Next time someone says the CTX DCT is a bike for beginners/old men/scooter......

Glen e

New member
As I sit here watching the last five hours of the Rolex 24 hour in Daytona, and look down the entire roster, EVERY car is running a DCT of some sort, and is a shifted/paddle transmission, no clutch…so much for auto tranny’s being a beginner/novice thing....the Acura’s (Honda) from the Roger Penske team have been doing well......

http://autoweek.com/article/imsa/rolex-24-daytona-fan-guide-understanding-classes

Playing now on Fox sports 2 (FS2)
 
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Shanghai Dan

New member
I just tell people, if it's good enough for Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, and McLaren, then I figure it is good enough for my motorcycle...:)
 

Woodswoman

Member
Quite the double standard, isn't there? I've never had anybody question my choice of a car with an automatic tranny in it, but I've gotten more than a few raised eyebrows for having gone from a manually-shifted motorbike to the DCT.
 

ponydrvr

Member
The only ones I've gotten negative feed back from were some HD drivers and a mess of scooter riders I used to ride with regularly. Mostly what I get is questions about how does it work, is it reliable, How many gears does it have, and of course, how fast will it go. And some question if it is as good as a manual tranny. I simply respond that in the 50,000+ plus miles I've ridden it I have yet to miss a shift or stall on a hill or taking off anywhere.

On a personal note the only wish I have is for more effective engine braking.
 

kujawskir

Member
On a personal note the only wish I have is for more effective engine braking.

Color me interested, since mine's manual but if/when we step up to the GW it will probably be a DCT:

I thought you could paddle down a gear or two for engine braking? I also thought it would revert to auto when you throttle back up, does it also revert on its own early enough to limit the usefulness of engine braking?
 

casper

New member
I use this feature in D or S alot. In say 6th. Getting off the freeway exit. Still doing maybe 60.start rolling off the throttle, it goes down to 5th. Hit the curve, tap down to 3rd or even second, engine braking now. Out of the curve and merging and the dct start up the shift again like normal. I never once touched the brakes.
 

ponydrvr

Member
Sorry for the confusion. Yes I do paddle down for engine braking. And it works. I have often gone down two gears and even three gears and almost always in S mode. I look for more engine braking when riding twisties - not in normal driving scenarios. I probably push the limits a bit to close when I get into the Smokies and some even around here. I have found engine braking to be better than rear braking in hairpins and tight decreasing radius turns. If the engine could somehow produce a higher resistance when the throttle is off is what I am looking for. It's just the way I ride.
 

randy1149

New member
Automatic tranny on motorcycles probably carries the negative opinions from the same poo poo'ers from time gone past when automatics where being built. The noise comes from people doing all the negatives that they don't even have one.

Wait till the GW gets into the streets with it's 7 speed DCT? It'll blow away the manual 6 speed in just about all transmission categories.

And some of those up scale $200,000 sports cars don't have manual transmissions anymore... they're all DCT.
 

mtvic

Member
When I ride twistys I'm always in S gear, and still brake and usually double shift just before the turn. In tight turns I almost always paddle shift down twice to get into higher rpms for torque and possible needed braking. a lot of times I'm in 2nd, longer wider turns 3rd. After a few turns the bike seems to learn and stays in gear longer and love it. Some times I'm shifting back up before the bike does. If really long turn I know where it wants to shift back up and usually where I'm through the apex and adding throttle anyway so no issue. Rarely do I throw it into manual, which is still fun. Rode the same way on clutch bikes, and it helped big bikes stay upright in turns due to gyroscopic effects. I imagine no different on a pancake engine. I don't ride fast, but got to say adding floor boards to the ctx reduces lean. Floor boards are factory on my NM4, it's lower, and it seems to leans further.

I have a mini cooper and do the same thing. Paddle shift while in automatic. It's become "old school" for me.
 

MJC

Super Moderator
The sad part about the DCT is people who just do not get it. It is not a beginner/novice thing (but can be), it is a performance up grade in the clutch/shifting area.

