The best of both worlds…
A couple of months ago, we featured the latest Honda Transalp – complete with the E-Clutch. At the time we had not ridden the bike – and we were concerned that, perhaps, per – maybe this was a bit of a gimmicky kind of thing. And Honda, you’ll forgive us for that – You already invented the DCT system, so – what was the point in an E-Clutch?
After spending time in the saddle – and giving the bike to a cross section of our friends, one of whom has a gimpy hand that has always prevented him from riding a motorcycle, we’ve got it figured. It’s all about making motorcycles more accessible and – simpler to ride…
At first glance it sounds almost offensive to purists. “An automatic clutch? On a proper motorcycle?” But spend a little time understanding what Honda has actually built here, and you realise this isn’t about removing involvement from riding. It’s about removing unnecessary effort while keeping the soul of a manual motorcycle intact.
Unlike Honda’s DCT system, the E-Clutch does not change gears for you. You still use the gear lever. You still choose the gears. You still control the motorcycle like a traditional manual bike. What the system does is operate the clutch automatically during pull-offs, stops and shifts. No clutch lever needed. No stalling. No awkward launches. No left-hand fatigue crawling through traffic.
And yet… the clutch lever is still there.
That’s what makes this so important.
Not Automatic. Smarter.
Honda has managed to sit perfectly between a conventional manual gearbox and a full automatic transmission. The E-Clutch uses sensors monitoring throttle position, RPM, gear selection, wheel speed and shift pressure to control clutch engagement electronically through compact motors mounted in the engine casing.
In plain English?
The bike thinks faster than your hand can react.
Upshifts become ultra-smooth. Pulling away becomes seamless. Coming to a stop is impossible to mess up. The system even coordinates ignition timing and fuelling to smooth everything out during shifts.
But the real genius is that Honda never removed rider choice.
First case:
Our mate was born with a few digits missing on his left hand. When he first heard about the E-Clutch, he started asking questions. Then, we showed him the bike and sent him out for a ride… He came back grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“With my hand built the way it is and being weaker than a conventional unit, I’ve always been nervous about using a clutch. So – with this one, you use the clutch once to engage gears – and then you forget about it. I’m super impressed…”
Then we gave the bike to Tristan Foley, a really experienced dirtbike and ADV rider:
The first thing that I noticed is how improved the Transalp is over the previous models. They’ve sorted the suspension, you can ride the bike harder and it’s generally a better rounded machine.
As for the E-Clutch system:
You don’t need to use the clutch… but you still can. And that’s brilliant!
This was particularly interesting when taking the bike to our cobweb shaker track, which I’m sure you’ve seen in our videos.
Completely eliminating the clutch in slower more technical sections takes some getting used to however once you and the system start clicking it begins to feel natural. On normal bikes your brain follows a system of: “Oh no there’s a rock; slow down; pull the brake; pull the clutch; crash into the rock; use some choice words; release brake; release clutch; go.”
The e-clutch system streamlines this process by allowing you to hit rocks and display your vocabulary far more easily and with less thought.
E-clutch system aside, the small improvements made to the latest Trans-Alp suspension really does stand out when taking the bike offroad. I did not bottom out once, the bike felt very predictable and planted the whole time and there was ample amounts of clearance across all sorts of different terrain.
Apart from this, the modes system now allows you to change between different modes on the fly, which is also a win for me because I hate having to stop my ride just to change between rider modes just because you’re now on a dirt road.
This brings me to my next point, Buttons.
Many brands are moving away from physical buttons on their bikes and changing towards touch screens. I’m not sure why they have declared war on buttons but I believe this to be a mistake. Firstly, why do I need to take my gloves off to switch between modes? They claim that their touch screens are glove friendly. They are very often not.
Secondly, as soon as that screen gets wet, and if you are prone to misjudging the depth of puddles as well as which clouds are storm clouds as I am, it will get wet.
Then the whole screen suddenly goes haywire and next thing you know you’re calling your ex-girlfriend’s dad and then your whole ride is ruined. The engineers at Honda decided that there would be no awkward calls on their watch and have opted to keep the physical buttons which is a definite win in my book.
All round although I was skeptical at first I am very impressed with the new E-Clutch system and the latest Transalp as a whole.
I love to see brands trying new things and thinking out of the box and I think this will definitely be a winner across the board.
If you are skeptical like I was or die hard purist, I seriously encourage you to go and give the bike a test ride. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
We then gave the bike to veteran journalist Donovan Fourie to get his take on the new system:
Why the hell would you not want an E-Clutch?
For 2026, the Honda Transalp 750 has certainly improved, and Honda did that without changing much, which is impressive. The biggest gripe from the original 750 was the suspension, which worked well on tar and on very smooth dirt, but the minute things became bumpy, the front forks weren’t quite up to the task.
With, apparently, some minor tweaks, that problem is completely gone, allowing us to enjoy its wonderfully exciting motor, its compact chassis and those good looks.
And now, we get to do all of that while being lazier. It’s brilliant!
Clutches are arduous things sent by the devil to add nothing but strain and complication to an otherwise easy life. For decades, people’s arm muscles were subject to the torture of having to pull that horrible lever on the left bar or face ridicule and disgrace.
Like a frog in a slowly boiling pot, people now accept the clutch as a way of life and move on with their day.
No more!
The E-Clutch is the answer to the question people didn’t even realise they should be asking. It allows riders the joy of being in control of their gear changes with zero need to bring the left arm into it. And, dare we say, the system is smoother and more precise than even the most avid clutch user. Pull off up hills, around corners, in bumpy U-turns, it does it all fabulously well.
And if you happen to be part of the 0.0000000001% of the world that needs a clutch to pull wheelies or lift the front wheel when riding off-road, there is a perfectly functioning lever there to drop to your heart’s content.
The rest of the world will soon forget that lever is even there. It’ll become a forgotten relic like the appendix or the fax machine.
Perhaps the future is here and perhaps it is clutch-less.
Want to use the clutch manually?
Go for it. The system instantly backs off the moment you touch the lever. Want full old-school riding? Switch the system off completely through the dash menu and ride it like a standard motorcycle.
That flexibility is why this matters.
The fear of stalling in traffic. The panic on uphill starts. Jerky pull-offs. Killing the engine at a robot with cars hooting behind you. That tiny moment of embarrassment every new rider knows all too well.
Honda has essentially removed one of the biggest barriers to entry in motorcycling.
This system could genuinely bring more people into riding.
Right now, Honda is rolling the E-Clutch system out across bikes like the NX500 & XL750 Transalp. But this is bigger than those individual motorcycles.
This feels like the beginning of a long-term shift in how motorcycles are ridden altogether.
Imagine adventure bikes crawling technical terrain without constant clutch work. Imagine sports bikes with flawless race-style shifts every single time. Imagine commuters who never stall again. Imagine new riders learning throttle control and cornering before mastering clutch finesse.
This might just be the answer.
Go and ride one and let us know if you agree. The E-Clutch mdel cost about ten grand more than the standard Transalp which is in our opinion – a no brainer. At your Honda Dealer.
