kill switch but instead I just picked her up and stood my ground. One negative I had heard was that as the clutch engages the bike rolls back on a hill but all I had to do was twist the throttle a little to stop to roll back as I angled it back across the hill. Holding the throttle like that is not something you would want to do for extended periods as it will load the clutch but for the brief moment it takes to hold the bike as you get balanced above it it makes all the difference and enables you to hold your ground. I was on a section of the hill where I would normally turn around and head back down but as I was in test mode I tried to take off from where I was. Keep in mind the engine was still running through this whole process so there was no need to balance and search for neutral, simply click first, feed on the power and truck out of there. It was not pretty and to say I rode out feet up would be a lie but I did manage to take off from where I had stopped and I made it to the top.
Descending:
The real difference while descending is your ability to freewheel. Engine braking remains as normal until you lock the back wheel by stamping on the rear brake at which points engine braking is gone and your bike starts to freewheel as if it were a 2 stroke. At first this sounds a little confusing having engine braking one minute and then not the next but in use it is very easy to control. As long as engine braking is engaged it continues as you click down through the gears it but if you do lock up without using the clutch lever the Rekluse kicks in and starts to freewheel. If you want to revert to engine braking you just need to blip the throttle and it kicks back in. It did not take long to be able to deliberately activate one or the other and to have the option is good. On one downhill where the gradient is not great I am normally holding the throttle on slightly to overcome the engine braking or riding the clutch. Today I simply jabbed the rear brake and coasted through as if on a 2 stroke with little resistance. As soon as I needed to I hit the gas it was all back to the normal 4 stroke feel.
Cornering:
Two words here. Drive and traction. You can get on the gas so hard yet the back end just holds underneath you and propels you down the trail. Of course if you want to get all loose you can use the clutch and step the back out but if you let the Rekluse do its work it delivers the power seamlessly. Even on the slippery stuff it hung on and just encourages you to exit corners harder and earlier. Off camber turns really benefit from the added traction and the progressive engagement felt like it allowed my bike to accelerate faster than stock. If you do need to loft the front wheel then just pull some clutch or dump the throttle and up she comes. Towards the end of the ride I was just giving it full power out of corners and riding harder than my ability deserves.

In summary I am stoked. You have all the benefits of an auto system with the traditional clutch only a finger tip away. If you had asked me if they are worth their money after a quick ride around a car park I would be hard pressed to justify spending the best part of a grand but after today I would put one straight into any bike I buy in the future. I know the traditionalists will say that it is unnecessary and that standard clutches work just fine and that is true but if you ride for enjoyment, which is what I do, then this definitely improves your riding experience.
After just one three hour ride I am a complete convert and am contemplating chucking a sickie tomorrow so that I can get out again.

STM