Talk me into, or out of, DCT please

[dadeo]

I had a 2006 Yamaha FJR-1300 with electric shift and I also had a 2009 and a 2013 650 Burgman cause the 09 got hit by a car. I wanted to ditch the clutch when I was having troubles with left hand after I broke my wrist. All three bike transmissions had flaws. I grew to HATE not having the clutch to feather and control these bikes at low speed, especially the FJR. Gear shifting on the FJR was exactly the same as on a manual bike, but with no clutching. I HATED riding this bike at slow speeds in traffic because the bike would automatically shift down to first and then "hold" it in gear until I shifted it up. It sounds great until the thing shifts to first when you haven't quite stopped. The Burgies had a manual mode (electric shift with no clutch) and an automatic mode. Supposedly Suzuki had made major changes in 2013 to deal with complaints like mine with the transmission. I didn't notice much difference between them. My complaints: In automatic mode the bike "coasted" away from a stop on a downhill slope, then it would suddenly engage "first" gear when you applied any throttle and no matter the speed. This resulted in sudden jerking and skidding of the rear wheel on low traction surfaces. The only way to get the bike to avoid this behavior when starting down a hill was to switch it to "manual" mode manually, then put it into first, then shift to second. This sounds like a small thing... but it kind of made the automatic transmission less than useful when you live in and like to ride in the mountains and have to deal with gravel. And pushing the Burgies around the garage was a bear. The tranny always seemed to have some drag engaged... whether it was running or not. With both the FJR and Burgies there was no ability to feather the throttle when riding at low speeds-- really an issue when you are in a tight parking area and the engines were still revving high when they are still warming up.

So unless Honda has solved these issues... no DCT for me.

[soupbean]

The Honda dual clutch transmission is a whole different animal than the Yamaha, Burgman or a centrifugal setup. You really just need to ride one to judge it for yourself. As stated, slow speed maneuvers are totally different. You use very gentle throttle and rear brake at walking speeds. You need to relearn how to ride a motorcycle in certain situations.., it took me quite a while to use dct at its full potential. After you are aquatinted with it, overall it does make riding more relaxing and less stressful. That, and as I stated before, it really is amazing what Honda R&D has done with this transmission.

[dadeo]

, slow speed maneuvers are totally different. You use very gentle throttle and rear brake at walking speeds. You need to relearn how to ride a motorcycle in certain situations.., it took me quite a while to use dct at its full potential. After you are acquainted with it, overall it does make riding more relaxing and less stressful..

I agree that I had to relearn how to ride a motorcycle at walking speeds. I never got the hang of it. As for the rest, lets just say that I was tired of using the rear brake to deal with the lack of clutch action, and learned not to trust the transmission on any of these bikes to do anything predictable when starting on a downhill slope. I did like riding the Burgman in city traffic more than any other bike I've ever owned. But I don't ride much in the city any more.