The Clutch
The clutch is a dry clutch on the left hand side of the bike. It has a chain running from the engine to the clutch and behind the clutch has a sprocket going to the back wheel. If you notice speedway riders lay their bikes on to the left hand foot rest before the start of a race and let the wheel spin. This is because dry clutch means it does not run in oil as most motorcyles and cars do which keeps them cool. So the reason for this is to keep the clutch cool. After a race the clutch is so hot that coolers have to be applied.
The ‘dry’ clutch is the most personal part of a speedway bike to a rider. Some riders prefer it to ‘bang’ which makes the bike jump from the start and feather the clutch several times before the first bend – the front wheel will hover all the way to the first bend. Some riders prefer it ‘soft’ which entails a different technique of controlling the bike. Every speedway rider spends hours and hours of time and money on his clutch!
