the audacity of this hydraulic clutch and my LHRB install....

[Soviet]

So I finally got around to installing a LHRB. I researched various master cylinders for the LHRB. The rekluse unit, mtn bike units, the road racing brembo units, magura clutch as seen on the forums here, yada yada. The rekluse or mtn bike unit are the smallest and best for space constraints, however they have pretty poor reviews for modulation, power, and fade. The brembos have external reservoirs, which seem downright foolish considering most peeps that ride these dirt bikes bounce down trails at some point (myself included), and never in a manner intended. I had a magura master cylinder left over from a 525 KTM i parted out acoupla months ago and figured it would be perfect for a rear brake. Took it apart and cleaned everything out for the mineral to DOT fluid swap. Had a custom brake line built to mate the magura fitting (odd) to the rear caliper (normal). 68 inches from fitting to fitting is the perfect length. Cost me $75. As I figured out what lever to use, I realized 2 things.

1)Hydaulic clutches suck. Seriously. My friends cable actuated CRF450 has every bit of modulation as mine and his lever pull is actually easier! What gives!? Surely a well designed cable can do everything a hydro unit can, and weigh less. Sure, you might break a cable randomly, but the chance of that is no greater than that of springing a leak or having your slave cylinder torn clear off by the chain. Not too mention our bore wears out and then you have to buy the new piston from 7062 to fix the problem. I don't like hydro clutches much.

2)What the heck can I do about the mess of stuff that would be mounted on the left hand side of my handlebar. Seriously. 2 master cylinders? Mounting the two on the same axis would create a huge mess of clearance issues and they would need to be mounted 45 degrees apart which would make for some funky operation. Ideas about spending acoupla thousand bux for one of those randy levers the aussies make that put two masters stacked atop one another were clearly out of the question. If only I had a non hydro clutch i thought. Wouldn't it be great to be like all you lucky wr300 2 stroke blokes and just run the clutch where I run my decompression cable?? I only need the clutch for log jumps and some funky stuff. The rekluse does the rest. Eh, fact is I don't have a wr. so i'm stuck making something work. This is what I came up with.

I welded up some bar stock to a clamp so I could mount the clutch as close to the original without being in the way. It's about 1 1/2 above the brake, and totally out of the way by design. so i won't confuse the two or accidently grab the clutch. Thoughts?

 

[ray_ray]

Thoughts? Sorry but I would not put whatever that stuff is on my bike even if you gave it to me ...

 

[TROFFER88]

McGiver would be proud

 

[Phoenix]

Nice idea with the bar clamp. You should sell the concept to Rekluse. I know some people remove the clutch altogether, but I don't think I could ever give that lever up completely.

On the hydraulic thing...I love it. I just don't like the feel of cable clutches. I have been with four friends when their clutch cable broke, ending their ride or race (no Rekluse). That being said, though, my husband had his banjo bolt back out on a ride. Fortunately he has a Rekluse, so it didn't ruin the day.

 

[Soviet]

Thoughts? Sorry but I would not put whatever that stuff is on my bike even if you gave it to me ...

luckily for you, I only made one and I'm not definitely not going to give it to you. It's for me. and what "stuff" exactly are you referring to? a LHRB? a rekluse clutch? renthal bar pad maybe? The only part in this install that isn't on a standard 4st husky from the get go is the custom perch and a custom brake line. I used a factory magura master so you can't be displeased with that. perhaps it's the perch or brake line that don't meet your standards. Is there something i should have done differently? I suppose I could have had the perch anodized. Maybe colored crimp fittings on the brake line? I also wish I never had to make this, its out of necessity for a POS hydro clutch. Oh well, Just gotta make do with what i got. excited as heck to rock a LHRB.

Nice idea with the bar clamp. You should sell the concept to Rekluse. I know some people remove the clutch altogether, but I don't think I could ever give that lever up completely.

