TVS Motors patent semi-AMT technology for bikes

TVS Motors have been granted a patent for a semi-automated manual transmission technology (SMT) for motorcycles. The company had filed the patent in February 2009, which was granted in May 2016.

The company has also said that the production-spec bike with SMT might come with two independent switches, one for upshifts and the other for downshifts. Whenever the rider will press a switch to shift gears, an electric motor will engage to operate the clutch and shift the mechanical cogs. This would thus reduce the rider's effort to engage and disengage the clutch, especially in city traffic.

TVS first introduced a clutch-less gearshift mechanism with the TVS Jive, which didn't have a mechanical clutch lever on the handlebar, and riders needed to shift gears through a conventional foot-peg mounted lever. The Jive made TVS the first company to launch a clutch-less motorcycle in India.

But this foot-peg mounted clutch-less gear-shift mechanism had its share of issues. Every time the rider used the lever to shift a gear, the effort required to operate the lever would be much larger than what was needed on a conventional mechanical transmission. Moreover, since the background clutch operation was linked to the gear-shift lever, the tendency of riders to keep their foot on the foot-peg lever would result in a slight disengagement of the clutch, thus negatively affecting the fuel economy and enhancing clutch wear and tear.

Source: Business Standard