Honda

Honda Q1 results, 'Battle of the Twins', E-clutch

Q1 Financial Results

Following good Full Year results for its 2025-2026 financial year to March 31, with Honda Group Unit Sales of 22,101,000 PTW units (+1,529,000 over the prior full year) Honda has started its 2026-2027 Financial Year with another strong performance.

Honda Group Unit Sales for Q1 of its new fiscal period (the three months to June 30, 2026) were 5,663,000 units, up by 10.1% from 3,774,000 for the year ago quarter.

In 2025 Honda projected that the present 50-million-unit annual global motorcycle market (of which it currently claims a 40% worldwide market share) is likely to grow by 20% to 60 million units by 2030 and that in the long-term its stated aim is to grow sales to some 50% of global motorcycle/PTW industry new unit sales at some stage in the not too distant future.

Motorcycle Business segment sales revenue for Q1 was ¥1,141.1bn (up from ¥951.5bn for the year ago period), producing a ¥233.9bn operating profit (up from ¥189.00bn) on an improved Operating Margin of 20.5% (up from 19.9%).

In regional terms, Q1 unit sales in its Japanese home market decreased to 38,000 units (from 59,000 for the year-ago) with Asia remaining by far their largest market (4,753,000 units sold, up from 4,284 for the year ago). In Europe unit sales for Honda were down by 5,000 units YOY at 117,000 for the quarter and by -3,000 units in North America at 139,000).

Battle of the Twins - 'On Road vs Off Road'

This year's Wheels and Waves (Biarritz, June 2026) saw Honda add a 'compare and contrast' element to its Honda Customs showcase. Billed as a 'Battle of the Twins' there were 10 custom bike shops chosen from 10 different countries to create five different customs based on two very different platforms. 

Honda Germany - 'White Venom' by Motocrew 

Honda Portugal - 'Mugen' by Mototrofa 

There were five road going concepts based on the CB750 Hornet and five off-roaders based on the XL750 Transalp - to bring an 'On Road vs Off Road' element to the seventh iteration of their annual European competition.

An online poll at hondacustoms.com will crown Europe's favourite custom with results due to be announced "at the end of the summer". 

Honda Switzerland - 'Concept 2027' by Stark Industries

Honda Austria - 'Ruth' by Reier Motors

Honda Italy - 'Saharja' by DRS Custom

This year another new element to its long-running hondacustoms.com customisation competition (this is its seventh iteration) will see each of the custom projects reviewed by the Honda R&D centre (Rome) designers of the original bikes - Valerio Aieillo (Transalp) and Giovanni Dovis (Hornet). 

Honda E-Clutch - 'Technology for People' 

Setting the pace in the rush towards 'shift assist', Honda says that its E-Clutch technology has been "developed in the spirit of 'Technology for people' with the aim of broadening the appeal and benefits of motorcycling to a range of potential riders".

Junya Ono, Assistant Chief Engineer, Motorcycle and Power Products Operations Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

In a June report, Honda stated that "electrical assistance to the clutch operation enables smooth starting and gear shifts, and improves the riding experience whilst removing unnecessary stress - freeing rider capacity to concentrate on cornering, braking and acceleration, ultimately resulting in better, safer riding. The technology facilitates smoother, and quicker gearchanges over manual transmission allowing faster and more stable acceleration."

Honda went on to say that in a motorcycling world increasingly shaped by electronic innovation, one component has "proudly retained its analogue character - the clutch lever, that tactile connection between the rider's left hand and transmission that defines the riding experience."

Honda states that it's E-Clutch "is reshaping this concept and final frontier of manual control. Reimagined - not erased but enhanced.

"By mitigating the shock that occurs during gear changes through half clutch control, the system delivers shifts that are smoother and quicker than those of a conventional quickshifter," explains Junya Ono, Assistant Chief Engineer, Motorcycle and Power Products Operations Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 

"Riders can feel the benefit across all riding situations, but the difference is especially noticeable during low-speed riding, such as in urban environments, where smooth gear changes are most apparent."

Honda explain that the phrase, half clutch control, is central to understanding why E-Clutch feels different. "A conventional quickshifter momentarily cuts ignition or fuel to unload the gearbox, allowing clutch less upshifts." It's effective, especially at higher revs, but it can introduce a jolt, particularly at lower speeds. E-Clutch, by contrast, actively manages the clutch itself via electronic actuators. Instead of simply interrupting power, it subtly slips the clutch during the shift, smoothing torque transitions before the rider even perceives them.

"The result is a shift that feels fluid rather than abrupt, controlled rather than interrupted - especially noticeable in heavy traffic." Honda states that its objective is to "expand accessibility without diluting engagement.

"The primary objective is to allow a wide range of riders to have FUN by being able to ride with greater confidence across a broad variety of situations," says Ono-san. "This has been achieved by further evolving and refining the control logic based on the system originally developed for the 650 class models."

