Magura Hydraulic Clutch Test
by Paul Aschmann

Last month I was given a magura clutch to perform a test on, write a review and give it back. All of these happened, except for the give it back part.

I have been contemplating buying the Magura unit for the past few years, why I didn't, I don't know, maybe a lack of assurance it was going to better than the stock one? I had already gone out and bought ASV unbreakable levers and a aftermarket perch, so the "why change now" was always my argument. I had been running into finger/arm fatigue while riding and it was beginning to bother me.  I always lube and maintain my clutch setup and yet it still wore me down a little bit while riding for extended periods of time. It frustrated me that I had to take a break after a small number of laps, not because I was tired, but because I couldn't open my fingers to grab the clutch. I could blame it on arm pump I guess, then I tried the hydraulic clutch.

I have really taken a liking towards the system, although it does have some minor problems, to me the advantages outweigh those more than enough to justify owning one. Firstly, they are pretty simple to install, on my CRF450R, it took 10 minutes. The hardest part was fishing the hydraulic cable down behind the radiator mounts because I didn't want to take them off. The slave cylinder (the part that pulls the clutch actuator on the motor) mounts into an included bracket to hold it in place. The bracket, gets mounted directly to the existing clutch bracket bolt.

Since the installation I haven't looked back, the action of the clutch is very smooth, it doesn't fade while riding and most importantly, I find it around 20% easier to pull than the stock one.

Some of the things I didn't like about the clutch is the plastic hot start lever which is mounted to the top of the reservoir, its flimsy and probably going to be the first thing to break when falling. Lastly is that the slave cylinder and cable just look like they are going to catch onto something and get ripped or broken off. Some sort of tie back system will be needed for woods riding.

Besides some of these minor details the clutch lever scores very well among testers earning 4 out 5 wrenches.
Retail: $255.00

Go to www.magura.com