Eli Tomac with...Cable Clutch (!?) on His New 450 SX-F Factory Edition Race Bike
Does Eli Tomac Have a Cable Clutch on His New 450 SX-F Factory Edition Race Bike?
In today's Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) team announcement, KTM released images of Eli Tomac and Jorge Prado on their new KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition machines for 2026. While Prado returns to "familiar" equipment, it is definitely odd seeing Tomac on an orange bike!
And it looks like there is a cable clutch on Tomac's new KTM. The 450cc KTM machine has come stock from the factory with a hydraulic clutch for years now, and Tomac has been using a cable clutch on his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine since the start of the 2022 season. The big question was how quickly will Tomac adapt to the steel frame after spending his entire pro career on aluminum frames? And in that, how would he adjust to the unfamiliar hydraulic clutch?
Well, while only time will tell on Tomac's adaptation to his new race bike, one thing is for sure: he will be fully Ready to Race with his new cable clutch in place.
![Eli Tomac]()
Eli Tomac KTM ![Eli Tomac's clutch]()
Eli Tomac's clutch KTM
Tomac said the following to our Simon Cudby during today's team intro event:
“To be completely honest, I was very surprised to see that option, that this team made available was that cable clutch. And for me, I've been a cable guy my whole life. I've had a couple seasons where I've basically been forced to ride a hydraulic and I could never make it as good as I wanted it to, basically. And for my riding style, it's just the way I ride specifically on supercross and the way I slip out of turns and say up a steep ramp face for my technique, and also the whoops, I haven't been able to find a hydraulic that can do what a cable can do. And this team made me a cable clutch system.”
