Yep, tex is right the company is magnum. Made in USA

 

I meant to respond the other day...

I've got a set of 15 degree ramps that I pulled out of my Electra Glide. I found that they did not give adequate clutch rod throw distance, and ended up burning up my throwout bearing.



Anyway, if you want to give them a shot, they're free for the asking. You just pay postage.

Having gone round and round on this a while back, my conclusion is that there's no free lunch. Other than reducing friction in the cable, anything you do to reduce the required clutch lever pull is going to translate into less movement on the clutch rod. Boil it down, and the whole mechanism acts as a compound lever. The clutch handle itself is obviously a simple lever. The ball and ramp is itself a compound lever: There is one lever from the axial center to the center of the hook, and another lever from the ramps themselves. If you figure a little over an inch of throw on the clutch lever, and about 65 thou of throw on the clutch rod, the final ratio of the system works out to about 20 to 1, which is pretty cool actually. Five pounds of "squeeze" gets you 100 pounds of clutch actuation.

 

Thanks Omaha, I didn't do so well at physics in high school, but your explanation makes good sense!
So does this include the "ezy pull / lite clutch kits" that keep the ramp at 18*?

Also, what's your opinion of the AMP clutch kits that claim to reduce lever pull by 50% by elimination the mouse trap thingy?

 

From what I understand, those kits take one of three forms:

- Lower angle ball and ramps
- Dongles tha clip onto the end or the ramp arm, which reduces ramp rotation
- Lighter springs

So, if they advertise that you keep your 18 degree ramps, but then you extend the effective length of the ramp's hook arm, you've effectively lowered the ramp angle. There's no getting something foe nothing.
They aren't eliminating the mousetrap. They are adding it.

I've never played with one of those, so I don't really have an opinion. My understanding (really just a guess) of the way the mousetraps work is that there is something that operates as a cam that pivots around a point of extreme mechanical advantage which allows a spring to be what actually pulls the clutch cable. Kind of like how a compound archery bow works. There will be a moment of high effort until the mechanism "breaks", at which point the effort will fall way off.

Nothing really changes the underlying fact that, however you get there, you have to compress the clutch spring by about 0.065". That is going to take a specific amount of force, and ultimately all of it is coming from your left hand.

 

PS: If I were you, I'd start by making sure your cable is top notch, then try those 15 degree ramps. Just because they didn't work for me doesn't mean they won't work for you.

 

The clutch actuation system is the same for 1987 and later 5 speed bikes, (although the factory played with ramp angles over the years).

Well, you could always change the gearset to a `90 or later unit, or install a 1990 mainshaft into your existing gearset...

 

Try this thing , install a bunch of them for the early FXR crew years ago, seemed to work. Extends the actuating arm a bit on the stock ball mechanism.

 

Dr.Linda likes her Amp power clutch thingie. I put it on her bike per Tup's suggestion.

Yeah, no free lunch, really. We had one of those easy clutch thingies that move the cable attachment point on the ramp thingie on her bike. Burned up a clutch set in like 5K miles.

You could always go to a foot clutch and tank or jockey shift. Old Skool.

 

Thanks Dan89, could you explain a little more how this is done and what it involves? Sounds like the answer if it will let me install a AIM VP.
Thanks

 

Wow. Burned out a clutch in 5K miles?

I'm starting to think the foot clutch and jockey shift might not be such a bad thing! Now, who makes the best foot clutch/jockey shift kits???

Thanks