I'm the same way. I really tossed around the idea of losing the lever all together. It would have made it so much easier...but the log jumps and some funky situations you just have to have it. I dunno if rekluse would ever want the perch idea. they figure you should do it their way with the levers staggered 90 degrees. It makes it super awkward if you ask me. Your brake is super hi, and the clutch super low. Eh, The real answer is getting one of those dual action masters. They are like 2000 dollars though. which is absolutely absurd considering how little actually goes into a master cylinder. I'm guessing that would be the ray ray route since he's appalled with my idea.

 

[Kevin_TE250]

luckily for you, I only made one and I'm not definitely not going to give it to you. It's for me. and what "stuff" exactly are you referring to? a LHRB? a rekluse clutch? renthal bar pad maybe? The only part in this install that isn't on a standard 4st husky from the get go is the custom perch and a custom brake line. I used a factory magura master so you can't be displeased with that. perhaps it's the perch or brake line that don't meet your standards. Is there something i should have done differently? I suppose I could have had the perch anodized. Maybe colored crimp fittings on the brake line? I also wish I never had to make this, its out of necessity for a POS hydro clutch. Oh well, Just gotta make do with what i got. excited as heck to rock a LHRB.


I'm the same way. I really tossed around the idea of losing the lever all together. It would have made it so much easier...but the log jumps and some funky situations you just have to have it. I dunno if rekluse would ever want the perch idea. they figure you should do it their way with the levers staggered 90 degrees. It makes it super awkward if you ask me. Your brake is super hi, and the clutch super low. Eh, The real answer is getting one of those dual action masters. They are like 2000 dollars though. which is absolutely absurd considering how little actually goes into a master cylinder. I'm guessing that would be the ray ray route since he's appalled with my idea.

I lost the clutch on my TE-250 which later became a 300... didn't miss it at all... Just make sure your in Neutral when you start it

 

[MotoMarc36]

Nicely done! The work looks good, pretty clever idea!. But alas, I'm with Ray. All this talk of Rekluse and LHRB gives me heart palpatations! It's a motorcycle people! Stop Scooterizing your offroad MOTORCYCLES!!! It's supposed to be hard! It's supposed to take coordination!!

 

[Soviet]

All this talk of Rekluse and LHRB gives me heart palpatations! It's a motorcycle people! Stop Scooterizing your offroad MOTORCYCLES!!! It's supposed to be hard! It's supposed to take coordination!!

Though I agree with you on some levels, I'm out there riding everything i can and loving it. I've been to the sturgis, SD motorcycle rally on both a yamaha sportbike and a BMW. The sportbike got snarls and people talking &%$@. Didn't matter that my sportbike would go faster, handle better, need less maintenance, or better MPG. Didn't matter that I actually rode my bike to the rally and most of them trailered thiers. Point is, they get hung up on this stuff about the bike when it's about the ride.

The coordination or hard factor does not go away with an auto clutch OR a LHRB. Quite the opposite. You still have to keep the rubber down regardless of terrain, and the amount of throttle control needed to navigate technical stuff smoothly now goes up for the decrease in clutch modulation. Heck, you'll notice I still have the clutch lever up there because it's needed. And the rear brake is all about preference. I still need the coordination to control it regardless of where it's located on the bike. Riding a dirtbike isn't hard. Heck, if I just rode MX I'd never think about these mods since they wouldn't do much good. It's riding any type of terrain well thats hard. In which case, it's all about preference on how you accomplish that. If my clutch and LHRB gets me to a place i wouldn't have normally gotten, then to me it's worth it.

I know it's tough for die hard peeps to understand that. I just want to ride. This was my budget solution to the problem.

Thanks for the input though.

 

[Xcuvator]

So I finally got around to installing a LHRB. I researched various master cylinders for the LHRB. The rekluse unit, mtn bike units, the road racing brembo units, magura clutch as seen on the forums here, yada yada. The rekluse or mtn bike unit are the smallest and best for space constraints, however they have pretty poor reviews for modulation, power, and fade. The brembos have external reservoirs, which seem downright foolish considering most peeps that ride these dirt bikes bounce down trails at some point (myself included), and never in a manner intended. I had a magura master cylinder left over from a 525 KTM i parted out acoupla months ago and figured it would be perfect for a rear brake. Took it apart and cleaned everything out for the mineral to DOT fluid swap. Had a custom brake line built to mate the magura fitting (odd) to the rear caliper (normal). 68 inches from fitting to fitting is the perfect length. Cost me $75. As I figured out what lever to use, I realized 2 things.

