Stock Clutch vs Racing Clutch

There is an important axiom of performance work that many novice engine modifiers or builders seem to overlook: Once you've made an engine a performance fire-breather, some of the bike's engine mechanical components may need to be beefed up to handle the extra power, with the clutch usually being the first weak link.

Make no mistake: the OEM/standard clutch pack does an excellent job handling stock power levels, as well as quite a bit more. It has an easy lever pull, smoothly controls the engine's power, and sends all of it to the transmission.

All the things you want a clutch to do. However, once a motor starts cranking out considerable more juice, the stock clutch doesn't like dealing with the extra horses and torque. Result: After spending lots of hard-earned cash to get extra power from your engine, you lose some of it to a slipping clutch.

That being the case, we can advice that you inform yourself about the clutch options for your particular bike and engine. For most motorcycles engines you can buy of the shelf racing clutches. This clutches can handle the increased amount of power to the clutch. These clutches are harder to pull in than the stock clutch, as all performance clutches are due to the stronger diaphragm spring used.