Yamaha debuts semi-automatic MT-09 By Ben Purvis
The manual gearbox is rapidly disappearing from modern cars as manufacturers find customers increasingly opt for autos, and now there are the first indications that the motorcycle market could be heading in the same direction, with multiple manufacturers launching self-shifting bikes for 2025.
Yamaha is the latest, revealing its Y-AMT 'automated manual transmission'. It debuts on the latest version of the MT-09 triple, but is expected to be adopted across multiple bikes over the next few months. It joins BMW, which has already unveiled the 'ASA' (Automated Shift Assistant) for the 2025 R 1300 GS and R 1300 GS Adventure, and KTM, which has teased a prototype of its upcoming automatic 1390 Super Adventure.
Other companies, including CFMoto and QJMotor in China, are also working on semi-auto bikes, and Kawasaki already uses such a transmission on its Ninja 7 Hybrid and Z7 Hybrid models.
All of these bikes are coming as a reaction to two developments from Honda. First, there's the DCT dual-clutch transmission, offered on multiple bikes since 2009, but now really hitting its stride in terms of sales - with DCTs at least matching the sales of manual models on bikes like the Africa Twin - despite a weight and price penalty for the automated transmission. Second is the new Honda E-Clutch, currently offered on the CB650R and CBR650R, but expected to come to many more models soon. It doesn't automate gearshifts, but does eliminate the need to use the clutch lever. Unlike DCT, E-Clutch has a minimal impact on cost and complexity and should be relatively easy for Honda to add to almost any bike with a conventional gearbox.
Like BMW's ASA and KTM's upcoming semi-auto transmission, Yamaha's Y-AMT is an automated version of a normal six-speed manual. Two electromechanical actuators are added externally, one to control the clutch and the other operating the input spline where the shift lever would normally attach, and there's a standalone control unit that plugs into them, taking inputs from existing sensors on the bike, including the throttle position and the IMU to control the gear shifts.
The system offers three modes. Two are fully automatic, with the bike controlling the shifts itself. 'D' mode is for normal riding, while 'D+' lets the engine rev higher before shifting up. 'MT' mode, meanwhile, gives the rider control over shifts via a see-saw paddle on the left bar. You can either use your forefinger for both up and downshifts via a trigger-like paddle - pull it to change up, push it to change down - or use the trigger for upshifts and a thumb button to change down. These controls also override the computer when the bike is in either of its fully-automatic 'D' modes.
Transmission aside, the MT-09 Y-AMT is identical to the manual version, with the same 87.5 kW, 889 cc triple and no changes to the chassis, styling or suspension. The automated transmission system adds only 3 kg of weight and should be relatively affordable. Yamaha has already said that the Y-AMT transmission will be added to multiple models in the future, across several segments of the market, so expect to see other bikes - starting with MT-09 derivatives like the Tracer 9, XSR900 and Niken - with semi-auto gearboxes in the near future.
