Automatic Bikes Death Traps?

I think the idea of an automatically controlled sequential gearbox terrifying. See front page article about an Aprilia.

What happens if you’re pushing close to the limits of rear end grip and it decides to shift gear?! I’ve driven many Auto cars and they do make the rear end wiggle or step out if driven quickly around corner and it decides to shift down. I’d imagine this on a motorbike is a lethal combination. Anyone else share my concerns?

It has to be CVT if you’re fitting an Auto box to two wheels, nice smooth transition between ratios - infinitely.

The Manas are CVT. There is no automatic shifting - any shifting is done manually but the electronics control the CVT to give a clutchless manual feel.

The Yamaha FJR1300AS has a clutchless 5-speed gearbox. That seems to be doing okay. I would have thought the software was pretty sophisticated to know not to pull a dangerous gear-shift on you, and also, these sort of bikes aren’t meant to be ridden hard like a sportsbike, so I guess the odds are even lower of a problem.

Would they have some kind of tilt sensor, maybe?

If the bike’s leaning over, no gear changes?

I don’t know about tilt switches, but the whole point of most auto bikes is that instead of using the whole rev range the system, whether conventional weights and ramps CVT or the electronic CVT used in the higher power machines, the engine transmission system is built to have loads of low revs torque and most of the time, unless high speed riding, the bike is ridden at pretty low revs. The sport mode available on the Manas changes this a bit, but the wet mode they have is there for a reason!

Read a road test on the Mana when it first came out by a Ducati rider who was mighty impressed. BUT, his advice was don’t use sports mode unless you are very well exerienced or just like “interesting” rides.

According to the man (can’t remember who), stick it in “rain” mode for a few weeks when you first get it, then go into standard once you have got used to it. “Sports” mode seemed entirely irrelevent unless you are a real head banger.

Oh, if I understood something correctly, there is some sort of rough and ready traction control built in, but it’s not perfect.

Everyone I have spoken to who has one of these says that the touring mode is all you need on the road.