Honda Develops the DN-01 Automatic Transmission Motorcycle

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I drive a scooter largely because in San Francisco you have to stop at almost every block. This makes shifting a chore, and makes scooting a fun and snappy morning commute. But when people see my helmet and ask “Oh, do you ride?” they always smirk when I say “Yes, I have a scooter” like I’m on a tricycle. Never mind that scooters are more dangerous than street motorcycles, but I have been on a quest ever since, for my holy grail: the truly automatic motorcycle. True, there are some scootery-looking versions that come close, but today, it looks like Honda actually did it:

One of the surprises of the 39th Tokyo Motor Show 2005 which opened to the media yesterday was Honda’s showing of a large-size sports motorcycle concept model dubbed the DN-01. The motorcycle is equipped with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and a water-cooled, 4-stroke, OHC, V-twin, 2-cylinder, 680cc engine. Most significantly, Honda stated that it “will continue the development of DN-01 with the goal of introducing it to the market in the near future.” CVT has already been introduced into the market in a range of scooters with Suzuki’s futuristic Burgman scooter the most obvious shining example. Honda’s version of the CVT is being touted as different to other CVTs and is described as an hydraulic mechanical continuously variable HFT (Human Fitting Transmission) system featuring two automatic modes and a 6-speed manual mode which the rider operates through buttons on the handlebars. Source: Gizmag