A HONDA engineer has told Visordown that the firm is working to make its DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) technology suitable for sports bike applications.
Honda DCT engineer Kosaku Takahashi told us at the end of last week on the launch of the updated Honda NC750X and Integra, both of which use DCT.
Currently, DCT is available on a range of bikes including the NC750X, Africa Twin and VFR1200F. At the moment there's no option to spec a Fireblade or CBR600RR with DCT, but it looks like future versions could be made available with a DCT system designed for sports bikes.
The main barriers to making DCT a viable option on sports bikes are size and weight; because the DCT gearbox uses two clutches, it’s wider and heavier than a more conventional powertrain. In its current form, it adds 10kg to the weight of the NC750X and Africa Twin, but Mr Takahashi told us that Honda is working to overcome this.
Takahashi-san also went on to say that if Honda raced the same two bikes of identical weight against each other, with one using a traditional gearbox and one using DCT, the DCT bike would be faster because of how seamless it is and the fact that it would eliminate loss of drive during gear changes.
He also claimed that even in MotoGP, a DCT-equipped RC213V would be faster than the equivalent weight bike with a seamless-shift gearbox.
Mr Takahashi stopped short of disclosing how much progress he and his team had made with creating a DCT transmission that is workable in Honda's sports bike platforms.
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