Clake OLC Master Cylinder

Clake OLC Master Cylinder

Clake is an Australian company that makes a variety of interesting hydraulic products. OLC stands for One Light Clutch. It reduces lever effort considerably by using a “force balance” system. It is quite complicated internally.

The Clake is not inexpensive, but it is well made. Before springing for the Clake, I tried a Magura master cylinder and a product called Clever Lever by Midwest Mountain Engineering (MME).

Unfortunately, the MME system would not completely disengage the clutch (despite a bit of my own modification). It might work perfectly on a KTM enduro, but not with the diagram clutch of the OSSA. (Eventually, I converted my wife's Sherco 200 to mineral oil and installed the MME/Magura setup where it works exceptionally well. That bike has a conventional clutch.)

The Clake was not without teething problems, however. It was difficult to tighten the hose fitting sufficiently because it can not be done while it is mounted to the handlebars. And, I ended up not using any force balance at all (by completely removing the adjuster screw) – the system is that well-designed and friction-free. I have also had to replace the piston in two different Clake OLCs. Fortunately, it is just a Braktec 853005MO0 piston. I wonder if the bore is not exceptionally well finished?

The lever itself is wonderful – you can pull it to the bar without crushing other fingers. All master cylinders: OE, Magura, and Clake have a 9.5mm piston.

Just noticed you can also see Yamaha kill buttons in these photos. My club does not require a lanyard, and I do not care for them. Japanese electrics are superior to Spanish electrics.