So I was at the ADV Rally this past weekend and saw a vendor tent there that said "Magura." I was like... okay, I guess people may at some point need to buy some clutch fluid one day (I did for my old GSA when the slave failed).
I stopped to ask more and got a really great education on this from a guy by the name of Greg Reich. Greg used to be with Continental (and is kind of a big deal) and we had a very interesting side conversation about tires but that's for another time...
So basically Magura is now getting into the after market hydraulic clutch conversion kits for bikes like the Africa Twin, the new KTM 790 Adventure, BMW F800GS, etc... or basically any bike with a manual or cable clutch.
But I was still a bit skeptical like what's the big difference? Why would I want a hydraulic clutch? Basically a hydraulic clutch is going to be a lot easier to pull the lever. Less lever pull with less effort means more comfort and less fatigue, particularly for the commuter. It also means no adjustment necessary as many cable clutched will change once the bike warms up.
So what are these kits worth, like $1800 or something? Nope. Typically $299 - $350. I thought that was actually a very compelling argument. If I had a bike with a manual clutch then this is an upgrade I'd definitely spring for.
Magura has been with KTM since forever (1950's?) and BMW since 1913 so they kind of know how this stuff is done.