BMW Motorrad is keen on ‘simplifying’ your ride experience, and as such, it has unveiled the new Automated Shift Assistant. What’s that, you ask? Well, it is essentially an automatic transmission, and the idea seems inspired by the Honda Africa Twin DCT.
The Bavarian bike maker says using the clutch and throttle takes a lot of concentration, especially while riding over difficult terrains or when hauling luggage and a passenger. The Automated Shift Assistant makes use of two electronically controlled actuators to operate the clutch and gearshift. There are two modes; the fully-automatic ‘D’ mode that basically does all the hard work for you. Depending on which riding mode you’re in, say ‘sport’ or ‘rain’, the shifts from the Automated Shift Assistant will be according to whichever riding mode is in effect.
The other mode, ‘M’, allows you to operate the transmission via a conventional foot-operated gearshift lever, albeit without a clutch lever. However, the Automated Shift Assistant will intervene and downshift for you if the engine revs fall down below a certain RPM. Think about the iVT gearboxes on the Hyundai Venue and the Kia Carens and you might get a clearer idea of how to operate it.
That said, BMW Motorrad is yet to confirm which bike the Automated Shift Assistant will debut on. However, we won’t be surprised if the R 1300 GS gets it first, given that it directly mentioned the boxer engine in the press note.
