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They are electric. Why the heck would they need a clutch??
Electric motors have a wider rpm operating range than gas, but they still get limited at lower speeds so gears are often needed. Of course there are several different ways to wind a motor with different trade offs, but in general you want a few gears.
There is next to zero need for more than a single speed unless top-end speed is required. That is why not a single EV motorcycle that I know of has more than one gear, and almost no EV cars (except for the Porsche Taycan and I think one of the Lucid models) has multiple gears either. Everything else is fine with a single speed, but they tend to quickly lose power above 100 MPH or so (which I think most people think is perfectly fine).
You’re not gaining a lot for the increased weight and added complexity and decreased reliability for having a gearbox, you’ll just end up with two gears and still no ability to manually shift.
Over half of Goldwing sales are DCTs. Most NC750s were being sold with the DCT, so the manual was dropped, at least in Canada. IIRC ~40% of Africa Twins are sold with a DCT.
They work very well now, unlike the old Hondamatics, which were awful.
Edit. With everyone and their dog offering quick-shifters, even the manuals aren’t really that manual anymore.
I own a ‘22 GW DCT. Absolutely love it. Especially in stop and go traffic. Only complaint is sometimes the shift points aren’t perfect. As in not where I would like to shift, but if I set the drive mode correctly it will adjust damn near close. Tour, sport, eco, rain.
Time will tell I guess but the same can be said of cars: Manual is certainly more engaging/fun than automatic, but in many places, it became the new “standard” over time.
You don’t need a gears on a electric motor because electric motors provide maximum torque at zero rpm and consistent power over a very large rpm range. There’s no need for a clutch and very, very different from a automatic transition on a ICE vehicle and would be comparing apples to oranges.
I’ve ridden the Zero quite a bit and I can say that takes a bit to get used to die to it’s lower center of and I didn’t miss the clutch due to the fact that the motor could provide instant power whenever in needed it and allowed me to focus on the road a lot more. The only real draw back is the battery, range, lack of level 3 charging that keeps me from switching over completely, it’s just not there for EV motorcycles for the long distance rides. But daily commuter? I’ll take that over my concours almost every day.
Honestly, I think that’s going to be a decent market for EV motorcycles as the technology advanced and matures. I’m certainly looking forward to them.
Energicas and Zeros are single-speed, they have done pretty damn well. Btw I’m not against a clutch personally. But it’s rare in EV land, see the Brammos for example (which were more of a flop in the market, but not for the clutch I don’t think)
