EFM AutoClutch!

I finally talked Garry at EFM into building me a custom Husaberg autoclutch. A few years ago he made a custom clutch for my Kawasaki KX-500. It worked great, I had no problems with it and it was very easy to set up. The best thing is that his clutches cost much less than other brands. The autoclutch costs $500. The 1/4" custom cover spacer is $70. http://www.efmautoclutch.com/
He modifies your clutch basket by drilling and tapping two 4/40 holes per clutch basket tang. That's what holds the pressure plate assembly together. You can choose to retain use of the clutch lever or convert it over to rear brake use. I did that on my KX-500 and although it took some getting used to, I had far better braking control.
Why an autoclutch? Well, the Husaberg has very little flywheel and I tend to kill the motor at critical moments like last weekend when I was set to smoke by this KTM rider I was chasing down a trail. It also let's you do cool things like jam on the rear brake, slide into a berm and then crank on the throttle. You cannot stop the motor, it just releases the clutch and idles. You can also start it in gear and have an advantage for a dead engine start type event. The only negative thing is that you can not bump start it. Not a major deal with a kick and electric start motorcycle though. I'll keep everyone informed as to my progress and how it all turns out.

I've decided to take my clutch off tomorrow and send it to Garry for modification. Any weird or odd things about clutch removal on Husabergs? Is it pretty much:
1. remove the cover.
2. remove all the springs and spring retaining bolts
3. Remove the pressure plate and clutch plates.
4. Loosen the center hub nut with my impact.
5. Remove clutch basket.

Thanks! :toothy8:

Don´t forget to remove the water pump impeller before you try to remove the clutch cover.Make sure that the marks on primary gear and the gear wheel on the water pump shaft line up before you put the clutch basket back in place again,so you don´t mess up the cam timing.

Thanks for the reply. So I can't remove the clutch basket through the clutch cover? I was trying to avoid taking off the left engine case cover.

If i am not mistaken, if you have an '04 and up you can remove the clutch with disturbing anything else.

You'll need to remove the entire left side cover if you wish to remove the clutch basket. Make sure you purchase some spare impeller shaft seals, and review the correct method for re-installing.

There is a new after market seal being produced by John Prior in Australia. Its about 75 USD delivered to your door. Very expensive compared to the factory bit (< 5.00). I've heard that KTM/Husaberg is interested in this new seal but that's hearsay and that it should fix the weeping problems. His email address is [email protected]. I've not seen any reviews by happy customers on UHE so far.

I removed the cover and clutch without any problems today. I really love my impact wrench for taking off the clutch center nut! Brrrrdddt! No problem! The clutch basket assembly is packed up and off to Garry today. It will be a week or two before I get it back. Meanwhile, I'll check the valves with my nifty new tool and make some heat shields to keep from melting my riding gear.

I finally got my modified clutch back from Garry today. Toal cost not including the shipping was only $500.00. It went on very easy, exactly the same as assembling the orignal clutch except the pressure plate is thicker and attaches with short allen screws to special nut bridges that are welded across the basket tangs.
A Guinness on tap to Taffy for posting his drawing of how to align the crankshaft gear with the valvetrain drive gear. The manual shows it quite differently to the point that you could easily have it off by one tooth with disasterous results. I will have the cover re-installed tomorrow and take it out for a test ride at a local OHV area.
With this clutch you can also retain the handlebar lever but I have chosen not to. Instead, I've installed a rear brake master cylinder to operate the brake from the left lever. I've also completely removed my foot operated rear brake, although some tie them together. I did find that the Magura cover on the stock clutch master fits just fine on my new Magura brake master so I can retain the compression release lever! The only issue is that the clutch master requires mineral oil (to keep from lunching the motor should the slave seal give way) and states that requirement on the cover. The brake master requires DOT 3/4.
I've done this before on my KX-500 and I found it gave me far better control over the rear brake. It only takes a little getting used to. :lol:

Here's a few more details since I maxed out my three allowed attachments in the previous post! :lol:

Ride report!

Ride Report! After three attempts and a trip to Motoxotica for the phallic water pump seal adapter and two more seals, I finally got it put back together!! At one point I thought I almost had the case assembled when the kickstart spring came unsprung (aaaack!) :wall: and I had to take the whole lot apart once again. The best thing is that once I had it done and filled the tank full of fresh fuel, it fired up on the second kick! Then, I gingerly placed it into gear and it had no drag at all. I cranked on the throttle and away I went! It worked perfect right out of the box! :thumbup:

um... so why go to all the bother of dismantling everything, when you can buy a Rekluse Z-start autoclutch for about the same amount, and you dont have to remove the whole clutch basket, and side covers?... its a much easier install,.. and it also worked straight out of the box for me?..

Probably because Rekluse doesn't make an autoclutch for the FE-550 and I've had good luck in the past with the EFM units. I've also read on this site about others who have spent a lot of hours trying to get their Recluse set up and the EFM worked perfect without any setup issues.

The Rekluse clutch will fit the 550, but is not designed to take the massive torque output of the 550 and 650 engines.

CelticDude said:

With this clutch you can also retain the handlebar lever but I have chosen not to. Instead, I've installed a rear brake master cylinder to operate the brake from the left lever. I've also completely removed my foot operated rear brake, although some tie them together. I did find that the Magura cover on the stock clutch master fits just fine on my new Magura brake master so I can retain the compression release lever! The only issue is that the clutch master requires mineral oil (to keep from lunching the motor should the slave seal give way) and states that requirement on the cover. The brake master requires DOT 3/4.

Click to expand...

Note that the stock Magura mineral oil clutch master cylinder works fine with brake fluid substituted for mineral oil in the LHRB setup. Contrary to warnings of impending doom to the rubber seal components, the stock clutch master cylinders hold up under long term useage with brake fluid with no problems of seal deterioration.

Chas said:

The Rekluse clutch will fit the 550, but is not designed to take the massive torque output of the 550 and 650 engines.

Click to expand...

True until a couple of weeks from now, when Rekcluse has the Z start Pro out for Husabergs, yes, even the 650. Features full manual override at any engine speed.

Website shows 7/4/2007 as when they will be in stock.

Chas, I know you are a Revloc guy from your posts on KTM Talk, but this looks like a another option for those interested in an auto clutch set-up.

kiwiberger said:

um... so why go to all the bother of dismantling everything, when you can buy a Rekluse Z-start autoclutch for about the same amount, and you dont have to remove the whole clutch basket, and side covers?... its a much easier install,.. and it also worked straight out of the box for me?..

Click to expand...

How are you able to check clearances on the Rekluse clutch without pulling the side cover and not just the small clutch cover?

I'm about ready to go in and check my clearances (I anticipate that a bit of adjustment is needed,) so the small cover only would make life easier and minimize the risk of popping off the kickstart spring.

Satex said:

How are you able to check clearances on the Rekluse clutch without pulling the side cover and not just the small clutch cover?

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Use a thrust guage instead of a feeler guage. You'll get a more accurate reading as well...

Note that the stock Magura mineral oil clutch master cylinder works fine with brake fluid substituted for mineral oil in the LHRB setup. Contrary to warnings of impending doom to the rubber seal components, the stock clutch master cylinders hold up under long term useage with brake fluid with no problems of seal deterioration.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I wonder what the result of squirting a couple of ounces of Dot 3/4 brake fluid from a broken slave seal into an operating engine might be? 8O