Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1526445
P118 RIDE REVIEW I 2024 HONDA CB650R & CBR650R settings, and scrolled to the Hard setting in the menu. Hard was the best setting for me, as there was just enough pressure on the shift lever that I never accidently shifted or found a false neutral. Soft was way too soft, and I only did one lap before stopping again and going back to the Hard setting, which is where I left it for the rest of the day. Not using the clutch, even though there's a lever there, is hard for someone who's been riding for 50-some- odd years, but eventually, I forced myself to keep my fingers tight around the grip on my left hand and let the E-Clutch work. And work it does. Being lucky enough in this job to have ridden lots of new motorcycles, many with some very good quickshifters, the feeling of shifting with the Hard, Medium and Soft. There's a new five-inch TFT screen on both of the new 650s that shows this information, and some handy new switchgear, backlit, I might add, to toggle through the menu setting. The new screen also tells you when to shift up and down so that a new rider can easily learn where the rpm should be and how the motor should sound when it's time to shift. All of the bikes that we rode were set to the Medium E-Clutch setting when we started, and initially, I found that setting to be fine as we rode around the parking lot, but once I was out on the track I noticed that while my shifts were positive, the pressure on the shift lever felt a little soft, meaning it shifted too easily, so I stopped, as you must do to change the scenarios depending on what the rider does with the clutch lever on the handlebar. Manual control, so no E-Clutch; motor control, for full E-Clutch operation; and man - ual override if the rider chooses to disable the E-Clutch altogether by switching it off via the switch- gear. Some of this technology is derived from Honda's humanoid robot, named Asimo, so it's very sophisticated stuff, and, as you can see, not something that we'll be able to bolt on to anything we currently own. Honda's Large Project Leader, Mr. Junya Ono, went even further into how the entire system works during the press presentation, but I'll spare you and instead get to how it feels when you ride. First off, there are three different settings for the E-Clutch itself: Even though there's a clutch lever there, not using it is odd for someone who's been riding for 50- some-odd years.