Yamaha’s Y-AMT Semi-auto Transmission

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Yamaha’s Y-AMT semi-auto transmission uses electro-mechanical actuators to clutch and shift the ratios. (Yamaha/)

Back in April we revealed patents showing Yamaha was developing a semi-automatic transmission for its MT-07 and YZF-R7 models. Now the company has officially confirmed the system, calling it Y-AMT and says it’s heading for a whole range of bikes in a variety of styles.

The Yamaha system comes hot on the heels of announcements from BMW and KTM about their own semi-auto transmissions, suddenly turning the battle for self-shifting supremacy into a key one as we head toward the 2025 model year. It’s a market that, until now, Honda has dominated thanks to its DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) system, which has been available since 2009 in a variety of models. Today, Honda’s DCT machines often match or even outsell their manual equivalents despite carrying a substantial weight and cost penalty, showing that customers are increasingly embracing the idea of semi-auto bikes. Honda’s new E-Clutch, launched on the 2024 CBR650R and CB650R, promises to be even more popular thanks to its low price and insignificant added weight.

Yamaha’s 2006 FJR1300AE featured a semi-auto transmission that was controlled by hydraulic actuators. <i>Motorcyclist Archives</i>

It would be wrong to suggest Yamaha is late to the semi-auto game as it’s actually one of the pioneers of the field, having offered the YCC-S (Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift) on the FJR1300 tourer since 2006. The new Y-AMT setup follows a similar design route to YCC-S, in that it’s an automated version of a conventional manual transmission with bar-mounted buttons to control its shift operation and no clutch lever, but where YCC-S used hydraulics for its computer-controlled clutch, Y-AMT has an electromechanical actuator for the clutch and another for the shifter.

A view of the new control pods that house the shifters and mode buttons. (Yamaha/)

The huge improvement in motorcycle computing power since 2006, allied to the near-universal adoption of ride-by-wire throttles and vast arrays of sensors, means a modern take on the automated manual transmission should be very nearly as smooth as the truly seamless shift that Honda’s DCT achieves. Yamaha’s Y-AMT has three modes: two fully-auto settings and one semi-auto option. The standard auto mode, dubbed “D,” is a relaxed self-shifter, selecting gears automatically without any rider input. Just twist the throttle and go. A “mode” button on the right bar selects “D+” (essentially a sport setting) that holds on to gears longer and downshifts earlier to keep the revs on the boil while another right bar switch changes to the system’s manual setting.

The left-bar-mounted control pod houses the trigger shifters that can be used to manually change gears. (Yamaha/)

In manual mode the clutch operation is still fully automated, but gearshifts are achieved via a set of buttons on the left-hand bar. These give two gear-changing options. You can either use a forefinger trigger to shift up and a thumb-operated button for downshifts, or you can use your forefinger for both operations—pull the paddle to shift up, push it forward to change down, letting you keep your thumb wrapped around the bar. Even when the bike is in “AT” mode, with shifting done automatically, the left-hand shift buttons will override the computer and let the rider choose their own gear.

On the right bar pod there is a switch that allows the rider to toggle between automatic (AT) and manual (MT) operation. (Yamaha/)

Yamaha points out that with no foot-operated shifter, riders have more freedom when it comes to positioning themselves correctly on the bike for corners, and the automated clutch and shifting lets them concentrate on other aspects of riding. Unlike Honda’s DCT, which adds around 24 pounds to the weight of each bike it’s fitted to and uses a complex system of dual clutches and hydraulics to operate, Yamaha’s Y-DCT is claimed to weigh just 6.2 pounds, and since its electromechanical actuators operate the clutch and shifter from outside the transmission, it should be relatively easy to adapt it to almost any conventional manual-transmission bike.

The mode button allows the rider to choose between D mode, which is a straightforward auto mode, and D+ mode, which is a sportier mode. (Yamaha/)

While Yamaha isn’t confirming which models will get the system first, the patents we’ve already seen show the system on the MT-07 and YZF-R7 (both due to be refreshed for 2025 anyway), and the company says it has been developed to “enhance the purity of sports riding” and will be offered on sportbikes, and bikes that are ideal for touring and commuting. The company also says the system maximizes the power characteristics of its crossplane-concept engines. In Yamaha’s current range those include the MT-10 and YZF-R1, both with Yamaha’s four-cylinder CP4 crossplane engine; the MT-09 and its spinoffs, all using the three-cylinder CP3; and the MT-07, YZF-R7, and others that use the twin-cylinder CP2 motor like the Ténéré 700.

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