Paul
Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 182 Location: Utah
|
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:37 am Post subject: Automatic motorcycles |
|
|
Interesting... automatics seem to be making a comeback.
First there's the Honda DN-01, which was a show bike in 2005, but is now going into production and will be shown at the Tokyo show later this month. Styling is.... well, different. But the transmission is interesting: the motor turns a hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic motor turns the wheel. They vary pressures in the lines between the two to vary the "gear" ratio.
Then there's the Yamaha FJR1300 AE - which isn't an automatic, it's a bike with a computer-controlled clutch (like the BMW M3 transmission). There's an upshift and a downshift button, but no clutch lever. The Yamaha is supposedly available already by special order.
I'm not sure I'd want either on a sidecar..... but with some custom hydraulic work you could turn the DN-01 into a two-wheel-drive sidecar outfit. |
|