A friends Aprilia motorbike is fitted with a slipper clutch. Could someone tell me what is a slipper clutch?
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It's a clutch that only works in one direction, and slips in the other. Usually used on large twin cylinder motorbikes to stop the rear wheel locking up when changing down and dumping the clutch.
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I thought it slowly took up the drive when changing down - something like a torqe limiter. As Dave says, big V-twins with pistons like paint tins have a huge amount of engine braking and easily lockup rear wheels. It sure catches out those who moved from two strokes that have zero engine braking.
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Intriguing: my Harley is a 1450 cc V-Twin, it does have a lot of engine braking but it doesn't have a slipper clutch and it doesn't lock up the rear wheel (unless I stand on the brake). Maybe 100 years' experience of making motorcycles makes the difference ;-)
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Harleys will lock up the rear if you don't ride them properly. Or I should say that the ones I rode were able to do it when I was deliberately abusing them. It is a bit harder to do though and I imagine that has to do with the much greater rear weight bias not to mention the overall heavier weight compared to the average sportbike.
I have owned 2 bikes with slipper clutches and I can't say I would look forward to having another. The Mille wasn't too bad as it just had minor slipping when accelerating, but the TL1000S was just a nightmare. It wasn't until the clutch was modified to eliminate the slipper mechanism that the problems went away.
One of the things I enjoy about riding V-twin is the strong engine braking you get when downshifting. Slipper clutches reduce this effect significantly.
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Your HD comment is right on. I must be more gentle with mine or (unlikely) a better rider than than I thought. But then with all that torque available.... Agree about V-twins, would never have anything else. Unless is the '61 Bonneville I once owned. Even the little 750 cc Virago that honey-ko rides is a treat and very light and easy to handle. I have also heard bad reports of the TL1000 but that's never a bike I'd ride anyway.
Take off the plastic and it's so industrial-looking under there.
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