Other bike news in brief
Tough going for Schumacher
Michael Schumacher has competed in his first top-level motorcycle race, and has found the going a little tougher than at his previous amateur outings which he needed to compete in to attain his race licence. Schumacher was a wildcard entry in the Oschershleben round of the IDM German Superbike Championship and was riding with the Holzhauer Racing team, the current IDM German Superbike champions.
Schumacher's Honda CBR1000RR is identical to that of reigning champion Martin Bauer. He managed to qualify 39th out of 44 riders in the first race before finishing 28th, only three seconds behind race winner Bauer.
He crashed out in race two which Bauer also won.
Honda to go for the twin clutch route
A report in Motorcycle News reveals that Honda is thinking about a twin-clutch sequential manual gearbox for use in its four-cylinder motorcycles.
Dual-clutch transmissions work like two separate gearboxes: one with first, third and fifth gears and the other with second, fourth and sixth. When a shift is required, one clutch disengages and the other engages, offering smooth and instantaneous shifts. The shift is controlled by computers, so the shifter could be located on the handlebar as well as the traditional location.
VW pioneered the system with its DSG gearbox back in 2003, but Honda has yet to produce such a gearbox for its cars.