Somewhere in the almost-certainly-clean-and-orderly halls of Honda HQ there is a team of engineers that must feel pretty damned pleased with themselves. The team in question, of course, would be the developers of Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), Honda’s automatic transmission system.
When Honda first introduced DCT some 14 years ago, there were a lot of people (myself included) who looked at it and thought: “Wow, that’s really interesting, but I’ll never buy that.”
Fortunately, for Honda, there has been a sizable number of people who felt differently. According to the manufacturer, more than a quarter of a million DCT-equipped motorcycles have been sold since the technology’s inception. Which seems to be enough that other manufacturers are now jumping on the bandwagon.
BMW, KTM, and Yamaha have all announced that they’ll be releasing bikes with automatic transmissions in the next year. By the nature of partnerships with the latter two manufacturers, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that CF Moto is reportedly also planning to go automatic with some of its bikes ─ Benelli, too. There were rumors a while back that Harley-Davidson is working on a system; if this trend takes off, expect the MoCo to also jump right in (there are already aftermarket options that trike users have had installed).
I’ll pause here to acknowledge some lazy journalism on my part. When I say “automatic transmission” I’m looping in several technologies, none of which ─ if I understand correctly ─ actually function like an automatic transmission in a car. I’ve never been a particularly technical guy, so largely I’m using the term to describe an experience: if you’re riding a motorcycle that has gears but you don’t have to do anything to get them to change, that’s an automatic transmission in my eyes.
BikeSocial did a good breakdown a while back, going through the differences and functions of various systems, so check that out if you’re really interested in specifics. If I understand correctly, though, at least a few of the systems offer an option of being able to click through the gears with your foot ─ effectively serving as an up/down quickshifter ─ or push buttons, as with Honda’s DCT, but all also offer fully automated riding.
BMW calls its system an Automated Shift Assistant, KTM and Yamaha call it an Automated Manual Transmission. If Harley gets involved, it’ll almost certainly come up with something like Clutchless Freedom® Gearing™. Whatever the name, ostensibly the main benefits of an automatic set-up are two-fold:
1) It results in a smoother, more relaxed ─ and possibly more economical ─ riding experience. If you have a passenger it should eliminate the crashing together of helmets between shifts.
2) It frees up mental space to allow you to focus on the 98 million other things that are happening when you ride a motorcycle on public roads.
Certainly I can see how that second benefit might be a real selling point. You don’t know how much certain things distract you until you don’t have to deal with them. If you want to see what I mean, go book a test ride at a Zero dealership (most electric bikes do not have transmissions, because there is no need for such a thing). Or just hop on a Vespa or the like. You will be amazed at how much easier it suddenly is to navigate roundabouts and tricky junctions. Freeing up just that tiny bit of brain space transforms the riding experience ─ especially in urban environments.
Though, despite their usefulness in such situations, don’t expect to see automatic transmissions showing up in commuter bikes. Apparently, one of the reasons manufacturers are developing automatic systems is that the cost of doing so has gone down; but it hasn’t dropped that much. Instead, most manufacturers seem to be targeting the touring market (OK, sure, the BMW R 1300 GS Adventure is technically an adventure bike, but most people will be using that thing for touring). There’s precedent for that thinking: 71% of the Honda Gold Wings sold in the UK are DCT models. The same is apparently true for roughly half of the NT1100 models sold.
Arguably, touring is where the drawbacks of an automatic transmission ─ namely weight ─ are minimized. Honda’s DCT system, for example, tends to add 11 kilograms (24.25 lbs) to a bike’s fighting weight. Obviously there are some unknowns when it comes to other manufacturers’ systems but they’re definitely not going to make bikes lighter. That doesn’t matter as much on long-haul machines, though (or cruisers ─ roughly half of the Honda Rebel 1100 bikes sold in the UK are also DCT models).
Plus, the slightly decreased mental and physical effort required to ride an automatic is an advantage in a distance situation; you can go a little further, or be a little less worn out at the end of the day.
There’s a reason to believe, though, that as more manufacturers adopt and adapt the technology, it may show up on more and more different types of bikes. I guess the big question is how riders will respond to it. In addition to the possible drawbacks of weight and increased upfront cost, I’d assume (but don’t know) that automatic transmissions are trickier ─ and therefore more expensive ─ to work on.
I’ll admit I’m still kinda torn on the issue. I mean, would I want a bike with an automatic transmission? Maybe. I wouldn’t want the Honda NC750X I rode six years ago, but that was six years ago. The technology has surely moved on since then. And who knows what the experience will be like with BMW’s system, or Yamaha’s, etc. If it’s as engaging as the no-think acceleration and excellent regenerative braking (mimicking engine braking) of the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, I might be all-in…
…depending on the cost.
It feels like the motorcycle industry is potentially on the cusp of a big shift (pun intended). As the landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see if that’s actually true. Can automatics carve out a large enough place in the motorcycle world, potentially transforming the riding experience for a broader range of riders?
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