I suppose everything works well until it breaks...
When you say "just the good old lever" I am guessing you are referring to a 'belt tightening idler pulley' That is Not a clutch.
My oldest tractor With an electric clutch has thousands of hours on it... works as smooth and positive as when it was new...
a vehicle with air conditioning... has the Same type electric clutch... they will cycle hundreds of thousands times over their life..Rarely a failure (of the clutch, unless there is a contributing load change)... A tractor's electric clutch is larger and much more robust for the heavier load they operate... When operated with even Moderate care they will out last the tractor. :smile:KennyV
If you are powering a relatively light load, the belt system will do a reasonable job... as the load gets heavier and mechanical accessibility reduced a proper clutch is the only way to go...
There are a lot of 'lever' systems out there, just treat it like you want it to last, ease the system when starting up... remember the laws of motion apply... things at a rest tend to want too stay at rest...
What mower did you get? :smile:KennyV
I got a husqvarna yth2042 year 2007 model. Hopefully get to pick it up this weekend.