Honda VFR1200XD Crosstourer DCT (2012 - present) review

It’s far, far more sophisticated than a conventional sequential gearbox. That’s a fact.
Ultra smooth and quick shifts
Hand-operated gears on a motorcycle are not to everyone's taste

For the last half of the day’s road riding on the Crosstourer launch I jumped on the DCT version. It’s easy to spot as it doesn’t have a clutch lever and there’s a weird handbrake contraption on the left hand handlebar.

I’ve ridden the DCT system on the VFR1200 at its launch in Japan in 2009 and for a brain-out lap of the TT circuit while everyone else seemed to be having their tea on Mad Sunday. I liked it – maybe even preferred it to the standard gearbox – for the way it kept the bike settled in fast corners when you’re shifting up.

The downsides? Well, once you'd overridden the auto mode by making a manual selection, the system stayed in manual.

Can I talk cars for a brief moment? I think it’s relevant. Sorry an' all that...

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/first-ride-honda-crosstourer-dct/20130.html#ixzz2DR9zkoR8

For the last half of the day’s road riding on the Crosstourer launch I jumped on the DCT version. It’s easy to spot as it doesn’t have a clutch lever and there’s a weird handbrake contraption on the left hand handlebar.

I’ve ridden the DCT system on the VFR1200 at its launch in Japan in 2009 and for a brain-out lap of the TT circuit while everyone else seemed to be having their tea on Mad Sunday. I liked it – maybe even preferred it to the standard gearbox – for the way it kept the bike settled in fast corners when you’re shifting up.

The downsides? Well, once you'd overridden the auto mode by making a manual selection, the system stayed in manual.

Can I talk cars for a brief moment? I think it’s relevant. Sorry an' all that...

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/first-ride-honda-crosstourer-dct/20130.html#ixzz2DR9zkoR8