That system, which made its debut on the CB650R and CBR650R, proved that automated clutch control could coexist with a manual gearbox. The new generation, which made its public debut at EICMA 2025 on the XL750 Transalp and CB750 Hornet, is described as building on that foundation, taking the technology to different engine capacities and riding environments.

"A major step forward with the 750 system comes with the integration of Throttle-by-Wire (TBW), unlocking further potential as the E-Clutch's behaviour becomes adaptive rather than reactive.

"With selectable riding modes now available, the E-Clutch has become easier to use across a wide range of scenarios, from urban commuting to sporty riding, allowing its behaviour to better match the rider's demands," explains Ono-san. "In addition, downshifts now incorporate an automatic blip function, enabling smoother and more seamless downshifting.

"Similar to downshifting with a quickshifter, the system blips the throttle to match the engine speed to the appropriate RPM after the downshift," says Ono-san. "However, because the E-Clutch also engages half-clutch control, it achieves a smoother downshift overall." In effect giving riders a dual action, throttle matching and controlled clutch slip. 

"During rapid deceleration, the load on the rear tire can be reduced, causing the rear wheel rotation to lag behind the vehicle's actual speed," explains Ono-san. "If load is reapplied to the rear tire while in this state, the mismatch cannot be fully absorbed, resulting in wheel hop. The system detects this condition and applies half-clutch control. By allowing the clutch to slip rather than the tire, vehicle stability is improved."

This rear-wheel hop mitigation first appears in Honda's 750 series models, including the Honda Transalp, marking an evolution in E-Clutch's role, from convenience feature to active stability enhancer. However, implementing such control across multiple engine platforms is no simple software update. Each engine configuration behaves differently.

"Each engine had its own characteristics, so it required settings tailored accordingly," says Ono-san. "In particular, we struggled with accommodating differences in rotational fluctuations, as well as variations in engine response and torque delivery."

An inline four spins differently to a parallel twin. Torque pulses, crank inertia, throttle response curves, all influence how a clutch must engage or slip. The engineering challenge lay in mapping those characteristics precisely enough that riders never sense the calculation behind the curtain.

Riding modes add another layer of nuance. In Rain, throttle response is softened; in Sport, it sharpens. Because TBW decouples grip rotation from actual butterfly valve opening, the clutch must interpret not just what the rider is doing, but what the engine will do next.

"Depending on the selected mode, such as RAIN or SPORT, the actual throttle butterfly opening varies relative to the grip opening," explains Ono-san. "The E-Clutch performs appropriate clutch control in accordance with these changes in butterfly valve opening." 

In practical terms, Honda says that this means a consistent feel and that off road, the system's benefits become even clearer. On adventure machines, riders frequently juggle balance, throttle, braking and terrain reading simultaneously.

"First, the presence of the E-Clutch eliminates concerns about engine stalling," says Ono-san. "It also removes the need to worry about operating the clutch lever. As a result, riders can focus on riding with greater confidence during off-road conditions, where increased attention to surface conditions is required."

On loose terrain, where traction can fluctuate unpredictably, the 750 series system goes further. It can execute appropriate upshifts even when the rear tyre is slipping under acceleration, maintaining drive without compounding instability. Despite all this automation, Ono-san was adamant about preserving familiarity.

"We were committed to a configuration that does not change the control layout," he emphasises. "The clutch lever is installed in the same way as before, and without any special operation, simply pulling the clutch lever instantly provides the same feel and operation as a conventional manual motorcycle."

That decision underlines a philosophical difference. E-Clutch is not a replacement for manual riding; it is an augmentation. Riders can ignore it entirely and operate the clutch as usual. Or they can let the system handle routine modulation while they focus on lines, braking markers or traffic. It also has a trick up its sleeve for riders who want that traditional engagement.

"We enabled the E-Clutch to be turned off for situations where the rider does not want the clutch to disengage automatically, for example, during low-speed riding, where you may want to run right at the edge of idle speed," says Ono-san. "We believe that being able to revert completely to the same operation as a manual motorcycle is a unique advantage that other automatic clutch-control systems do not offer."

It's a small switch with big symbolic weight; the choice remains in the rider's hands. Yet perhaps E-Clutch's most impressive achievement is how invisible all of this feels from the saddle.

"We evolved the control logic in accordance with the vehicle characteristics and usability, maximising the value the system can deliver," says Ono-san. "In addition to functional enhancements such as coordination with TBW, refinements have also been made in finer details to improve the feel of vehicle launch and gear shifting."

Honda claim that this latest iteration of its E-Clutch quietly redraws the boundary between manual and automatic. The clutch lever remains. The gearbox remains. The rider remains central. 

"The invisible intelligence now woven into the relationship between rider and machine hints at a future where technology supports rather than supplants - it doesn't change how motorcycles are ridden, but that it redefines how they feel every shift, every start, every stop.".