Yamaha Goes Clutchless

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Ions001 · #11 Unread post by **Ions001** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:30 am

Although I'm not very fond of this idea I'm glad to see things like this come along. It shows that these companies are trying new things. Some of them work, some don't.

Get worried when you don't see them anything new.

floatsmyboat · Tue Nov 22, 2005 6:43 am

There might be a small market for a bike like that. I have been having some trouble with my left wrist. Don't know what it is, but has got me to thinking what would I do on my bike if it got worse. Don't anticipate that, but a auto clutch would still let a person who has a bad wrist ride.

I am like most riders, I prefer to clutch and shift, that is part of the thrill of riding. I think the market will dictate what type of clutch and transmission is used in bikes. I don't see this bike doing very well with the public, so the idea will go away just like the Hondamatic did in the 70's.

Greg O.

#13 Unread post by **cb360** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 7:11 am

I kinda like things the way they are. The clutch and the shifter just feel right to me. Don't see a good reason to change.

#14 Unread post by **Sev** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:57 am

Having switched back to driving the car I find it to be a great annoyance that I can no longer choose which gear I am going to be in at any given point.

Not being able to slip the clutch or feather it when I need to would be a great annoyance. I wonder how it works when I stop... how does it know when to disengage the clutch for braking? And what happens if that malfunctions and it stays in gear when I'm trying to stop?

Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:01 am

i wonder if it will be as stout in the performance category as my yamaha 50cc vino??

scan · #16 Unread post by **scan** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:07 am

Sevulturus wrote:Having switched back to driving the car I find it to be a great annoyance that I can no longer choose which gear I am going to be in at any given point.

Not being able to slip the clutch or feather it when I need to would be a great annoyance. I wonder how it works when I stop... how does it know when to disengage the clutch for braking? And what happens if that malfunctions and it stays in gear when I'm trying to stop?

I read this -

A pair of paddle/switches on the left handlebar can be utilized as the shifter in this layout. You can hit the override switch and shift with the traditional toe shifter but even if you do you will still be rewarded with the smoothest shifting action on any Yamaha motorcycle. This is how it works: The computer-operated clutch takes readings and determines how much pressure is needed to keep the bike running, whether you are at speed or slowing to a stop - much like an automatic but not quite the same - making it easy to click through the gears with minimal effort.

I grabbed this blurb from here -
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... 551&Page=1

Regarding stopping and going I read some other site's description as a feathering of the clutch as you slow to near idle and as you release the brakes and roll it on the clutch engages harder. Yep - its all computer controlled. Hope they have the bugs worked out. I'll control my own for now thanks. They can keep the AE edition.

flynrider · Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:49 am

Sevulturus wrote:Having switched back to driving the car I find it to be a great annoyance that I can no longer choose which gear I am going to be in at any given point.

You'd better get used to it

Manual transmissions in cars are going the way of the dinosaur. I'm also pretty bummed about that state of affairs. I don't care for automatic transmissions. A couple of months ago I heard a report that only about 5% of cars sold in the U.S. had manual transmissions. If that keeps up, they won't bother making them in a few years.

High_Side · Tue Nov 22, 2005 3:28 pm

While I love the traditional tranny set-up you should never rule out anything 'till you've tried it. Thats the lesson that I learned in the past two years and it has paid off in every aspect of my life. An open mind is freedom

. I even tried a Burgman (with a CVT) and it was a blast! Way better than I would have imagined. Not enough to get me to trade however...

mydlyfkryzis · Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:31 pm

There was an article in this weeks newspaper about the Hummer that passed the DARPA test for the self driving military vehicle. Thge vehicle had to pass a a long desert course, avoiding obstacles and reaching its destination without human intervention.

The article talked about the future of this technology and that one day, we would give the keys of the car to the car and the car would drive us where we wanted to go without our help at all.

I guess people won't need drivers licenses then, and maybe no one will know how to or need to drive.

I just bought a Pickup, and doggoneit, I made sure it was stick. I like driving and controlling my machinery, even if a computer can drive better, it won't help me enjoy the ride.

So, call me a Luddite, if you will, but I am rejecting the automation. Computers may shift better, may drive better one day, but they won't replace my love of the machine/human interaction. Heck, I don't like taking the bus or train because I don't get to drive it!

#20 Unread post by **Skier** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:48 pm

mydlyfkryzis wrote:There was an article in this weeks newspaper about the Hummer that passed the DARPA test for the self driving military vehicle. Thge vehicle had to pass a a long desert course, avoiding obstacles and reaching its destination without human intervention.

The article talked about the future of this technology and that one day, we would give the keys of the car to the car and the car would drive us where we wanted to go without our help at all.

Don't worry, they had a two-wheeled prototype do a very impressive job at tackling their course fairly recently. So while we may not be able to provide steering input, we could stay on two wheels.