Transmission types and questions

[TominMO]

Thinking of picking up a SR110 for a female friend (short inseam). She is a total noob to bikes but is very athletic otherwise. I'm wondering whether to go with semi-auto shifting or full automatic vs. the usual clutch lever and shifter.

Are there any drawbacks to semi-auto or full auto shifting, such as more maintenance, less reliability, or poor shift feel, etc?

[wheelbender6]

Most girls that have not driven a car with a manual clutch will not like a motorcycle with a hand clutch.
My wife drove cars with manual transmissions for years, including a Triumph Spitfire, and did well on a manual clutch bike at the motorcycle safety foundation course. Alas, she still hates the hand clutches on motorcycles.
-I think manual transmissions go faster, but I would get an auto clutch or CVT for a gal. Just my personal experience.

[TominMO]

Thanks for the input. I wonder how much more difficult and frequent the semi-auto and auto ones are to service (if at all)?

[wheelbender6]

I don't think there are any noteworthy differences in maintenance requirements for hand clutch and auto clutch engines.
I would not hesitate to get an auto clutch bike for my wife or grandchild. My wife currently has a motor scooter, so it has a CVT. There are a few scooters out there now, like the Honda Navi, that look a bit like a pit bike but still have the CVT tranny.

[TominMO]

Thank you, bender of wheels.

[Bruces]

Have you asked the young lady in question ? My daughter is a lefty ,it seems many things come harder for her (she is also blonde which probably doesn’t help ) so when my kids were growing up I didn’t think she would be able to ride a manual bike .One day she asked me why her brother had real bikes and she didn’t .Anyways she took to a manual bike perfectly fine and now rides a yz450f mx bike like a champ .I never saw that coming .

[China Rider 27]

I have to say I taught my girlfriend to ride on a Hellcat and she has never operated a clutch on a "manual drive automobile." And then she passed the motorcycle safety course and got her license. The clutch thing is just muscle memory and training and gaining more experience with using a clutch in different situations. It took some work but can be done.

[TominMO]

The young lady is 53 BTW. Yes I know, I'm a total cradle-robber.

I'm sure she would be capable of dealing with a manual clutch. But I intend to surprise her with it, and if she doesn't take to motorcycles I can resell it. I wouldn't keep it for myself, because at 5'2" her inseam is so much less than mine that for myself I would have gotten a bike with larger wheels, and probably more power too. So I'm thinking such a small bike would be easier to sell to a dad wanting a bike for his newbie riding kid if it was auto clutch but with a shifter.