But it will not be a hydromechanical gearbox, but a “robot”
BMW Motorrad creates an automated transmission for its motorcycles. The solution is called ASA — Automated Shift Assistant. It will allow you to get rid of the clutch handle on the motorcycle handlebar: the box will change gears on its own.
ASA — this is not a traditional hydromechanical transmission, but a «robot»: essentially the same manual gearbox, but with servos that open and close the clutch, and also manage the gear selection.
Engineers promise that such a system will work clearly and quickly, providing smooth acceleration and effective deceleration. If desired, the motorcyclist will be able to independently select gears using a traditional lever, but the electronic control unit will still interfere with the operation, providing insurance against untimely shifting.
ASA will appear primarily on motorcycles with boxer engines, but there are a lot of them, among them there are both urban models, and touring, and sports-touring. It is still unknown which models ASA will debut on.
If BMW is just getting ready to equip motorcycles with a robotic gearbox, then Honda has been doing this for a long time: the iconic Africa Twin and Gold Wing models are already equipped with a «robot» DCT, and one of the most affordable models with DCT is the Honda NC750X.