The move toward assisted gear changes is picking up speed, and now the Ready To Race crew at KTM has joined in. Using longstanding centrifugal clutch technology—the clutch engages when engine revs rise and disengages at idle to prevent stalling—KTM ups the ante with new electronic twists with its new AMT (Automated Manual Transmission). In addition to the clutch being automatic, the transmission is electronically shifted, either automatically or manually.
Manual shifting in the M mode is accomplished via either left-hand paddle shifters or a traditional foot gear shifter. The paddle-shifting is implemented via an electromechanical shift actuator that works directly on the shift drum. KTM insiders tell us the M mode has a “sporty riding feel.”
In the automatic A mode, the shifting involves the ECU, TCU (Transmission Control Unit), and Ride Modes, along with the shift actuator that assists in manual shifting. Shifts take 50 milliseconds to perform, comparable to the shifting time with a quickshifter.
The A mode allows different configurations so the rider can tune the automatic shifting implementation to taste.
A Park position is added to the all-new P-N-1-2-3-4-5-6 shift pattern used by the KTM Automated Manual Transmission. It’s there to prevent the bike from rolling unexpectedly. Park and neutral can only be accessed via the paddle shifter, and one of the brakes must be applied to shift the transmission into 1st gear.
True to KTM’s Ready To Race motto, a prototype was employed on Johnny Aubert’s KTM in the Iron Road Prologue at the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. Check out the video produced by KTM.
However, KTM mentioned to us how well the AMT works on a large motorcycle, so expect to see it debut on Adventure models. While KTM says the weight gain from the system is minimal, there is no word on how much the KTM Automated Manual Transmission system will add to the price of each motorcycle or when the first consumer implementation will be deployed.
