TUSK clutch test report.

[bclapham]

OK, well after racing the RM144 for a few months, it seems i have become a bit of a clutch abuser- last week, we got alot of rain and the track was really muddy and i took the old trusty YZ250 to the races.

Within 10 mins of the first practice i had totally smoked the clutch, it was thinner than the minimum spec, but measureed OK not long ago- stinky stanky, LOL

yesterday my Tusk offroad clutch kit came from rockymountain- $45 for fibers, steels and EBC HD springs- thats cheap....so is it any good??????

yes! :thumb:

one thing i noticed was that the steels were a little sharp on the stamped edge, i just polished them with a cratex wheel on the dremel tool. looking at the stock steels, they also had an edge but not that sharp, however, they have been in the bike a while.

both the steels and the fibers measured up well to stock and i took it to the track today.

the clutch works well, but it was real sandy so i was getting lots of wheelspin. its not grabby, and the action is smooth, presumably in part because of the polished steels. not too stiff either.

one drawback is that the fibers seemed to swell a bit- i can tell this since after a 15 min run, there was a bit more freeplay on the lever- not noticed that before with the OEM stuff- however, i am now running a different oil so take that for what its worth. if youve got on the fly it wont be an issue, i like a really well adjusted setup with little slack but i can live with it.

bottom line, it works, is OK made and great for the price (ive seen worse expensive aftermarket stuff). if you are off road riding it will be good, we will see how it holds up at the races on saturday, i think it will, but i dont know if it could meet the thump chump challenge, but then no clutch has managed to do that!

 

[MXFastGuy]

Here's my report:

I tried the Tusk clutch kit in my '02 YZ 125. The bike was brand new in November, and I logged 13 arenacross rides over the winter with absolutely no clutch probs, all with the OEM plates. They were still in good shape, but the boss was grooved so I decided to replace the boss and try the Tusk clutch kit to start the outdoor season.

I took the bike outdoors last Saturday and just as clapham said, the plates swelled BIG TIME. I've got AOF, but I was spinning the thing over every jump to compensate. It was UNACCEPTABLE, and I've never had a clutch fade like that.

I have put the OEM fibers back in (b/c they're still in spec for thickness), and we'll see how those do outdoors on the exact same track. But I'm pretty sure I gave the clutch more abuse indoors than out, and the OEM's never wimpered all winter.

Not bashing the product, just giving my experience. And when it comes to clutches, I unfortunately have a lot.

 

[bclapham]

Well, well, well.......

you guys might have noticed i didnt give a report on how this clutch held up under racing conditions. Unfortunately, my story is even more frustrating than MXFastguy! I deliberately held back since ive sent the damn thing back for a refund.

I race at a different place than where i practise, when i said "it works" i think this was part because i only cruising around my local track and wasnt hammering it too much and the other part wishfull thinking!

On race day, I took the bike out in first practice and after 5 minutes the clutch was so swelled up, there i could pull the lever all the way to the bar without it disengaging. I took up the slack on the cable and finished up the last 5 mins. 15 mins later i go back for the second practise, the bike has had a little time to cool and it was back out adjustment the other way now and it was slipping going through the pits- again, it heats up, swells and comes back into adjustment then gets hotter and goes out of adjustment the other way!

so it comes to racing, i was the last moto of the day and the bike was proper cold, and of course it was again really out of wack this time, i did some burn outs to get it hot and got it into adjustment while waitng for the first gate to start. i dont have AOF and i could only use the clutch on every other lap- it would either slip when cold, or get hot and swell up and not disengage.

second moto was worse, as i waited on the line i had the lever all the way into the bar, i could feel it starting to drag, it got worse, the bike rolled forward into the gate and the bike stalled. the gate dropped, everyone went and i was sat there looking like a dork!

i called rockymountain and they said they have sold hundreds of these things with no complaint. ive sent it back but i dont think they will work with me on it. I even tried two different brands of oil and it was just as bad with both.

MXFASTGUY, you have to call them up and complain and send the thing back, :thumb: this way, they cant turn around and say "no one else has had these problems"

 

[KLRay]

Great info guys, Thanks!

 

[MXFastGuy]

Update: Just got done riding on my tight backyard SX track, I purposely hammered the clutch with the OEM's, NO PROBLEMS, nothing like the last ride with the Tusk. If I had those Tusk plates in there today, it woulda been UGLY!

The Tusk was worth a try, I guess. I'm wondering (but too lazy to do the math), is it still worth the money to buy the Tusk kit for the steel plates and springs, and just toss the fiber plates?

Clapham, I'll complain to Tusk on Monday.

 

[bclapham]

I'm wondering (but too lazy to do the math), is it still worth the money to buy the Tusk kit for the steel plates and springs, and just toss the fiber plates?

Clapham, I'll complain to Tusk on Monday.

LOL, probably, but i didnt really need the steels in the first place!

give them a call and when they tell you its the first they have heard about it, tell them thats BS! :thumb:

 

[MXFastGuy]

give them a call and when they tell you its the first they have heard about it, tell them thats BS! :thumb:

LOL!!! I've gotta' do it.

BTW, your story about your race day had me rolling on the floor (sorry). That's too much, I can picture some guy sitting on the line burning the clutch to get it nice and faded and ready for the moto! Then hitting the gate, that's TOO MUCH!

Sorry, but I've had similar situations with an '00 CR250 and you really brought back some memories. I've never had such a horrible bike for clutches as that one.

 

[bclapham]

BTW, your story about your race day had me rolling on the floor (sorry). That's too much, I can picture some guy sitting on the line burning the clutch to get it nice and faded and ready for the moto! Then hitting the gate, that's TOO MUCH!

hey, if you cant laugh about these things, what else is left- i did take some crap from all my mates watching in the pits though.

 

[holeshot]

second moto was worse, as i waited on the line i had the lever all the way into the bar, i could feel it starting to drag, it got worse, the bike rolled forward into the gate and the called rockymountain and they said they have sold hundreds of these things with no complaint. ive sent it back but i dont think they will work with me on it. I even tried two different brands of oil and it was just as bad with both.

I put Barnett clutch plates on a '97 CR250 I once owned and, as a result, the clutch wouldn't disengage completely (the plates seemed too thick). There may be aftermarket manufacturer's that are good (Moose maybe?), but they are far and few between. OEM is the safest bet (IMO).

Back in the 70's, a lot of bikes had grabby clutches from new. My '76 RM370 was a notorious creeper. One time during a moto start, (there was no gate or anything else back then, just a guy with a flag) the starter was walking down the line to make sure everybody had their front wheels lined up in a trench, when my RM decided it couldn't hold back anymore and it just took off by itself. Of course, the starter guy was walking directly in front of my bike at that moment, so he ended up with my front wheel in his @#$%^. Ouch. :eek: