I've had the pleasure of testing Honda's E-Clutch transmission on the CB650R and CBR650R, and although I didn't have anything bad to say about it—actually, my take was that I enjoyed it and could see the beneficial use cases—but I did have one fear: I was worried that this technology would encourage new riders to hop on these 650cc, 94 hp machines and think that's appropriate because they don't need to use a clutch.
Essentially, if your bike has an E-Clutch, you never need to use the clutch, and that includes when you're pulling away from a standstill or coming to an emergency halt. It's there if you want to use it, but it's your choice and not mandatory.
Motorcycles nearing 100 hp are not learner bikes, in my opinion, but these are the only units that the E-Clutch comes as standard on in the US. So I'm happy to see Honda's technology is now being fitted to beginner motorcycles, and could encourage more bums in seats, but in a safer, more appropriate way.
Honda is about to fit the E-Clutch transmission on the CL 250 Scrambler and Rebel 250—two bikes I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to a beginner rider. The only issue is that, as of right now, these motorcycles are only available in Japan. But that's less of a problem than it seems.
The Japanese manufacturer has made this system easily retrofittable to its engines. So the 249cc SOHC single-cylinder engine that serves as the foundation for most of Honda's beginner motorcycles sold in the US could easily be equipped with the E-Clutch in the future. More importantly, since Honda is putting the E-Clutch on its low-capacity motorcycles in Japan, it shows its intent to bring the technology to entry-level motorcycles in general.
What's your take on Honda's E-Clutch technology making its way to the US on more entry-level machinery? Or even better, on the brand's bigger touring and cruiser bikes?
