It is no secret that Yamaha has joined the ranks of Honda, BMW Motorrad and KTM by introducing an automated manual transmission. Now, Team Blue has announced that the MT-09 Y-AMT is the first bike to feature this technology.
What is Y-AMT?
Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission, as the name suggested, takes away the job of engaging clutch and shifting gears from your left limbs… but not completely. The system replaces the traditional clutch lever and foot-shifter setup with a finger-operated semi-automatic shifting on the left switchgear.
To do this, the Y-AMT uses two motors on either side of the engine — the motor on the right takes control of the clutch while the one on the left works with the transmission. These motors are controlled by a Transmission Control Unit (TCU) that calculates ride modes, engine speed, throttle position and the lean angle to shift through the six-speed gearbox. All of this adds 2.8 kg over a standard MT-09 with manual transmission.
If you prefer manual shifting, there’s a see-saw switch on the right switchgear to shift gears. The design allows you to either move through the gears with index finger and thumb or purely with just one finger. Yamaha claims this allows the rider to move away from focusing on gear shifts and concentrate on braking, throttle input and body position.
For the full auto mode, there are two riding modes: D for the urban use and D+ for spirited riding. While the former is optimised for low speeds and stop-and-go traffic, the latter prioritises sporty riding by keeping the engine on its toes and milking out its full potential.
What else is new?
Apart from the Y-AMT, the MT-09 is exactly the same as its regular version. So, everything from its Deltabox frame to the suspension and braking hardware and even the electronics remain unchanged.
The Yamaha MT-09 is the first of many motorcycles to flaunt the Japanese marque’s semi-automatic transmission. We expect the Tracer 900 and the Niken GT to follow suit soon. Heck, even the CP2-powered motorcycles like the MT-07, R7 and the Tenere 700 may not be left out.
