As I am sure most riders do, I start looking at ways to improve the factory platform, when expecting the shipment of a new quad. I notice that most sport quads do not come from the factory with Hydraulic clutches. Is this because the old cable adjusted mechanical are more reliable? or is it just a cost saving, for the manufacturers? I would like some input on whether or not a hydraulic clutch will be a good investment on the 2003 LT-Z400. Thanks

Ride on.

 

Most of the new C-dales come with them. Whether or not they actually perform better, I don't know. Magura is the company making them aftermarket as a replacement to the stock clutch. Check out their website...not sure of the address though...you'll find it. I was actually curious about them myself. I was looking at them. I'm sure a magazine will be doing a test on'em soon.

No one knows the quality of its suspension or what kinda power this new quad is gonna put out but it couldn't be much different than the power of a 400ex I suppose. Drive it first and wait for the magazine test to see what they say. That's my advice.

 

the hydraulic clutch setup does outperform the cable setup by a long shot.i've tried the magura on a couple of different machines that i ahve owned but i didn't has any success with the reliability.they kept breaking on me.just i just went back to ol reliable cable and i never have any problems.but the hydraulic clutch is alot smottoer no fade and alot less pull effort.very nice. and on some machines thay might be more reliable then other but i had no luck with mine.
i know all the ktm bikes come from the factory with magura hydraulic clutch setups and i haven't heard any reliability problems with them yet so it just might be my setup.if i knew it would be reliable on my machine then i would definately use on,especially for racing applications.

 

the main advantage is to give a little smoother clutch pull, if you have real strong springs in the clutch, it provides more leverage, I have one on a street bike (1300) and a cable pull on a 650..both work fine..the clutch pak in the 1300 is similar to a v max..so with a hyd clutch I can 2 finger it,,3 on the 650..but the 1300 puts out more rwhp..

 

1300?...Hyabusa maybe? All of my street bikes have had hydraulic clutches, and personally I prefer them. I have been on the Magura website and that is where my thought evolved from. I also know that the Connondale's are factory built with hydraulics. Cannondale being an extremely progressive manufacturer, really builds their quads for serious action. It is too bad that the Japanese manufacturers do not come stock with them. The lack of fading is what I am really after. If the Z400 is geared as bad as the Raptor was in 2001 then I will definitely need some type of hydraulic clutch. I will be checking the Performance Machine site to see if they have anything. I have used their Billet callipers before and they were an excellent addition to my ZX-9R. I have never used Magura clutches before, so if anyone has anymore info it would be much appreciated.

Hey Killerkx327, how many hours did it take you to install the first one?

Rideon![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

KillerKX327 is right when he stated the KTM's are equipped with Magura cluthes. The reliability is excellent. At first, I was worried about trying to ride a 2-stroke with a hydraulic clutch because the clutch would have to be slipped constantly on a dirtbike. However, after test riding a KTM380EXC<--the fastest dirtbike I have ever been on, I am a believer. The clutch was liquid (no pun intended) smooth. I was afraid of a pulsing problem as the clutch engaged, but that didn't happen at all. I have not seen any quads with a conversion kit though. I would like to know how it works out.

 

The Maguras use a bike spoke as a pull rod to pull the clutch arm.
Billetanium.com uses a stainless steel pull rod, much stronger!!
http://www.billetanium.com

 

If your clutch spring pressure is enough to exceed the tensile strength of a bike spoke a hydraulic clutch would be the least of your worries...

 

well it took about as long to install one as it did to take off the old lever and cable.it's a simple bolt on process.it would be the same as bolting on your lever then running your cable down where it belongs then attaching it to your clutch actuator.
billetanium does make an excellent hydraulic clutch setup,it's a little pricey and they only make them for a very machines.like 5-6 different models.
yeah i really didn't like the setup that i got from magura it didn't last 5 minutes either time.in fact i didn't even get to ride the bike with the clutch.it broke just by pulling it in getting the feel for it right after i installed it. and i know it was installed properly cause i'd installed about 20 or so of them before i put mine on.
i'm seriously thinking about getting another setup for my tecate4.

 

I tried to order a billetanium clutch from Magic racing and was told it has been discontinued for the 400ex.It was also twice the price of Magura and have had no problems with my Magura since recieving the updated version.Every quad I own from now on will have a hydraulic clutch..