2024 Yamaha MT-09 Y-AMT debuts new semi-auto gearbox

Yamaha’s new Y-AMT semi-automatic gearbox has been given its first home on the 2024 MT-09 Y-AMT and is expected to rapidly spread to more models in the years to come.

While the company confirmed the existence of the Y-AMT system last month, explaining that the title stands for Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission and outlining how it works, until now the company has remained quiet about which bikes it would be fitted to, only saying that it’s coming to ‘a range of models.’ Now it’s clear that the MT-09 is the first of those, and it’s officially a 2024 machine rather than a 2025 version, with deliveries due to start in the latter part of this year.

The system itself is surprisingly simple but has been made possible by the latest developments in engine control systems and computing power on bikes. Unlike Honda’s DCT, which is a completely redesigned gearbox with two clutches and a split input shaft, allowing two gears to be selected simultaneously, the Y-AMT box is essentially the same as the normal MT-09’s foot-shifted manual. Yamaha has added two electromechanical actuators – one attached to a completely conventional clutch and the other attached via a pushrod to the spline that the gear lever would normally operate to turn the shift drum. The actuators themselves are attached to the outside of the transmission, eliminating the need for expensive internal redesigns or tooling changes, so while prices have yet to be announced, the system isn’t likely to carry the sort of four-figure premium that Honda’s DCT adds when the option is ticked.

The two actuators are operated via an ECU that also takes inputs from the rest of the bike’s sensors including the throttle, brake and the IMU to help it decide on the best strategy for shifting gears. Riders can switch between manual operation (MT), where you control the gearshifts via a ‘see-saw’ switch on the left bar, or two automatic (AT) modes.

In the ‘MT’ setting you change up by pulling a trigger-style button with your left forefinger, and downshifts are made either with your thumb – pushing the same see-saw switch the other direction – or by using the same forefinger behind the trigger to push it away from the bars. That arrangement of forefinger to shift up, thumb to shift down, is similar to Honda’s DCT, but not yet a universal standard – for example, pictures released of KTM’s prototype automated manual version of the upcoming 1390 Super Adventure show that it works the other way round, shifting up with the left thumb and down with the forefinger, although that might change before the bike is launched.

With computers controlling the clutch and shifter and working in harming with the ride by wire throttle the elements are in place for smooth shifts on demand including an auto-blip on down changes. The clutch also works automatically for starts and stops, eliminating the chance of stalling and essentially making the MT-09 Y-AMT into a twist-and-go experience.

In ‘AT’ mode, riders can switch between two sub-settings, ‘D’ and ‘D+’, to alter the automatic gearchange strategy. In ‘D’ the bike takes a relaxed approach, with early shifts for smooth power delivery, while ‘D+’ lets the engine rev higher so you can extract the maximum performance without worrying about changing gear.

You switch between AT and MT settings via a trigger-style button on the right bar, while a thumb button on the right swaps between D and D+ modes.

Even in MT mode, Yamaha reckons the bike lets riders concentrate more on the other elements of riding, claiming that there’s a more direct connection between your brain and your hands than there is to your feet, and that with no shift pedal to worry about you have more freedom to get your riding position correct for every corner.

Automated transmission aside, the MT-09 Y-AMT is nearly identical to the standard MT-09, with no change to the peak power of 87.5kW (117bhp) at 10,000rpm from the 890cc CP3 triple and all the same equipment as the manual version of the bike. That means you get an R1-derived electronics suite including traction control, slide control, wheelie control, engine braking control and brake control, plus a TFT dash and configurable riding modes. Mechanically, there’s adjustable suspension at each end and a Brembo radial master cylinder for the brakes, all fitted to a cast aluminium chassis. One trade-off though, the Y-AMT does come in slightly heavier at 186kg, compared to the standard bike's 183kg.

Importantly, an A2-legal, 47hp version of the bike will also be available for riders with a restricted licence.

One additional element of the MT-09 Y-AMT that isn’t standard on the manual bike is the ‘Smart Key System’ – a proximity key that debuted on the MT-09 SP and lets you start the bike without taking the key out of your pocket.

