Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127282
WORKBENCH By Nate R a u ba No more pullingclutch levers or someo ne learnin g to ride a motorcycle for the first time, one of the most difficult th ings to master is the proper coordination of the clutch and throttle. Many peopl e won 't even attemp t to learn such coordination in order to drive a manual transmission automobile, mu ch less try it o n a motorcycle. But Jason Swist, from Alberta, Canada, has come up with the Ace Clutch .System; an automatic clutch that would ;make learning to ride simpler and .virtually eliminate stalling. Swist got the .idea when he lost a motocro ss race after stalling whil e leading on the final lap . After five years of development, Swist has a working protot ype auto matic clutch mounted on a Honda CRSOO motocross bike. The setup is fairly simple and consists of an on/off switch an d a throttle sensor o n th e h andl ebars; soleno id, air pump and reservoir located ·in a sma ll box on the side of the airbox; a special pn eum atic clutch pressure plate and a machi ned clutch cover. F ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• II 0>0punI Cyclesupply. (Yc11ow Bu.ildi:n&) . 889 W. Mill SLI San &mudino. CA * '/ nno Mill Sl Chaparral Cycle Supply .., ;; E IO FWY • •........... -_.•..•.......• . •' 60 FWY . 91 FWY s Riverside ANNDALPARKING LOT SALE ONE DAY ONLY • FIRST COME FIRST SERVE CASH ONLY - No Mail Orders f \ O'Neal Bullet Boots SIOO! Turbo RC Boots SI50! Moto 4 Helmets S80! MS Lazer Helmets - SBO! ~ • ~ Operation is sim ple. When the on/ off buuon is pushed whil e the motorcycle is idling in neutral , the air pump is activated and creates pressure to disengage the clutch so the bike can be pu t into gear. When the throttl e is turned to a certain point, that air pressure is released and the clutch engages, T o shift, merely back off the throttle momentaril y and tap the shift lever. . T he cl u tch en ga ge me nt is very smooth, so smoo th that in a brief test session on a dry, hard-pack track there was very little wheelspin, even when we dumped the throttle an d tried to break 'the rear end loose. The poi nt at which engage ment occurs can be adjusted by the throttl e sensor, whil e the diam eter of the pn eum atic hose con trols how 'q uickly the air pressure is released. i, With an auto mat ic clutch you can blast into a tum and 'hit the brakes hard 'a t . the last moment without worryin g abou t stalling , T he throttl e has to be . completely backed off, as we found tile moto r can still stall if left open even a little bit un der heavy braking. However, the throttle sensor will likely be eliminated since Swist has plans to . utilizea digitally-controlled comp uter to monitor engi ne rp m and possibly in take velocity and engine compression. The clutch would then disengage auto ma tically when the engi ne reached a predeterm ined load limit, It\ not just off-road riders who wou ld benefit from an automatic clutch, and Swist sees- a much wider use [or the system on street machinery. Swist is currently trying to reach a licensing agreement with the Japanese manufacturers so that his aut omatic clutch can be put into production, but if such an agreement can 't be made he says he may sell his clutch as an afte;market product. 01 CTS Helmets - by Bieffe HiPoint Goggles Open Face S35! S6.99! Cheng Shin Greenba ll MX Size Price 410 x 14 $13.00 530 x 17 $22.00 410x 18 - $15.00 $19.00 460 x18 530 x 18 $22.00 $21.00 110/90x 19 Jazz Jugs (Whf, Red , Blue) SID! (Ful/Face $45) T eam Muzzy Kawa saki J990 Superb ike Champions 17