More new Honda motorcycles for 2024

I think the coolest news is the e-Clutch.

Operationally it sounds similar to the Hondamatics of the 1970's but without sacrificing gear ratios and the clutch is still there.

While the DCT is awesome tech, it's primarily on bigger flagship bikes. Now Honda can slap e-Clutches on their 300 and 500cc bikes and make them even more friendly for new riders.
 
Nice to see that Honda is spending some resources on the mid-randge market. I curious as to why they changed from the CB500X to the NX500.

Mike
 
The Hondamatics of the 70s were terrible and only had two gears but had to be manually shifted and they felt as if 50% of the power was being absorbed by the torque convertor. I have experience with both the automotive and motorcycle versions of the Hondamatic. At the time, Mr Honda's goal was to never pay someone else for their technology (AKA: Borg-Warner) so his engineers had to come up with an automatic that didn't violate any existing patents and to me it was a dismal failure.

The new E-clutch is a completely different animal as it still has the 5 or 6 "normal gears" in the transmission but the clutch function is done electrically. It is a lot cheaper to manufacture than the DCT so with the exception of the Gold Wing, I can see the DCT being eliminated in future years and replaced by the E-clutch.

Honda E-Clutch Details | Cycle World
 
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I guess I still have some Luddite genes but I really don't see much of an advantage of an e-clutch. It just appears to me to be an overly complicated quick shifter.....
:think1:
Mike
 
I too share some of the Luddite genes but we now have a whole generation or two of young people who've never learned to drive on a manual shift car so they create quite a challenge for motorcycle makers.
 
DirtFlier said:
The new E-clutch is a completely different animal as it still has the 5 or 6 "normal gears" in the transmission but the clutch function is done electrically. It is a lot cheaper to manufacture than the DCT so with the exception of the Gold Wing, I can see the DCT being eliminated in future years and replaced by the E-clutch.

Honda E-Clutch Details | Cycle World
Click to expand...

It's similar to the Hondamatics in that you still need to select gearing with your foot. The e-Clutch wouldn't be an even replacement for DCT because the DCT offers true automatic shifting.
 
DirtFlier said:
The new E-clutch is a completely different animal as it still has the 5 or 6 "normal gears" in the transmission but the clutch function is done electrically. It is a lot cheaper to manufacture than the DCT so with the exception of the Gold Wing, I can see the DCT being eliminated in future years and replaced by the E-clutch.

Honda E-Clutch Details | Cycle World
Click to expand...

What a neat concept, and the fact that you can shut it off and use the clutch lever traditionally is an added bonus. We've all been on those long rides, where you just want to get home without a bunch of extra effort, and having the E-clutch would be a bonus in those situations.

I really enjoyed the 1981 CM400 Hondamatic that I owned for a few years, yes it was dog slow, but it was great for a relaxing ride after a day of work, when you just wanted to take your mind off of things and enjoy a low-stress ride on those rural roads. Never had any problems with it. It required so minimal effort to ride it was silly! Sold it a while ago and still kind of miss it.
 
DirtFlier said:
I too share some of the Luddite genes but we now have a whole generation or two of young people who've never learned to drive on a manual shift car so they create quite a challenge for motorcycle makers.
Click to expand...

In fact, I recently read of an aborted car jacking is downtown St. Louis because the perps didn't know how to drive a stick shift :rofl1:. Perhaps insurance companies should now give a break on premiums for stick shift vehicles being driven in questionable areas.... I'm just sayin'

Mike
 
Oops...apparently the new Hornet 500 is a twin and not a four as I described earlier.
 
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