I had a chap yesterday arrive to do his Basic Handling Skills Test with his own 150cc scooter. CVT transmission. That's an auto transmission.
He thought it would be easier than riding our GN125 as there was no need to change gears. Well I can tell you, CVT transmissions have challenges of their own, and the BHST is no doddle on a CVT bike.
When you throttle on, there's a slight lag, as the CVT winds itself up and gets going. When it does, especially on bigger bikes, it takes off quite quickly. At the other end of the scale, when you throttle off, there's significantly less deceleration, so the brakes get far more use. Basically, your throttle control needs to be better on a CVT bike than a GN, as the GN is seasier to maintain constant progress on, without accelerating or decelerating.
Add to this the smaller wheels, and they tip into corners more quickly. The one yesterday had less lean angle than a GN as well.
Don't get me wrong, I like CVT bikes. I rode the one yesterday, and it wasn't hard to ride. I rode the course and stages on the bike yesterday, and It's quite a cool bike. But it has it's own set of challenges.
Just don't go thinking it's easy to do a test on an auto bike. It's not hard, it's just different. But it's also not easy.
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