Crosstourer DCT...Hmmm...

Wrigsby1

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After the recent ad for a DCT Crosstourer I am intrigued by the whole idea... I have had tons of bikes, ridden tons of miles both as a job and for pleasure, ride almost daily and am always looking for the next "thing" to float my boat... I am a bike addict and a ride day is a better day...

I got into BM GS's in the late 90's as I was bored with Japanese sports bikes and have a 12RT and an 11GS at the mo... So what is it that makes me interested in a DCT Crosstourer...? Its GS shaped, seems to have a good engine and the DCT idea is a pretty good attempt to get something extra and different out of a bike...

I though that CVT diesel ADV bike was a non starter as it had no gears and was too pricey but even though I like clutches, if an idea came out that beat it, it wouldn't be a great miss...

PS I have ridden twist and go's as well and bikes of all sizes, designs and styles... They all have something to offer and make a bit of a challenge of it...

So what do you guys think...? Especially those of you who have ridden plenty of bikes and had a ride on DCT'ers...:thumb
 
Ive ridden the C/T DCT over 350 miles. Amazing piece of kit. However, I don't know if I'd get bored of it and miss that interaction some see as essential to riding a bike with a manual clutch/gear change.
 
The FJ1300 AS was a sales failure - even in a big tourer, most riders soon miss the interaction and perception of 'being in control'.

Personally - for a pure tourer, covering many miles at speed, I would be willing to forgo the notion of control for the ease of the thumb shifter on the FJ1300AS
 
i had one,better brakes than the gs,better engine accelaration than the gs,and good honda build quality.bored me to fuckin death,got shut after 3 months and bought another gs.if you go for one take a very very long test ride.just my 2ps worth. j
 
Had one for nearly 2 years now, which is a long time for me, had a long ride to the Southern tip of the Peloponnese last year, have thought many times about changing it for something different, but in my eyes there is nothing else out there that does it for me, perhaps the new AT, when it arrives. DCT does it for me, either auto when I'm feeling lazy or manual mode when its windy/hilly, best of both worlds. My only wish would be that it were lighter.
 
i had one,better brakes than the gs,better engine accelaration than the gs,and good honda build quality.bored me to fuckin death,got shut after 3 months and bought another gs.if you go for one take a very very long test ride.just my 2ps worth. j

That made me laugh... "bored me to fuckin death"... The end of many a plan but even as a complete and utter riding addict, things must evolve every so often...:) GS's were brilliant as you didn't like them straight away and everything was different... even a bit backward...:) Mind, even as a Honda sports bike bloke of the 80's I was "bored to fuckin death" in my few months and about 8k on a VFR and I have never been able to "think Pan" so bought an 12RT...

Had one for nearly 2 years now, which is a long time for me, had a long ride to the Southern tip of the Peloponnese last year, have thought many times about changing it for something different, but in my eyes there is nothing else out there that does it for me, perhaps the new AT, when it arrives. DCT does it for me, either auto when I'm feeling lazy or manual mode when its windy/hilly, best of both worlds. My only wish would be that it were lighter.

And there you go... A perfectly feasible and reasonable counter answer... I am interested in what it will be like just cruising and also in the GLF moments... I'm going to get a test ride at some point... The laugh is that at the moment I am riding my "no spec" 11GS and even with all the new stuff about, I am having a good bit of fun chucking it around...

Thanks so far and any other feedback would be great...
 
The FJ1300 AS was a sales failure - even in a big tourer, most riders soon miss the interaction and perception of 'being in control'.

Personally - for a pure tourer, covering many miles at speed, I would be willing to forgo the notion of control for the ease of the thumb shifter on the FJ1300AS

That's the thing... Is it a blind alley or one that is Hondas Big Idea... They seem to have gone for it in a big way and have one of the better set ups... But then again Honda have had a blind alley or two of late...

If it works and keeps control of the bike then I think like you re the big mile potential, especially if you want to go pretty quickly...
 
Commuting into London on a few occasions I came across a guy on a DCT VFR.

Now a GS is pretty handy at getting away from the lights in a 'oh did I beat you, I was not really trying kinda way' - but the guy on the DCT VFR took it to a whole new level

Re the CT version, weight and fuel range puts me off. But if I didn't have my ADV and was looking for a bike having seen that CT AD I'd have been getting down the local dealer for a test ride
 
The acceleration of the DCT still takes me by surprise, sometimes, particularly on a brisk move out of a T junction (traction control works!). Another plus for the DCT, not often mentioned, is that it is very pillion friendly, as the gear changes are smoother, there is less of the nodding dog syndrome and clashing of crash helmets. Fuel range is about 220 miles, which isn't that bad, though no competition for the GSA
 
Engineering wise brilliant but seriously how hard is it to change gear on a bike ?

That's fair enough as it's not... but its more as to whether its an advance for experienced riders as well... When I bought my 1st GS I did find that the semi offroad Savanna boots were a major advantage to smooth GS gearchanges...:D

Commuting into London on a few occasions I came across a guy on a DCT VFR.

