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MotorcycletransmissionWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Motorcycletransmission
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Amotorcycletransmissionisatransmissioncreatedspecifically
formotorcycleapplications.Theymayalsobefoundinuseonother
lightvehiclessuchasmotortricyclesandquadbikes,offroad
buggies,mowersandotherutilityvehicles,microcars,andeven
somesuperlightsportscars.

Contents
1Manual
2Automatic
3Reversegear
4Shiftcontrol
5Scooters,underbonesandminiatures
6Clutch
7Construction

Thetransmissiononthis1921ABC
motorcycleislocatedbehindthe
engineandshiftsbyalonghand
operatedleveronitsrightside.

Manual
Mostmanualtransmissiontwowheelersuseasequentialgearbox.Mostmodernmotorcycles(except
scooters)changegears(ofwhichtheyincreasinglyhavefiveorsix)byfootlever.Onatypicalmotorcycle
eitherfirstorsecondgearcanbedirectlyselectedfromneutral,buthighergearsmayonlybeaccessedin
orderitisnotpossibletoshiftfromsecondgeartofourthgearwithoutshiftingthroughthirdgear.Afive
speedofthisconfigurationwouldbeknownas"onedown,fourup"becauseoftheplacementofthegears
withrelationtoneutral.Neutralistobefound"halfaclick"awayfromfirstandsecondgears,soshifting
directlybetweenthetwogearscanbemadeinasinglemovement.

Automatic
Automatictransmissionsarelesscommononmotorcyclesthanmanual,andaremostlyfoundonlyon
scootersandsomecustomcruisersandexoticsportsbikes.Typesincludecontinuouslyvariable
transmission,semiautomatictransmissionanddualclutchtransmission.

Reversegear
Theweightofthelargesttouringmotorcycles(sometimesinexcessof360kgor800lbs)issuchthatthey
cannoteffectivelybepushedbackwardsbyaseatedrider,andtheyarefittedwithareversegearas
standard.Insomecases,includingtheHondaGoldWingandBMWK1200LT,thisisnotreallyareverse
gear,butafeatureofthestartermotorwhichwhenreversed,performsthesamefunction.Toavoid
accidentaloperation,reverseisoftenengagedusinganentirelyseparatecontrolswitche.g.apulltoggleat
theheadofthefueltankwhenthemaingearshiftisinneutral.
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Shiftcontrol
Inearliertimes(preWWII),handoperatedgearchangeswerecommon,withaleverprovidedtothesideof
thefueltank(abovetherider'sleg).BritishandmanyothermotorcyclesafterWWIIusedaleveronthe
right(withbrakeontheleft),buttodaygearchangingisstandardisedonafootoperatedlevertotheleft.

Scooters,underbonesandminiatures
Traditionalscooters(suchastheVespa)stillhavemanualgearchangingbyatwistgriponthelefthand
sideofthehandlebar,withacorotatedclutchlever.Increasinglytheymaybefittedwithacontinuously
variabletransmissionorCVTinstead,atypeofsteplessautomatictransmission.Underboneandminiature
motorcyclesoftenhaveathreetofivespeedfootchange,buttheclutchisautomatic.

