Seamless gearbox on a road bike?

[duke63]

May not be very far away apparently.

Possibly the next big leap forward?

http://amcn.com.au/editorial/aprilia-rsv4-go-seamless/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Cav]

I can't see the link Stupid filtering

[Kwacky]

Seamless gearboxes, like slick tyres or launch control they’re things that anyone who watches MotoGP knows about but is unlikely to have first-hand experience of. But while slicks will never make sense on the road seamless transmissions are very likely to make the leap from racetrack to showroom in the near future. Who will be first to offer a superbike with a GP-style seamless shift? There’s got to be strong money on Aprilia. The firm might be still feeling its way into the top ranks of MotoGP but it’s had a seamless shift transmission since last year thanks to a licensing deal from British engineering firm Zeroshift.

Importantly, as well as permitting Aprilia to build Zeroshift seamless gearboxes for its GP bikes, the deal includes an option for the firm to put the transmissions into mass-production. If it takes up that option, the RSV4 – surely due for an update next year – is likely to be the recipient.

While Honda’s MotoGP seamless transmission is famously expensive, leading the firm to use dual-clutch gearboxes instead as the next-best-thing for road bikes, the Zeroshift transmission isn’t much more complex than a conventional gearbox. It only has a handful of extra components and the design is close enough to a conventional bike box that it shouldn’t require extensive reengineering of the engine and transmission cases.

With every firm currently racing in MotoGP using seamless transmissions on its factory bikes, and a clear benefit in terms of lap times, there’s no doubt they’ll all be examining how to transpose the technology to production models. As well as being a great selling point, they’ll offer performance benefits on the road and potentially an advantage in production-based race championships

[Cav]

Fair enough..

Aprilia only updated the RSV last year though so why would they be updating it already? that doesn't make sense to me.

As for Honda, they've had patents on DCT gearboxes for a while now but they're still very heavy; hence why the seamless gearbox (while not as good as DCT) is still used in MotoGP.

Kawasaki, IMO, will be the leader of road bikes because of their supercharged engines. For a commuter they're perfect because they are potentially lighter (needing a smaller capacity engine for the same output), they're better on fuel, they'll be quieter and if they decide to go down the 3 cylinder route the bike will be more nimble too thanks to having a frame one cylinder narrower. Then you have the Hayabusa crew, they'll have to admit defeat to the fastest bike in the world when Kawasaki bring out the rumoured ZZR1400 with 250 forced-induction-bhp and near equal torque.

Suzuki are no where to be seen still having only brought a fancy paint job to the scene in the last 11 years and Yamaha obviously have the R1 and MT10 which will be selling like hot cakes for a few years.

[duke63]

My money is on Ducati or Aprilia being first. Japanese companies are rarely the first at these things as profit is their ultimate goal. They seem better at evolution and refinement though Honda were very good at innovation at one time.

[D6]

Royal enfield

[D41]

Wouldn't want one TBH. It's like an auto on a car...takes the fun out of it, the involvement, the rider/bike interface, or whatever...

But....for disabled people...yes..it'd be nice to have that option available.