switch .
Hill starts on a conventional motorcycle involve simultaneously releasing the brakes , opening the throttle and engaging the clutch according to the grade of the slope . To ease this effort , the Gold Wing has Hill Start Assist ( HSA ). After stopping on a slope , further squeezing the brake lever quickly results in the ABS modulator generating hydraulic pressure for the rear brake caliper . When setting off – even when the brake lever is released – the hydraulic pressure temporarily retains braking force ( for about 3 seconds ) so starting on the uphill slope with the throttle is possible . When in operation , the HSA indicator is switched on to inform the rider .
First introduced in 2009 , Honda ’ s DCT technology is now in its 14th year of production , and over 200,000 units of DCT-equipped Honda two-wheelers have been sold in Europe . It delivers consistent , seamless gear changes up or down and very quickly becomes second nature in use . It uses two clutches : one for start-up and 1st , 3rd , 5th & 7th the other for 2nd , 4th and 6th , with the mainshaft for each clutch located inside the other for compact packaging .
Each clutch is independently controlled by its own electro-hydraulic circuit . When a gear change occurs , the system pre-selects the target gear using the clutch not currently in use . The first clutch is then electronically disengaged as , simultaneously , the second clutch engages .
The result is a consistent , fast and seamless gear change . Furthermore , as the twin clutches transfer drive from one gear to the next with minimal interruption of the drive to the rear wheel , any gear change shock and pitching of the machine is minimised , making the change feel direct as well as smooth . Extra benefits include durability ( as the gears cannot be damaged by missing a gear ) impossibility of stalling , low stress urban riding , reduced rider fatigue and increased ability to focus on riding lines , braking and acceleration points .
The DCT system offers two distinct riding approaches – the Automatic settings , with pre-programmed shift patterns which constantly read vehicle speed , gear selected and engine rpm to decide when a shift should occur , and the Manual Transmission setting for gear changes using the paddle-shift style triggers on the left handlebar .
Employing the third generation – and the first to have 7-speeds – the Gold Wing ’ s DCT is specifically designed for long-distance cruising ; it ’ s also extremely smooth and fast shifting .
It is also optimised for low-speed manoeuvrability , with close ratios reducing shift-shock . In the higher speed range , they are set wider apart to reduce engine rpm . In both speed ranges comfort is improved as shifting up or down is of the highest quality .
Shift noise and shock were addressed throughout the development of the third generation , with noise damper rubbers on both ends of the fork guide and the master arm greatly reducing any impact sound during gear changes .
A spring damper is installed between the clutch and the main shaft in order to absorb the torque in the rotational direction , thus reducing the noise and shock of the contact between the clutch and main shaft when shifting gears .
The Gold Wing ’ s DCT features a 1.8km / h forward Walking Mode with reverse of 1.2km / h , operated instantly from a +/ - switch on the left handlebar .
The main shaft has a double tube structure , with the outer main shaft ( connected with the even-number gears ) linked to the inner shaft with a chain , by way of the gears on the counter shaft . This structure gives the outer main shaft the role of the reverse idle shaft , which has resulted in a lightweight reverse mechanism with a compact structure - with no need for any reverse idle shaft .
When activating Walking Mode , the two clutches of DCT are utilised to enable moving backward with clutch # 1 and moving forward with clutch # 2 . In this way , moving forward or backward at walking speed is now possible with only clutch control , without any need for gear shifting . Furthermore , the throttle-by-wire system controls speed by minutely controlling the clutch capacity , while maintaining a certain engine speed , assuring controllability with a sense of security in wide-ranging situations .
The 4 riding modes are interleaved with DCT and feature DCT-specific parameters :
TOUR uses the default setting for smooth clutch engagement and gearshifts in AT mode , with a low-tohigh rpm range for gear shifts .
SPORT deploys a more direct clutch engagement , with gear shifts programmed in a mid-tohigh rev range .
ECON has a soft clutch engagement , with low-tomid rpm gear hold and default shifting feel .
RAIN also operates a soft clutch , low-to-high rpm gear hold range and slower shifting in AT mode .
A wide range of genuine Honda accessories have been developed to further enhance The Honda Goldwing ownership
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