Clutch
Theclutchinamanualshiftmotorcycletransmissionistypicallyanarrangementofplatesstackedin
alternatingfashion,onegearedontheinsidetotheengineandthenextgearedontheoutsidetothe
transmissioninputshaft.Whetherwet(rotatinginengineoil)ordry,theplatesaresqueezedtogetherbya
spring,causingfrictionbuildupbetweentheplatesuntiltheyrotateasasingleunit,drivingthe
transmissiondirectly.Aleveronthehandlebarexploitsmechanicaladvantagethroughacableorhydraulic
arrangementtoreleasetheclutchspring(s),allowingtheenginetofreewheelwithrespecttothe
transmission.
Automaticandsemiautomaticstypicallyuseacentrifugalclutchwhichoperatesinadifferentfashion.At
idle,theengineisdisconnectedfromthegearboxinputshaft,allowingbothitandthebiketofreewheel
(unliketorqueconverterautomatics,thereisno"idlecreep"withaproperlyadjustedcentrifugalclutch).As
thethrottleisopenedandenginespeedrises,counterweightsattachedtomovableinnerfrictionsurfaces
(connectedtotheengineshaft)withintheclutchassemblyarethrowngraduallyfurtheroutwards,untilthey
starttomakecontactwiththeinsideoftheouterhousing(connectedtothegearboxshaft)andtransmitan
increasingamountofenginepower.Theeffective"bitepoint"isfoundautomaticallybyequilibriumwhere
thepowerbeingtransmittedthroughthe(stillslipping)clutchisequaltowhattheenginecanprovide.This
allowsrelativelyfastfullthrottletakeoffs(withtheclutchadjustedsotheenginewillbeturningnearits
maximumtorquerpm)withouttheengineslowingorboggingdown,aswellasmorerelaxedstartsand
lowspeedmanoeuvresatlowerthrottlesettingsandrpms.
Aboveacertainenginespeedoncethebikeisproperlyinmotion,sothegearboxinputshaftisalso
rotatingquicklyandsoallowingtheenginetoacceleratefurtherbywayofclutchsliptheoutward
pressureoftheweightedfrictionplatesissufficientthattheclutchwillenterfulllockup,thesameasa
conventionalplateclutchwithafullyreleasedleverorpedal.Afterthis,thereisnoclutchslip,andthe
engineislockedtoandprovidingallofitsavailablepowertothetransmissionenginerpmisnow
dependentontheroadspeedandthecurrentgearratio(undereitherusercontrolinasemiauto,orreliant
onroadspeed(andsometimesload/throttleposition)inaCVTsetup).InatypicalCVT,thegearratiowill
bechosensotheenginecanreachandmaintainitsmaximumpowerspeedassoonaspossible(oratleast,
whenatfullthrottle,inapartiallyloaddependentsystem),butinasemiautotheriderisresponsiblefor
thischoice,andtheycanridearoundalldayintopgear(orfirst)iftheysoprefer.Also,oncetheengineis
turningfastenoughtolocktheclutch,itwillstayfullyengageduntiltheRPMsfallbelowthatcriticalpoint
again,evenifthethrottleisfullyreleased.Belowthelockuppoint,partiallyorfullyreleasingthethrottle
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canleadtotheRPMfallingoffrapidly,thankstothefeedbackloopoflowerenginespeedmeaningless
frictionpressure.Thistogglelikemodeofoperationcanleadtocertaincharacteristiccentrifugalclutch
automaticbehaviour,suchasbeingabletofreewheelrapidlydownhillfromastandstill,withengine
brakingonlybeingtriggeredbyturningthethrottlebriefly(andnotthencancellablewithoutbrakingto
quiteaslow,geardependentpace),andlockuptriggeringatalowerspeedwithfullversusminimalthrottle.

Construction
Preunitconstruction,alsocalledseparateconstruction,isamotorcycleenginearchitecturewherethe
engineandgearboxareseparatecasings.Inunitconstructiontheengineandgearboxshareasinglehousing.
Inmanymoderndesigns,theenginesitsinfrontofthegearbox.Fromasprocketononesideofthe
crankshaft,achainorsprocketdirectlymountedtotheclutchwilldrivetheclutch,whichcanoftenbe
foundbehindalargecircularcoverononesideofthegearbox.Theclutchisconnectedtothegearboxinput
shaft.Formotorcycleswithchaindrive,thegearboxoutputshaftistypicallyconnectedtothesprocket
whichdrivesthefinaldrivechain.
Mostmanualmotorcyclegearboxeshave"constantmesh"gearswhicharealwaysmatedbutmayrotate
freelyonashaftuntillockedbyatoothedslidingcollaror"dogclutch".Sincethegearsarealwaysrotating
andcanonlybeaccessedsequentially,synchromeshisnotgenerallyneeded.Tosavespace,bothshafts
maycontainamixtureoffixedandfreespinninggears,withsomegearsbuiltintotheslidingparts.
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Categories: Motorcycletransmissions
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