The Best and Worst Motorcycles with Automatic Gearboxes

With the arrival this week of Yamaha’s new automatic MT-09 Y-AMT, its promise of more ‘auto’ options for 2025, BMW’s new ‘Automated Shift Assistant’ (ASA)-equipped R1300GSA just around the corner and even KTM demonstrating its new ‘AMT’ system recently, it’s clear automatic transmission bikes are coming thick and fast.

However, these developments are by no means the first. Honda has been leading the way, not always successfully, with motorcycle automatic gearbox options since the 1970s and has been persevering with its ‘DCT’ (Dual Clutch Transmission) system for over a decade as now available on a variety of engine platforms.

Yamaha itself first introduced an ‘automatic’ system way back in 2006 with its first FJR1300AS. Even Aprilia proved pioneering – if unsuccessful – with this kind of tech with its Mana 850, which was on sale from 2007 to 2011.

So, what different types have been available, on which bikes were they offered and how good were they? To get yourself up to speed here are our top key automatic motorcycle offerings – and, by the way, we’re not including scooters (because they’re not, well, motorcycles), electric bikes or even Honda’s new E-Clutch CB/CBR650 (because there’s no genuine auto option) – from 1976 to now, in chronological order.

1976 Honda CB750A

Arguably the first ‘automatic’ motorcycle was Honda’s CB750A of 1976-1978. Based on the existing CB750 four, in place of the standard five-speed ‘box it had no conventional clutch lever, a detuned engine, just two speeds and a torque converter which enabled foot changes between the two gears. 

On sale for two years, it wasn’t a success, although this still didn’t put Honda off from offering a 400-twin version, the CB400A ‘Hondamatic’ in 1978 and, in the US, more custom CM400A Hondamatic from 1979-1981 and a 450 version from 1982 to 1983.

2006 Yamaha FJR1300AS

The success and long life of the conventional FJR1300 sports-tourer, being one of the best of its breed between 2001 and 2020, overshadows the fact that Yamaha also offered a version with an ‘auto’ transmission. The 2006 FJR1300AS featured Yamaha’s new YCC-S (Yamaha Chip-Controlled Shift) system which, strictly speaking, although there was no clutch lever, wasn’t an automatic gearbox, instead comprising an automatic clutch with an electronically operated gearbox – in other words, the rider still had to make a physical input, via a flick of a handlebar switch, to change gear. But it was a sizeable step in auto direction and did lay the foundations for Yamaha’s new Y-AMT system.

2007 Aprilia Mana 850

The rise of scooters – and particularly that of maxi scooters such as Yamaha’s TMAX 500 and Suzuki’s Burgman 650, both with CVT ‘twist and go’ transmissions, probably contributed to the lack of automatic ‘proper’ bike offerings between 1983 and 2007, so when the next did arrive it was maybe no surprise it was based on a maxi-scooter powertrain. 

A V-twin using the same motor as the Gilera Fuoco scooter, the Aprilia Mana was a full-size roadster (and later a faired sports tourer) with a CVT twist and go system which, with a flick of a handlebar-mounted switch turned the ‘Sportgear’ transmission into a seven-speed sequential gearbox for weekend blasts through the lanes. It worked decently well but was also heavy, underpowered, expensive and probably ahead of its time.

2008 Honda DN-01 

Another oddball – but effective – machine that was undoubtedly ahead of its time. Honda returned to automatic transmission experimentation with the very ambitious DN-01 launched in 2008. A futuristic cruiser-cum-scooter, it was based on a version of the Deauville 680cc V-twin producing around 50bhp which transmitted power to the rear wheel by what Honda called its ‘Human Friendly Transmission’ (HFT) which had three modes: automatic, sport and a steptronic mode that let you change gear using a toggle switch on the bars.

It worked impressively well, but unfortunately, it didn’t sell due to a combination of its looks, expense and limited practicality and was dropped after two years, but it remains a collectable oddity today.

2010 Honda VFR1200F DCT

Undeterred (is Honda ever deterred?) Big H launched its next ambitious automatic transmission system with the all-new, hugely anticipated and over-hyped VFR1200F in 2010. Available as both standard or with clutch lever-less, automatic ‘DCT’ (Dual Clutch Transmission), the auto option, The latter worked well out of the box and was soon significantly improved. It had Driver and Sport fully automatic options plus a manual, ‘clutchless’ option via switches on the left ‘bar, much like the new Yamaha system.

On the downside, it was overshadowed by the VFR itself being underwhelming with odd looks, a too-small tank and too much weight – even though the shaft-drive V4 was a peach. Improvements came but it wasn’t enough leading to the VFR1200F being dropped prematurely in 2016. An adventure variant, the VFR1200X Crosstourer launched in 2012, had more success, however, living on until 2021.

2011 Honda ‘New Mid Concept’ middleweights

Honda being Honda, the new DCT system wasn’t just reserved for the VFR1200 V4. The following year it unveiled a trio of middleweight, low-revving, 700cc parallel twins which were also available with the system. 

Initially, these comprised the Integra scooter, NC700S roadster and NC700X adventure-styled machine. All were effective if a little unexciting and the X in particular has proved a big success and lives on today as the NC750X. Two later short-lived bikes based on the same powertrain were the 2014 NM4 Vultus and equally wacky CTX700.

2016 Honda CRF1000F Africa Twin DCT

 

As if to further reinforce its commitment to the DCT concept, when Honda launched its all-new, eagerly awaited Africa Twin adventure bike in 2016, it too came with a DCT option. This time based on an equally all-new 998cc, 94bhp parallel twin (growing to 1084cc and 100bhp from 2020), the new Twin has been successively improved, now also has a big-tanked, more touring ‘Adventure Sport’ sibling and is one of the most genuine ‘dual purpose’ of all adventure bikes. 

The same powertrain (with DCT option) has also since been adopted by the 2021 CMX1100 Rebel cruiser and 2022 NT1100 sports tourer.

2018 Honda GL1800 Goldwing DCT

And yes, there is another DCT, too. When Honda then introduced an all-new Gold Wing in 2018 (as a successor to the old GL1800 from 2001 to 2016), it not only got an all-new, more compact, more powerful 125bhp flat-six, an all-new, far lighter chassis (complete with Hossack style front suspension) plus more electronics and luxuries than you can shake a very fat stick at, but it was also offered with optional DCT which, actually, seems to suit it very well.

2024 Yamaha MT-09 Y-AMT

Just when you were perhaps starting to think Honda had a monopoly on auto boxes comes Yamaha’s new ‘Y-AMT’ (Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission) which Visordown has sampled at the international launch. A development of the previous YCC-S, it’s quite rudimentary in theory. There’s no clutch or gear lever, and instead, they’re actuated by two motors with clever electronics in between (but no IMU). 

New switchgear allows ‘Drive’ or ‘Drive+’ fully auto shifting or a Manual mode which allows rider clutchless shifting via a ‘see-saw’ switch on the left bar. It works brilliantly, too (although the 2024 MT-09 is already so brilliant it doesn’t really need it) – and hints at exciting other potential applications (A1 bikes? Tracers?) in the future.

2024 BMW R1300GSA 

OK, this is a bit cheeky. As I write we’ve not yet ridden the new R1300 GSA but it’s imminent and BMW has already confirmed it will be the first recipient of its new ‘Automated Shift Assistant’ (ASA) system which, in principle, operates in a similar manner to Yamaha’s Y-AMT (and KTM’s forthcoming AMT) in having a manual mode and two fully automatic modes. Unlike the Yamaha, it retains the gear lever so that in manual mode you change gear conventionally, just without a clutch. As for the rest of it, we’ll have to wait and see…