1)Hydaulic clutches suck. Seriously. My friends cable actuated CRF450 has every bit of modulation as mine and his lever pull is actually easier! What gives!? Surely a well designed cable can do everything a hydro unit can, and weigh less. Sure, you might break a cable randomly, but the chance of that is no greater than that of springing a leak or having your slave cylinder torn clear off by the chain. Not too mention our bore wears out and then you have to buy the new piston from 7062 to fix the problem. I don't like hydro clutches much.

2)What the heck can I do about the mess of stuff that would be mounted on the left hand side of my handlebar. Seriously. 2 master cylinders? Mounting the two on the same axis would create a huge mess of clearance issues and they would need to be mounted 45 degrees apart which would make for some funky operation. Ideas about spending acoupla thousand bux for one of those randy levers the aussies make that put two masters stacked atop one another were clearly out of the question. If only I had a non hydro clutch i thought. Wouldn't it be great to be like all you lucky wr300 2 stroke blokes and just run the clutch where I run my decompression cable?? I only need the clutch for log jumps and some funky stuff. The rekluse does the rest. Eh, fact is I don't have a wr. so i'm stuck making something work. This is what I came up with.

I welded up some bar stock to a clamp so I could mount the clutch as close to the original without being in the way. It's about 1 1/2 above the brake, and totally out of the way by design. so i won't confuse the two or accidently grab the clutch. Thoughts?]

I think you did about as good as you could. Those big Magura MCs are hard to fit together. I have a TE450 that I made a bracket to clamp a handlebar stub like you did, but I put the stub on the underside of the handlebar:

Like you say the cable clutch perch is much slimmer and can be fitted at a better angle, especially when using a Bicycle MC. Here is the setup I have on my 165:

So far I have found the bicycle (Hayes) MC to perform very good. Two of the bike MCs would fit together much better, but I haven't checked to see if there is enough displacement to operate a clutch.
Here is my 610 setup, another cable clutch and so much easier to make work:

 

[Soviet]

I think you did about as good as you could. Those big Magura MCs are hard to fit together. I have a TE450 that I made a bracket to clamp a handlebar stub like you did, but I put the stub on the underside of the handlebar:

Yeah, those cable bikes make the install so nice and clean! Shoot, it looks like a 1/2'' is all thats different in the lever reach. Nice job there. You mention the mtn bike master works nicely. I was seriously considering one of those. I do a lot of mtn biking so I actually have a spare set of avid codes (downhill brakes) that would have worked on my sled. I heard about everyone complaining that they fade, or don't have the power though. Like it was tough to lock up the rear brake with it. Have you had any problems with that? I would still consider going to a mtn set-up if its the cats meow. My dual perch set up really isn't ideal. I'd consider better ideas though in the future. This was more of a $100 dollar experiment to see how much I love LHRB. I already know I will. [/quote]

 

[firffighter]

Funny, I just tried the same thing on my 200. I ditched my clutch lever all together though. With the Z-start Pro I can bilp the throttle and loft the front end whenever I want. I just put mine on yesterday and have not had a chance to try it yet. Hope I dont kill myself.

I think it was worth the $70 to experiment and see if I like having a LHRB.

 

[Xcuvator]

Yeah, those cable bikes make the install so nice and clean! Shoot, it looks like a 1/2'' is all thats different in the lever reach. Nice job there. You mention the mtn bike master works nicely. I was seriously considering one of those. I do a lot of mtn biking so I actually have a spare set of avid codes (downhill brakes) that would have worked on my sled. I heard about everyone complaining that they fade, or don't have the power though. Like it was tough to lock up the rear brake with it. Have you had any problems with that? I would still consider going to a mtn set-up if its the cats meow. My dual perch set up really isn't ideal. I'd consider better ideas though in the future. This was more of a $100 dollar experiment to see how much I love LHRB. I already know I will.

