KTM has started its onslaught of announcements, and the first one is its new AMT (Automated Manual Transmission). With this, KTM has joined the likes of BMW Motorrad, Yamaha and Honda by introducing an alternative transmission tech, but of course, with a little bit of Team Orange’s zestiness.
KTM AMT : Two Ways To Ride
Just like other AMTs, riders can toggle between ‘Auto’ and ‘Manual’ modes with a press of a button. In the auto mode, the bike takes care of gear shifts via actuators that communicate with the ECU and Transmission Control Unit (TCU) for actual gear position, engine speed, engine torque, lean angle, acceleration, vehicle speed, pitch angle, and of course, rider inputs. There are three modes ‘Comfort’, ‘Street’ and ‘Sport’ for the ‘shift preferences’. But of course, for those who want to be in control, there’s the manual mode.
KTM AMT : Two Ways To Shift
With the clutch lever now redundant, your left hand has one less thing to do… or not. KTM offers paddles to change gears, and the ‘old school’ way of using a foot lever. Of course, all of this is electronically controlled, and in case you are wondering about low-speed rideability without a clutch, well, KTM has used a smart solution — centrifugal clutch.
The centrifugal clutch engages based on the engine speed, and relies on principles of centrifugal force. According to KTM, the low-speed rideability, stopping or pulling away is a lot smoother, and in fact, in theory, also makes the bike impossible to stall.
However, with this clutch comes a different problem — parking the bike or even shifting to ‘neutral’. Unlike the traditional six-speed transmission we are used to, KTM’s AMT will require you to shift to ‘N’ via the paddles. Also, every time you park the bike, it will have to be in the ‘P’ mode, which is again accessible via the switchgear. So, for those who are used to parking the bike in the first gear will require some (more) change in habits.
KTM has not revealed the weight that the AMT tech adds to the engine, however, with the actuators and a new clutch assembly, the weight will be different than the 1390 Super Duke’s engine. And this brings us to which bikes will the AMT tech come to.
For now, it looks like the 1390 Super Adventure S and the Super Adventure S Evo will be the first bikes to have the system. Eventually, even the 890 Adventure could have an AMT model. But as long as AMT remains an option, we aren’t complaining.
