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Who else has a dct that is never going back to a traditional clutch?

I love the simple clutch-less shifting ... I use my DCT in manual mode 99% of the time, using the paddle shifters (or the footswitcher I installed). I just like not have to pull a clutch and deal with stoplights. Of course, adding the automatic shifting is, well, "automatic" once you have clutch-less shifting. Wish this technology would catch on with other manufacturers -- would love to have other choices!
 
Seems like quickshifting is a nice option for some too (a little different than Rekluse clutching), though it's not going to relieve the tedium of sitting at intersections...

 
I love the simple clutch-less shifting ... I use my DCT in manual mode 99% of the time, using the paddle shifters (or the footswitcher I installed). I just like not have to pull a clutch and deal with stoplights. Of course, adding the automatic shifting is, well, "automatic" once you have clutch-less shifting. Wish this technology would catch on with other manufacturers -- would love to have other choices!

It seems even Honda is being cautious in testing the automatic transmission motorcycle market. While I think two models were sold as automatic only (NM4, Integra), every one of Honda’s DCT engine/transmission combinations was also built in a manual version as well. And the manual versions sell, too. Maybe other manufacturers are sitting back and letting Honda bet on the popularity of automatics. Honda has built a lot of things that were wildly successful, and other things that ultimately didn’t fly.
 
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For several years now, at the big bike shows and demo events, I always check the clutch pull on any bike I'm interested in first. I like using my bikes to ride everywhere, which means getting stuck in heavy traffic sometimes. My aging wrist just can't take that kind of abuse.
Is it possible that DCT isn't offered on many smaller bikes due to the extra weight it ads? Or is it because, for the most part, smaller bikes have reasonably light clutch pull?
I loved how light it is on the Versys X300 and the 125's from Kawasaki.
 
For several years now, at the big bike shows and demo events, I always check the clutch pull on any bike I'm interested in first. I like using my bikes to ride everywhere, which means getting stuck in heavy traffic sometimes. My aging wrist just can't take that kind of abuse.
Is it possible that DCT isn't offered on many smaller bikes due to the extra weight it ads? Or is it because, for the most part, smaller bikes have reasonably light clutch pull?
I loved how light it is on the Versys X300 and the 125's from Kawasaki.
Probably a combination of several factors. I'd guess it is a combination of CO$T, weight and perhaps even the added size/shape required that may not fit well into the smaller bikes.
 
For me it would really depend on what kind of bike I was getting and what I was using it for. A commuter, like the NC750? Absolutely. A sport bike like a CBR that I would be using more for fun rides than strictly commuting? Absolutely not. A touring bike? Wouldn't really matter. A bike that I am using for off road? No.

For me, the DCT is a practical option for every day commuting and even touring. It isn't what I would consider fun which would be the point of having a sport bike or off road bike. Plus, with a fast revving fast accelerating machine I use the gears to help control my speed when doing things like merging onto highways when my attention is on things like finding a gap in traffic and not how fast I am going.
 
I wrote before that the DCT and ABS were two of the features that drew me. I really love my GL650 and GL500. I can get all my clutch fun on those when I miss it but the NCx will do most of my touring and help me keep miles off the GLs, which I plan on putting collector plates on. I may put a sidecar on the GL500. I think someone here said folks have put them on NCxs. But I want the NCx for touring and a side car so my Akita can ride with me in town.
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A DCT can be 'walked' out of a mud bog (or sand); try that w/a standard transmission.
Those saying they still like (manual) shifting; DCT allows that up or down the rev band, w/much less effort.
Shifting is so smooth because one can hold the same throttle position; the electronics do all the shift synchronizing.

IMO, DCT takes shifting to a new level of motorcycling enjoyment. The old style is still very enjoyable. ccc
 
My guess on why DCT is not offered on bikes smaller than the NC, is cost. Bikes in the 400-500 range are all battling to keep their prices friendly for new riders but who knows, that could change at some point in the future? :cool:
 
Haha! :D That reminded me of the video comparing manual NC700X to DCT, and the DCT won a race. However, a very close look at the rear view of the two bikes in the race showed that they both had parking brakes. Hey, wait a minute! Those are both DCT! In the fine print it was then explained that they were both DCT bikes but one of the DCT bikes was ridden with a slight throttle delay at the shift pounts, simulating shifting a manual, and thus it was proven that the “real” DCT won. Makes for a real, honest comparison, don’t you think? What a joke. Actually I wouldn’t give a hoot which version is faster in a drag race.