[/quote]

If you are a down hill biker or even if you aren't, you will probably like it. Much better control IMO If you can, I'd like to see some of the negative reviews of the Bike MCs. I have missed them.
A couple of things come to mind, What kind of brake line, and any air in the system?
If you have a bike MC or "lever" as they are called, see if you can get it hooked up. The adapter fittings are hard to find, I have had to make mine.

 

[juicypips]

umm sounds strange but im sorta wondering why you cant stick the clutch lever where the rear brake was/ i mean if its only occasionally you use it?
whats the benefit of a left hand rear brake anyhow?
looks mad tho an i like it

 

[ray_ray]

luckily for you, I only made one and I'm not definitely not going to give it to you.

Please let me clarify my words ... Your work looks great and apparently you have some very good fabrication skills ... What I was referring to was the additional levers on the bike ... One lever per bar side is still what I'm working on.

 

[juicypips]

yup whats stopping you putting the decomp on the throttle side?

 

[Soviet]

If you are a down hill biker or even if you aren't, you will probably like it. Much better control IMO If you can, I'd like to see some of the negative reviews of the Bike MCs. I have missed them.
A couple of things come to mind, What kind of brake line, and any air in the system?
If you have a bike MC or "lever" as they are called, see if you can get it hooked up. The adapter fittings are hard to find, I have had to make mine.[/quote]

Yeah, If I end up loving this I think I'll try the mtb master next. If you're having great luck with it, It would be way easier to fit the master on the actual bar and have it be nice and close VS the perch idea for mine. I was also thinking about how I would get the master mated to the line. I'd likely bring it to my hydraulic guy and and ask him how we could make it work. Since I already have the line, I would likely just cut the end off for the magura and see what we could do. I know I could use a mtn bike hydro line all the way back to the caliper, but I'd imagine it's tough to find a fitting that mates the caliper.

umm sounds strange but im sorta wondering why you cant stick the clutch lever where the rear brake was/ i mean if its only occasionally you use it?
whats the benefit of a left hand rear brake anyhow?
looks mad tho an i like it

I could!, though the point of doing this mod is eliminating all modulation on the foot controls. Could you imagine climbing a brutal hill while standing up and modulating the clutch on your right foot while bouncing off rocks and such? That would be evil. I still want the hand controls for the good stuff.

yup whats stopping you putting the decomp on the throttle side?

I can put the decomp anywhere. But changing where it's at won't eliminate a hydraulic master on the left side, which is what I would ideally like to do. I was saying that IF i had cable clutch, I could run the clutch where the decomp lever is, which would be awesome and look totally factory.

 

[Xcuvator]

[quote="

Yeah, If I end up loving this I think I'll try the mtb master next. If you're having great luck with it, It would be way easier to fit the master on the actual bar and have it be nice and close VS the perch idea for mine. I was also thinking about how I would get the master mated to the line. I'd likely bring it to my hydraulic guy and and ask him how we could make it work. Since I already have the line, I would likely just cut the end off for the magura and see what we could do. I know I could use a mtn bike hydro line all the way back to the caliper, but I'd imagine it's tough to find a fitting that mates the caliper.
[/quote]

If you can find one you will be looking for something that looks something like this:

This one goes from the 10mm X 1 MC caliper thread to Hayes compression fitting size of 8mmX .75. I have also tapped them for the more common 6mmX 1 bicycle banjo fitting. Someone must make them, I got tired of looking.

 

[David Linstrom]

Hello Xcuvator,
I'm trying to find an adapter like the one you made, but they don't exist. I'm attempting to attach a FHRB to my dirt bike. I have a Hayes MTB brake line that uses a banjo bolt that is M6x1.0 and the MC that wants a M10x1.0. Any chance you can tap one for me?

This one goes from the 10mm X 1 MC caliper thread to Hayes compression fitting size of 8mmX .75. I have also tapped them for the more common 6mmX 1 bicycle banjo fitting. Someone must make them, I got tired of looking.[/quote]