Yamaha’s New Automated Manual Transmission (Y-AMT):
Regular gear shifting is by foot. But Yamaha’s new automated manual transmission does manual gear shifting or automatic gear shifting using your hands instead. A little confused? This is why Yamaha has released a video about it. In the video, Yamaha shows how this new automatic technology works
How does this new technology work?
Bikes using this technology will not have a foot-mounted gear shifter. Instead, there is a gear shifter with a plus and minus symbol on the back and side of the left handlebar. We can change gears using it. Think of this gearshifter as being on a gearcycle.
To the right of the handle bar, there is a switch to select manual and automatic mode, and a switch to select which mode is desired in automatic mode. If we select manual mode, we will have to shift the gear as mentioned above. If you select automatic mode, the bike will change gears, just by twisting the accelerator.
Automatic Modes:
Yamaha has given both modes for automatic gear shifting. The two modes are D and D+. We can select these automatic modes according to our riding style.
Most of us while riding a bike make the gear shift imperceptibly smooth. Some people shift into the next gear only after the bike roars with maximum torque in one gear. Similarly, Yamaha has said that D mode can be used for smooth gear shift and D+ mode for sporty second gear shift.
Will customers prefer an automatic on a bike?
Although the automatic gearbox feature in cars reduces the load on the driver, some customers say that it reduces the driving experience. Therefore, bike manufacturers are developing automatic gearbox or automated gear shift facilities so as not to reduce the riding experience of the bike.
But these automated gear shift facilities are being developed with a focus on off-roading and adventure travel. On such journeys, riders will greatly appreciate and even demand such amenities. Since Yamaha is also a bike company with a strong focus on small bike customers, the company is expected to introduce this technology in entry-level sports and adventure bikes as well. Yamaha is also expected to release a list of bikes that will use this technology soon.