25th June 2024: ORIGINAL NEWS STORY

We recently wrote that motorcycles are hitting a tipping point where automatic and semi-automatic transmissions are on the rise and could become dominant in the future – and now Yamaha has confirmed that it’s entering the same arena with a new ‘Y-AMT’ (Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission) gearbox that’s set to debut on “a range of models in the near future.”

It’s a move that comes just weeks after BMW announced its new Automated Shift Assistant, which will debut on the 2025 R1300GS and R1300GS Adventure models, and KTM previewed it’s next-generation 1390 Super Adventure complete with its own take on the semi-auto. With semi-auto ‘DCT’ versions of Honda’s Africa Twin and other models starting to outsell manual variants, and the launch of the low-cost Honda E-Clutch on the CB650R and CBR650R this year (with more models to follow), it looks like self-shifting bikes are the latest battleground for the big manufacturers.

Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission

Yamaha’s Y-AMT might be the latest addition to those ideas but the company can rightly claim to be a pioneer in the field, having launched the YCC-S semi-auto option on the FJR1300 back in 2006, combining a hydraulically-activated automated clutch and a finger-operated shifter.

The new Y-AMT’s operation, from the perspective of the rider, isn’t dissimilar to the YCC-S setup. There’s no clutch lever, and you have the choice of running in either a fully-automatic ‘AT’ setting or using finger-operated paddles on the bars to manually flick between ratios in the ‘MT’ mode. In the auto position, there are two drive options – ‘D’ for a relaxed experience, and ‘D+’ which holds gears longer for more revs and performance – while the manual shift offers multiple possibilities for control thanks to ‘see-saw’ levers on the left bar. There’s a downshift button by your left thumb and an upshift trigger by your left forefinger, but the finger-operated trigger is large enough to work as a two-way paddle so if you prefer to keep your thumb wrapped around the bar you can do both up and downshifts using your forefinger alone, pushing the paddle away for downshifts and towards you for upshifts. The ‘D’ modes and the ‘AT/MT’ selection are changed via buttons on the right bar control pod.

How it works

Yamaha says that the system gives more control than a normal manual box, letting riders focus on other aspects of riding the bike without having to move their left hand and foot to swap gears.

The system itself works on what is essentially a conventional, manual transmission, like the designs being introduced this year by KTM and BMW,  rather than a clean-sheet redesign like Honda’s DCT. Where the Honda box uses two clutches and can select two gears simultaneously, switching between the clutches to seamlessly swap ratios, the Yamaha design has a normal single-clutch setup but with the clutch and shifter operation controlled by electro-mechanical actuators instead of human muscles. The huge leaps taken in recent years on quickshifters and ride-by-wire throttles mean that simpler semi-autos like these can make silky-smooth shifts without the complexity of the dual-clutch Honda design. They might not be truly seamless shifts like DCT, but these systems are simpler, cheaper and much lighter – Yamaha says its semi-auto adds 2.8kg to a bike, while DCT is about 11kg.

When will it be available?

Yamaha hasn’t officially confirmed which models will get the option of its Y-AMT gearbox, or when, but says it will come to a “range of models in the near future, bringing this innovation to sport riding, touring and commuting.” The company also says the system maximises the power characteristics of its crossplane-concept engines. Patents published earlier this year showed elements of the Yamaha semi-auto system fitted to the MT-07 and YZF-R7, but it's also likely to show up on the Tracer 7 as well as the MT-09, the expected YZF-R9, the Tracer 9 and possibly even the MT-10. Since the system uses external actuators on the clutch and shifter rather than mounting them inside the transmission, it should be relatively easy for Yamaha to adapt it to almost any of its existing, manual-gearbox bikes if it decides there’s a market for an automated version of that model.

With Honda, BMW, KTM and now Yamaha getting in on the semi-auto action, as well as Kawasaki on its Ninja 7 Hybrid and Z7 Hybrid, the choice is becoming increasingly wide. It’s only going to get wider in the future, as several other companies are also hard at work developing their own automated bike gearboxes.

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