I'm surprised by your experience with the bevel control, since as it is the smoothest thing in my saw in terms of setting the bevel angle, especially so compared to the miter setting which often requires two hands for fine angles. Anyone who has tried to set bevels with the Bosch glide and the Kapex will see the difference between day and night.
The motor issue has been hotly discussed in the festool forum, but I have never recalled any similar take on the bevel control all these years. In fact, Peter Parff (the one who came up with the parff dogs) is on the record to say that he uses the bevel to cut miters (while most choose to use the miter settings). I can dial in precisely and easily through the bevel adjustment knob with one hand the bevel angle (left or right) for compound angle cuts. Both the factory precision and accuracy on the bevels on my saw have been beyond my expectation.
The clamp requires a trick to be used which unfortunately is not given in the manual (like many other things). Don't just push down the bar and lock the lever -- it will not always give a good grip. I will look for the video that shows how to get a good grip
every time (Festool sedge has shown one trick, but his, in my opinion, is not as good as another one whose name has escaped me).
Edit - Gary K. is the woodworker I had in mind!
https://youtu.be/8bvKozRMT1M?t=286
see how smooth the bevel control is!
I will come back when I find the segment on the hold-down clamp. Edit - I couldn't find Gary K.'s hold-down video, but here's the one that Sedge produced:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfMTOx5nwPz/ You don't often see Kpaex users do that, because it is not in the manual. Gary's method is better as I said. Hands-down, the Kapex's quick release hold-down clamp is the best ever in any miter saw...but it is pricey if you need an extra one!
Anyone who wants to know more about the Kapex should watch Gary's videos Parts 1 & 2. It covers many other things like laser, trench cuts, etc. He also has videos on how to set your miter saws to cut dead square...I mean deadly dead square (and that's how my Kapex performs).
Simon