The Future of Gearboxes?
Sep 9th, 2009 by Leo
High performance cars (like the Ferrari with auto clutch) made the shift some time ago from standard gearboxes to electronically controlled clutches and paddle shifters (sans clutch pedal). Is this the future of motorcycles also? What’s interesting about the video is that (at the end) it shows the performance implications for the dual clutch gearbox: more constant power delivery that doesn’t upset the suspension. This isn’t an “automatic” the way a Ford Taurus is an automatic. There’s no torque converter and resultant loss of power. Instead it’s a miniature version of what Formula 1 car designers have known for over a decade: that a computer can change gears faster and more smoothly than the best of drivers. So what would happen if semi-automatic dual clutch gearboxes found their way to an AMA race?
More importantly, to us, could you live with a high tech high performance gearbox for your street ride or would you miss shifting the old way?
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