Here was the text associated with the video, with my emphasis on the “cheat”. I’ll bet few people actually read this fine print.:
”The Honda nc700x is famous for economy and practicality, not for acceleration. But how slow is it really, with a heavy driver on board. In this test I wanted to compare automatic and a manual clutch bike, which I had to simulate by throttling between each shift on my dct version. This test indicates that the dual transmission doesn't loose power during shifting. and that it would be hard for the clutch version to keep up. Let's see the result in seconds. The time reveals that each clutching or throttling cost me about half a second. Even with manual shifting the dct is still one second faster, indicating that it's the dual clutch technology that is important, not the automation itself. So it shouldn't be any surprise that more than one third of the nc700 customers choose the dct version.”


"Actually I wouldn’t give a hoot which version is faster in a drag race. "

hah hah, made me remember the old joke that went something like : winning that race is like bragging about having the biggest cock in <some place where they all have small cocks>.
 
"Actually I wouldn’t give a hoot which version is faster in a drag race. "

hah hah, made me remember the old joke that went something like : winning that race is like bragging about having the biggest cock in <some place where they all have small cocks>.

It is simply a measure of performance. Like braking, mpg or top speed.
 
"Actually I wouldn’t give a hoot which version is faster in a drag race. "
It is simply a measure of performance. Like braking, mpg or top speed.

I also don't care which version can win in a drag race. As someone pushing nearly 60 years of age I've lost interest in fast bikes and now look for fun bikes that can do a bit of everything pretty well.

But Lee makes an excellent point because the speed test is a measure of performance that does give us an indication of what it can do, and in some ways how capable the bike, and even its transmission, will be in the real world.

Who has the bigger rooster is of no concern to me. Who has the bike that does what I want, that is of interest to me. Some of that "want" is straight line performance, but some is also performance in traffic, and some is also performance in the parking lots and on the rural gravel roads or the scenic byways through tourist towns. And in each of those situations "performance" is defined differently, be it speed, or braking, or ease of low speed handling, etc. For me the NC700x/750x ticks off all the boxes well enough ... the DCT is just a very pleasant bonus. Needed? No. But I see no reason to go back to a hand clutch/manual shifter. Learn to master a DCT and it is, almost magic.
 
No. But I see no reason to go back to a hand clutch/manual shifter. Learn to master a DCT and it is, almost magic.

I think the point that the DCT is faster only means you don't loose efficiency. It was a question I had when I first started researching.

DCT and ABS are what gets my attention. I like traction control too. I don't like the seating position of the CTX or the lack of a Frunk and small gas tank. . African Twins are too expensive (while the new 700 is the right size) and the Goldwings are too big (I am happy to see the most current ones are shrinking a bit.)
 
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I've thought for years that our fixation on 0-60 times is totally absurd because there are only rare instances when you'd have to come to a full stop, then accelerate up to highway merge speeds. Most of the time, you'd on a long ramp and have plenty of distance to come up to speed before merging into traffic.

Comparing time of accelerating from 40-to-60 mph may be more relevant.
 
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I will probably not buy a manual bike again. The DCT is just too nice. I would like a version with the neutral button that worked any time. Seems the computer could figure it all out pretty easily.
I don't want to have to buy a Africa Twin liter bike to ride off road either. Waiting.....
 
I've just traded in my 2018 NC750X DCT for a Z900RS. Don't stop reading immediately. I loved the NC. It was a careful choice at an appropriate time, although I would have been just a s happy to have picked the manual NC had there been no DCT version.
I soon decided the D mode was just not pleasant except for those wanting to squeeze the extra 1 or 2 mpg that it offered over Sports modes.
I soon realised that magic technology as DCT is (I've had four auto cars and currently have a DSG VW - their DCT - which is blissful to drive) there were times manual override was needed.
I quickly decided the flippers were not for me. Reaching thumb or finger out at the very moment a better hold was needed on the left grip was not good. I invested in the foot-shift kit and have since literally preached that the DTC box, with foot-shift control when required, to be the best compromise possible in any bike. As a fast shift mechanism, it beats the best quick-shifters for most riders.
As for DCT versus manual - that argument that reigns in all the NC forums - I sat on the DCT side of the fence, but, ya know, it's dead close. The DCT shifts, I believe, in 0.7s faster than most riders can. It doesn't hit the redline cry manual riders - but it shouldn't. Anyone hitting the redline is over-revving the engine over the powerband and the torque long gone. The DCT, of course, is working at the optimum, so it's very likely to outpace all but the best manual rider.
Frankly, Honda have priced the two models perfectly in that the price removes the argument in favour of DCT, I think, and places them neck and neck.
I never thought I'd return to a pure manual clutch machine, but now I have, were I to make the choice and return to an NC (not unlikely in the fullness of time), it may well be a manual.
 
Small bikes (scooters at least) already have an automatic trans - CVT. For non scooters, I do think cost and weight are a factor of why they aren't available. Those that want a small bike without shifting can go the scooter route, so I think the manufacturers think they have that market covered.
 
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