Testimonials

(By Keith Jobson – MA accredited Level 1 Coach; Editor/Webmaster, www.trials.com.au. )

Part 1 – The First Ride

I recently had a CLAKE fitted to my bike (2000 Gas Gas 280) and my son’s bike (2005 Beta Rev 80).
That weekend I took the bikes and kids to the clubgrounds for our first ride with the CLAKE. Me on the Gasser, Sam (11) on his Rev 80, and Anna (8) on her centrifical-clutch Beta 50.
It was Sam’s first ride with the CLAKE, and I was very impressed at how quickly he adapted from a standard clutch & rear brake to the CLAKE. Within 10 minutes he was riding the same degree-of-difficulty of obstacles as he was previously.
During a break Anna was looking at the bigger 80, and I thought “Why not?” “It’s got a CLAKE – let’s see if the claims about novice riders are true.”
So with a single instruction – “ride it like a push bike – pull that lever (the CLAKE) to stop” – she was away. After a couple of practice stops within a few metres, and me running alongside for about a minute, I felt totally comfortable to let her go. She was able to pull to a stop with both feet on the ground and no fear of stalling. The grin on her face was priceless! For her first-ever ride on a bike with a clutch, it was just amazing. Seriously, I was astounded.
The difference in time between teaching her and her brother (when no CLAKE was fitted) to ride a bike with a clutch could be measured in hours. The difference in levels of stress could be measured in years – I’m sure teaching Sam to ride took years off my life! So simple, and no stress.
For my own CLAKE experience, I spent a fair bit of time doing slow riding, tight turns etc, just learning where the clutch/brake overlap is. There were a couple of “right foot stabbing at the non-existent rear brake” moments going down some of the large hills at the clubgrounds, but generally I was comfortable with it. The feel of the rear brake is much, much better, with far more precise control during application. The clutch itself seems lighter now as well. I found myself using the front brake a lot less, and in slow tight turns this results in a far smoother turn.

Part 2 – The First Event

The following weekend was our first event.
For me, I found slow turns were so much easier, and not having to worry about foot position was nice. Reducing the risk of stalling to almost zero is a plus. I had no problem with timing of clutch action and blipping the throttle. Changing gears was also straight-forward.
Only once did I stab at the missing rear brake pedal, which was the automatic reaction kicking in. Not bad for 50 sections.
Two advantages for me from the day: 1) A much less tired left hand – the result of operating the now-lighter clutch through the day; and 2) Able to concentrate on where my body position should be, rather than trying to make it work with the right foot covering the brake pedal.
For Sam, my observations were he appeared more confident, particularly in downhill sections. He also did not stall the bike at all, where previously I would expect him to stall at least once per lap. The end result for Sam for the event was a win in the Junior class.
In conclusion…
Personally I’m convinced that the CLAKE will be beneficial for me, for the reasons outlined above. I also think it will be fantastic for the kids, and the ease at which Anna was able to get on the bigger bike was just great.

Well done IMT Industries and the CLAKE!