VOLUME 63 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2026 P103
shifts in gear, suppressing Auto
mode for four seconds as you as-
sert your human dominance.
One of the most fun features
of the AMT in Auto mode, to me,
is the ability to force downshifts
by over-closing the throttle. This
works by simply rolling the right
twist grip forward to blip down a
gear. The function is very strange
at first, but after a few sessions
of dropping gears with the right
grip, I became hooked. You just
roll the throttle forward, and the
bike drops a gear, perfect for
fine-tuning rpm into a corner or
swinging into a parking lot. Blip-
blip-blip! Very fun.
If you switch to Manual mode,
which I highly recommend, the
system becomes massively en-
gaging. Here, shift actions are at
your discretion but done cleaner
quickshifter. In Auto mode,
the system provides fully
automated shifting based on
parameters such as gear posi-
tion and engine speed, torque
output, lean angle, acceleration
rate, speed, pitch angle and even
rider inputs such as braking and
throttle opening, not to mention
the preselected ride mode you're
running. There are three Auto-
shift modes in Comfort, Street
and Sport, each working in con-
junction with the onboard ride
modes to optimize shift timing.
Logically, shifting points climb
the rpm range as you change
modes from Comfort to Sport,
with Street sitting between the
two in aggressiveness.
Even with all this Auto busi-
ness, you can still shift manually
in Auto mode (I told you I was still
dizzy). A simple tap of the hand
triggers or foot lever will kick the
gearbox sequences from a
parking lock then to neutral and
then up through the gears in a
P-N-1-2-3-4-5-6 pattern. Since the
centrifugal clutch is engaged at
low-to-no rpm, a bike "in-gear"
will not stop itself from rolling,
hence the park (P) spot in the
transmission. I never missed the
clutch lever. Not once.
I Shifting All the Ways
Finally, we get to the shifting.
And there are many ways to
shift here. But all shifts, no mat-
ter how they are initiated, are
triggered by an electromechani-
cal actuator instead of a shift
shaft. This solenoid-style actua-
tor takes input from the bike's
numerous brains, sensors and
settings to drop-kick shifts at the
right time. KTM says it shifts in
50 milliseconds, comparable to a
traditional ratcheting via a good
(Left) The unmistakable
KTM face. (Below) WP's
SAT suspension's preload
modes are convenient and
effective. If you get the
chance, you should try it
and feel the difference
that a couple taps on the
screen can make to the
character of the bike.
