Yamaha has been developing its electric dirt bikes and many of their components for some time now. In fact, if we go back to March, we find the last time we talked about one of its patents, which was literally a clutch for electric bikes and with patents designed for off-road bikes. But now they are going one step further, creating a fake clutch lever to give riders the control they need.
And why do we say it is a fake clutch lever? Well, because aesthetically and in terms of how it would make the rider feel, it would be the same, but instead of acting on the clutch, it would act on power delivery and regeneration during braking.
That is, the engine would not be disengaged at any time, but thanks to this false clutch lever the sensation that the rider would have would be similar to that currently experienced on a combustion motorcycle.
What purpose will this fake clutch lever serve?
This would allow the acceleration to be modulated beyond the throttle play, but more importantly, it would allow the engine to slow down when braking and entering a curve to turn the bike more effectively.
But we’re not done yet. What the patent leaked by CycleWorld shows is a large lever on the left, like the clutch lever, but it’s not that lever. That large lever is the brake lever, and what you see as if it were a decompression lever from the old four-stroke engines is actually that fake clutch lever.
Yamaha is planning to remove the foot controls, as is the case with all electric bikes, and the only way to fit this fake clutch system would be in that position. What is important is that the patent even explains how it works.
In this way, Yamaha explains the progressiveness of the system, how it will work for the user and their sensations, with dead zones of operation, progressiveness… All to ensure that the rider’s sensation with this fake clutch lever is natural for all those who switch from combustion motorcycles.