Amp Research Power Clutch
AMP RESEARCH POWER CLUTCH
CW EVALUATION
A helping hand for Harley riders
DOES YOUR 1982 OR NEWER HARLEY-Davidson have a clutch you love to hate? Does it require a Herculean tug on the lever? Does your left forearm pump-up by the time you’ve left your neighborhood? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then AMP Research (1855 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651; 714/4977525) has a solution to your problem. Called the Power Clutch, this device is designed to ease the effort required to pull in, and hold in, your Harley’s clutch lever.
The Power Clutch works on the same principal as an archer’s compound bow, with a pair of overcentering gears and a spring substituted for the bow’s string and rollers. The Power Clutch simply bolts beneath the stock lever bracket-the clutch cable doesn’t need to be disconnected.
An additional feature of the Power Clutch is a built-in adjuster for altering the clutch lever’s reach. Even a person with small hands can easily reach the lever after adjusting a screw on the outside of the Power Clutch. And should you want an even easier clutch pull, the unit is supplied with a different overcentering spring that only requires a few minutes to install.
To find out how the Power Clutch worked, we mounted one on a 1991 Low Rider. Installation was a snap: We simply unbolted the left mirror, detached the left turnsignal (it attaches to the bottom of the mirror stalk), replaced the screw on the stock clutch lever’s antirattling device with the kit’s coupling stud, then bolted it all back together with the Power Clutch unit sandwiched in between. Five minutes, max.
We noticed an immediate improvement. Although initial lever pull remains stiff, the lever pulls far easier past the halfway point than it did in stock form. And holding the lever in like you
might do at a stoplight requires a lot less effort. AMP claims effort is reduced by one-half, and we’d be inclined to believe that estimate.
Lever feel also changes, however, from the linear pull of a cable to something more mechanical-feeling, though clutch performance itself is in no way affected.
The verdict? The AMP Power Clutch works as claimed, but it’s expensive: The black die-cast unit we sampled goes for $89, while a chrome version sells for $119. Additionally, a machined aluminum unit is available for $129 in black and $149 in chrome. Befitting its price, the AMP Power Clutch is well-made and should outlast the motorcycle. The Power Clutch’s working parts are made of hardened steel, its gears rotate on sealed bearings and its outside case is made of nicely finished aircraft-quality aluminum.
Only you can decide if eliminating clutch-pull-induced arm-pump is worth $89, but after sampling the Power Clutch, we’d gladly spend the money. □