Now a GS is pretty handy at getting away from the lights in a 'oh did I beat you, I was not really trying kinda way' - but the guy on the DCT VFR took it to a whole new level

Re the CT version, weight and fuel range puts me off. But if I didn't have my ADV and was looking for a bike having seen that CT AD I'd have been getting down the local dealer for a test ride

When a London courier I remember having a traffic light GP with a guy on a CN250 and my on an XJ900... Left me for dead on the 1st 50 yards every time...:D

The acceleration of the DCT still takes me by surprise, sometimes, particularly on a brisk move out of a T junction (traction control works!). Another plus for the DCT, not often mentioned, is that it is very pillion friendly, as the gear changes are smoother, there is less of the nodding dog syndrome and clashing of crash helmets. Fuel range is about 220 miles, which isn't that bad, though no competition for the GSA

I'm interested... all your points are what I am thinking and rather than the DCT thing being just for novices or limited experience riders, it could have lots of +'s for people with lots of miles covered...

The weight thing is one of Honda's little blind spots on a few of their bikes.... MPG potentially being another... and the lack of cruise control as well...?? Why do they do that when all the other manufacturers are waking up to these details...? I always fancied being a test rider...:D

Double Hmmmm...

PS Didn't think of the T junction thing... One place where clutches are pretty important for GP get aways... Also what is it like for "real" filtering as in tight and wiggly stuff...?
 
I was out on my Honda today. The DCT is very good. At traffic light you just nail it like a scooter, gear changes are so quick and smooth you don't even feel them.

all this shite being spouted about DCT is for beginners really is a load of bollocks. Get some miles on one and you'll soon realise that conventional gear changes want consigning to history with acetylene lamps and leather drive belts.

There's manual mode (why bother!) sport mode and normal drive mode. You can flip the gears up and down as fast as you can twitch you finger or thumb. Loads more options than a normal gear change. It's only when you get back on a normal bike that you realise how slow a conventional gear change is.
 
I was out on my Honda today. The DCT is very good. At traffic light you just nail it like a scooter, gear changes are so quick and smooth you don't even feel them.

all this shite being spouted about DCT is for beginners really is a load of bollocks. Get some miles on one and you'll soon realise that conventional gear changes want consigning to history with acetylene lamps and leather drive belts.

There's manual mode (why bother!) sport mode and normal drive mode. You can flip the gears up and down as fast as you can twitch you finger or thumb. Loads more options than a normal gear change. It's only when you get back on a normal bike that you realise how slow a conventional gear change is.

Nice one Rob... That about sums it up from what has been rattling around my head...At 1st I thought "yeah right, what a copout" but the more I thought about it and also read the Visordown report by Mark Forsyth when they 1st came out, it all started making sense... Right sort of bike, tons of low/mid torque, tourer type and something to surprise the Luddites...

I like the idea of trying something forward thinking... As when many of us moved over to GS's and were laughed out of town by the majority of fellow bikers at the time... Hmmmm... You could say that BM and Honda have swopped places in many respects in the last 20 years...
 
Interesting stuff.

We have a little stick shift car but I've been driving autos for years now. Much prefer 'em tbh.

I guess bikes have always been perceived as 'sports' machines so apart from scoots more or less every bike, great or small, get's the whole 'sports' experience package and that includes a manual gearbox.

Previous poster's point about quickshifters is a good one, giving bikes some of the advantages of an auto but again, marketed as a kind of performance rather than convenience aid that seems to appeal more to an incredibly conservative audience.

I think it's a good idea and the hardware/software is getting slicker all the time.

Not tried a DCT Honda yet but will give it a go soon.
 
My pal has one and loves it.
It took a bit of getting used to mind, as at first he drove in normal mode.
No real engine braking he said so nearly caught him out a few times on bends etc...
In fact he went into a farmers field in July in Belgium as he just got it wrong.
Funny to watch In your mirror lol... He was fine though.

I have had a go and think I would like it as my car has a similar gearbox, I have only had autos for about 25 years and the thought of a manual these days seems a bit old fashioned , the way car gearboxes have evolved also the software.
I know my bike friends think it is not for them but look at how many cars come with ONLY this style gearbox these days , I think it will be getting more popular as it gives you many more options.
I love my car box, it is so slick and quick.
My RTLC quick shifter is great but........the jury is still out for me.
Just my 2 penneth.
 
Imagine the K1600GT/L with a DCT box mmmmmm might even bring me back to BMW
 
I'm going to line a test ride up and see what goes... Top of the list are weight, torque, DCT operation and engine braking etc... Thanks for the input...It has had all the thoughts that have pinged into my mind and that makes it more interesting... Tests aren't always easy when you live off mainland... :thumb2
 
i too have been looking at these little bikes as a winter machine, not so much the DCT one but the std one ,there is some good deals out there for new ,which seems better than the secondhand ones !

think along test ride will make my mind up too
 


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