Do you run aftermarket triple clamps?

I ran Neken SFS clamps on my 2018 150SX and 2018 35SXF and loved them. I wanted to swap them onto my ‘24 bikes but a small notch on the new frames prevented that. 

Nope... also the price of some of the aftermarket ones... seems like a waste of $ to me. 

Any gain I can make from a clamp change can easily be beaten by some deliberate practice toward fixing some bad technique and more time at the gym.

I typically buy a bike that handles good enough and just do some chassis setup and suspension tuning.
Flex in things like clamps and engine mounts is outside of my considerations for the 40+ class.


I do have some special clamps on my old KX500 to adapt modern forks and improve the handling via 1mm offset change.  Those old bikes are easy to improve with small geometry changes to bring them closer to modern standards.

 

I do yeah 

i did on my 23 crf to try to get it to calm down some with an adjustable offset triple clamp. I set them on 24mm. It helped a little but I am not sure if it was worth the money. My other 2 bikes no, the stock ones are fine.

I can relate to this post a lot. I've been able to take a step back and say, this isn't the bikes fault. It's mine. Improving my technique will help more than any aftermarket parts. Ill throw money at my suspension, of course. I'm on a '23 KTM and I'm constantly thinking of getting 23.5 mm clamps. But I always come back to that the bIke isn’t holding me back. I am

2016 YZ250 - Yes to improve cornering. Helped a little, but largely not worth it.

2022 CRF450 - Yes to improve stability and comfort. Massive difference. Would do it again.

2023 YZ250 - Stock clamps. It corners way better than my 2016 did and I don't know why other than possible suspension magic. Springs and sag are the same as my 2016 was, so it might just be improved valving.

You bet. If you don't have an issue with the stock clamps handling not really much point other than bling.

20 KX450,change of clamps helped comfort level for me.

2003 Ktm 250sx was un rideable with stock 14mm triple clamps. Headshake was pretty spooky. 20mm triple clamps made it much better. Still a little wild to ride. 

Put X Trigs on my 22 yz250f, mostly because my bar mounts kept twisting. I would normally just buy the one piece top mount but couldn’t find one here.

Two things I noticed…

1. More accurate front end. I believe this is due to less side to side flex. 

2. Way less feedback in the hands. I could feel the fork working underneath me in the chatter. Not sure if this is due to more front to back flex, fork tubes not being pitched, or the PHDS mounts. I suspect the mounts more than anything.
 

Quite a big performance upgrade for the money and haven’t had to bang my bars on a tree mid moto since. 

Clamps are now in the primary category when it comes to any new bike upgrades. 

Yes, I run X-Trig clamps on my YZ450 because they allow me to put my bar position in-line with the forks, which for me, is the most comfortable bar position. The stock clamp positions are either too far forward or too far backward. Running the bar clamp in reverse still doesn't achieve the bar position I am after. With the X-Trig clamps they have a position that is smack dab in-line with the forks making me a happy camper. 

Aftermarket clamps for me. Purely for looks, and the cool factor I get from looking at them. 

I have bought Xtrigs for my bikes the last 6-7 years. The main reason being the bar mounts are just so good and there are so many options, gone are the days of twisting the mounts in even the smallest tipovers. And they are cool, so they are well worth the money.

Xtrigs are made in Germany so they are relatively speaking pretty good value for us in EU. However, they are obviously pretty expensive in other parts of the world. 

Same can be said about Luxon the other way, i would love to try out the Luxon clamps and bar mounts but they are just too expensive for me as an EU citizen. I hope Luxon has lots of success, there is a proper company with proper engineering pedigree behind it and i would love to support that.

Yes, only because I could afford them and they look cool. There’s a million things I could work on to improve my riding before offset numbers keep me up at night. 

When Luxon came out with there gen 2 clamps, I picked up the gen 1 on sale.  I was only gonna get the bar mounts but this was too good of a deal to pass up. 

I ran XTrigs on my last kx450  and current bike 22 350 . I wouldn't waste the money again for the KX but do like them on my 350 as they help with  vibration. I always buy used anyway no chance I'm paying $ 8 or 900 bucks for any clamp 

Yes- X-Trig with PHDS clamps and the 24mm offset sure helps with vibration and oversteer for newer KTM’s…

I used to, but only so I could relocate the clamps farther forward. Now that stock clamps have options, I don't. 

No, nor do I run aftermarket motor mounts, 4T exhaust, spoke condoms, or engine coolants. 

$ > gain  

Twice, with aftermarket split clamps I noticed a slight increase in comfort and handling. But nothing earth shattering in my experience. IDK for sure if I would purchase again. However, the bling is nice I must admit!

I am running top of the line Luxon clamps for the following reason ...

1. They are functionality better than stock ktm, i suck, but i am ggood eenough to nnotice better feel and ccomfort with them.

2. They look cool

3. The owner of Luxon is a long time friend, supports the sport so I want to support him.

4. I stopped drinking 20 months ago, dropped 60lbs and learned i wasted an iinfinite amount of mmoney on beer vs bIke parts.

5. I buy what i want, and dont give a fuck what anyone thinks or says. 😀 

Regarding the YZ: my buddy, who was a local pro, always swore that the YZ250 needed clamps to get it to turn until the recent bodywork update. He says the flatter seat lets you get up far enough to get the front end to bite and corner now. I’m not as skilled but I agree the front end feels more connected on the new ones I’ve tried.

I can relate!

Back in the day, I had a 400EXC, the euro enduro model that came stock with 20mm offset.
I often had good luck with MXA's settings and they suggested 18mm for the 525. I liked the looks of KTM powerparts clamps and gave the 18s a try, with great results, thing turned much sharper around trees and lost almost nothing at higher speeds.

Then I bought a used SXS forks that came with a set of 14mm clamps, so I tried these too. Oh man, rodeo ride. The bike could turn on a dime and could take any inside line like never before, but it was unrideable. Any rock or root would send you off the trail, even if your ass was over the rear fender. In 6th gear, that thing felt like a trials bike riding at 80mph... Scary shit, lol...

Later, I probably had on my 525 the first set of orange clamps in France, straight outta Emig racing, back in 2007. 

I sure didn't need them, but I loved the color and the bling factor.

😄

Bar clamp, top clamp & bottom clamp.

That makes a lot of sense. I also have a tall seat so it is just about completely flat. It was strange looking at my old bike (brother owns my '16 now) a few weeks back and noticing how sloped the seat was up the tank.

The only aftermarket triple clamps I have ever considered are Luxon, for the sole reason that Billy actually explains the logic and engineering behind his designs.  Along with sharing testing data from his experiences as an engineer.

"Luxon, Luxoff..."