Magura Jack Hydraulic Motorcycle Clutch Review

Magura
Jack Hydraulic Clutch

Some upgrades seem a little useless, especially when stock stuff is so good these days, and I'm guilty of thinking that about the Magura Jack. I was semireluctant to put one on our Long Haul Honda CRF450X. I used the fact that the clutch lever pivot bolt was seizing on the lever as an excuse to give this $255 unit a try.

Installation on the bike took about an hour, and you have to be very careful about the hose routing in the tight engine compartment, because if it melts, you are clutchless for sure. Once mounted, the clutch pull was just a little lighter than stock and with less pull length. What this meant was with some worn and slightly warped clutch plates, there was clutch drag when the bike was cold. When we replaced the clutch plates, that drag was gone. Right away, I noticed that there was better feel and a lot more control of the clutch when in really technical situations. Since the engagement point was longer, it gave me a better feel and better control for slipping the clutch. It didn't seem to make any difference during normal riding other than there was the lighter feel at the lever. In truly abusive situations, the Magura compensates for the changes in clutch expansion (where the stock cable gets loose). A skilled rider will realize the clutch is getting hot and quit killing it before there is a problem since there is never a change in feel at the lever. (The problem with the stock cable comes when you readjust it when it is hot-when it cools, the clutch never regains full engagement and constantly slips.)

During our time with it, the fluid never leaked or needed attention and the pivots and lever stayed tight yet moved freely. Surprising is that the Magura system might even weigh less than the stock cable setup. After using this on our CRF, every time I ride one without it, I realize I preferred the feel of the Jack. After this experience, I'd consider it on any cable-activated bike. -Jimmy Lewis