To get the most out of the DCT, you have to know, how to ride a manual, real good, then add the DCT and now you have true performance.

Honda started the marketing off as the CTX700 was a great beginner bike, with or without DCT. Honda should have said the CTX700 can be up graded by adding the DCT, but instead packaged all the CTX700 the same.

With any automatic (car/bike) with paddle shift, most will not use the paddles just keep it in "D" (some may try "s" mode) and go. Sad, they will never know what they are missing.

Anyone remember Mazda, Zoom-Zoom? Fun to drive, part (if not all) of that was automatic trans with paddle/floor shifting........20 or so years later just about all cars, trucks, have it. But now how many people say there car/truck is fan to drive? Being a Mazda owner I do....being a CTX700 DCT owner I do.

Getting back to.."EVERY car is running a DCT of some sort, and is a shifted/paddle transmission, no clutch…". Like I said it is a "performance up grade".

Randy said "Wait till the GW gets into the streets with it's 7 speed DCT?". I can't, I have a test ride coming up in February. My Review/test will be in part for Honda, but mostly for me. I know I can not afford that bike but who knows I may win one. lol.
 

12MANY

New member
I practically live on an island with water on three sides of me in one of the most populated “people per sq mile” county's in Florida so most of my time is spent cruising the beaches at 35 to 45 MPH in stop and go traffic. There are no hills to power up and no twisty turns to scrape the pegs. There is no thrill in shifting from 0 to 45 over and over and over so the DCT is the perfect bike for my riding location. It’s more comfortable and gets better fuel economy than any scooter close to its size and when I get fed up with the beach traffic I can head over to US 19 or the interstate and cruise home comfortably at 65 MPH and over. The bikes versatility for my location is unmatched. Picked the right tool for the job at hand.
 

mtvic

Member
It's not a scooter! According to Honda it's a Tour bike. Sometime we need to meet up. Several of us up North of Tampa, one from the other forum. We have no issues riding down or meet up somewhere. Busy Feb. for me maybe early March?
 

kujawskir

Member
Sorry for the confusion. Yes I do paddle down for engine braking. And it works. I have often gone down two gears and even three gears and almost always in S mode. I look for more engine braking when riding twisties - not in normal driving scenarios. I probably push the limits a bit to close when I get into the Smokies and some even around here. I have found engine braking to be better than rear braking in hairpins and tight decreasing radius turns. If the engine could somehow produce a higher resistance when the throttle is off is what I am looking for. It's just the way I ride.
I guess I was far less confused than I thought, and it certainly makes good sense in the best of environments you'd want the best entry speed into each turn with the least amount time backing down.
 

Woodswoman

Member
MJC said:
The sad part about the DCT is people who just do not get it. It is not a beginner/novice thing (but can be), it is a performance up grade in the clutch/shifting area.

Bingo! You hit the nail on the head!

MJC said:
To get the most out of the DCT, you have to know, how to ride a manual, real good, then add the DCT and now you have true performance.

Totally agree with this, too.

I learned to ride on scooters, then shifted (tee hee) to manual tranny bikes. Now I've got the DCT, and it seems to me like darned near the best of both worlds. The only thing I really miss about manual is being able to feather the clutch for low speed control. I can get pretty much the same effect by modulating the throttle and riding the rear brake. This technique is helpful, but not as good, IMHO. Or at least I haven't gotten it down pat.


P.S. My husband's 2014 Subaru Outback has paddle shifters. You betcha I use 'em when I'm behind the wheel, especially in the twisties!
 

burdicda

Member
While doing blue ridge parkway earlier (Oct 2017) I found I was more comfortable in "S" and setting in 2/3/4 while doing all those switchbacks for hours on end...but on open highway...."D" is for me...

Danny
 

Woodswoman

Member
Same here, when I get involved with twisties or hill-climbing.

When I vacationed in West Virginia a few years ago, I spent days on end running the curves in S mode. D was saved for the interstate going to and from Elkins.
 
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