Clutchless Bikes

[muhammad.irtiza]

Dear Pakwheelers,

Due to increasing fuel prices I am selling my automatic transmission car and looking for other options. The most economical option is to buy a motorcycle. The problem is that my commute has a lot of traffic and I do not want manual transmission. Therefore, I stumbled upon two options that intrigued me:

1. Super Power 70cc Scooty
2. Shari Autos Super Power 70cc Bikes

These models are available for sale between 60-70,000 PKR. That's the amount I spent on my car maintenance in a year alone

How does this technology work? Is it quite easy to drive than a regular bike? And if anyone can give feedback it would be appreciated.

[Djaymx]

My humble advise, avoid bikes if you can. They are not safe anymore and not because riding a bike is an issue but other drivers are careless, road conditions are worsening and our air is extremely toxic, you need a lot of thick skin if you want to ride bike on daily basis. Wearing helmet, white gloves and a face mask is a must. There are generally 1-2 accidents for each bike owner each year which are unavoidable. I also think that cars now offer much more flexibility for personal usage and safety. I sold my car so i can purchase a bike but after two weeks i got fed up and purchased a car instead. Luckily i make enough money to maintain a 1300cc vehicle. If money is tight then you should compromise elsewhere. You can also make more money in future (job prospects, promotions etc) so i always advise to go that route instead of downsizing.

[muhammad.irtiza]

Thanks for the brotherly advice. You are absolutely right about safety, two of my friends commute on bikes and both have had a major accident within last year. Also bike is a big no from family side too, so I would need a lot of convincing. If I ride a bike I would buy a proper helmet, gloves, and jacket. But that would be too tedious.

[7thgear]

There is nothing tedious about using gloves, helmet etc, they are for your own safety.
As far auto transmission bikes are concerned they raise some safety concerns since there is no clutch. The function of a clutch is to cut the supply of power from engine to the drive shaft. It is one of our survival reactions that whenever a person would feel the bike going out of control he would engage the clutch, that way when power delivery is disengaged threat can be avoided in many cases. In clutchless bike, however, there is just the brakes and given a situation where you are losing control of the bike unintentional twist of the throttle can have serious consequences.
On roads with smooth and insane traffic, however, an auto transmission bike will be a fun ride.