20076506(JSAE)

2007-32-0006(SAE)

Double Clutch Transmission for Motorcycles

M. Geieregger, A. Mair, B. Pollak
All of AVL List GmbH, Graz

Andreas Bilek
KTM Sportmotorcycle AG, Mattighofen

Copyright 2007 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and Copyright 2007 SAE International

packaging of the double clutch into a motorcycle.

Special attention is paid to find an arrangement which
ensures that there is no negative effect on the riding
performance (e.g. no reduction of the achievable lean
angle) but also on the visual appearance of the
motorcycle.

ABSTRACT
Until now automatic or automated transmissions are
not common in motorcycles whereas in passenger cars
a clear trend towards various types of automatic
shifting transmissions could be observed during the
recent years. For 2-wheelers CVT drives are well
known for 50 cc scooters and in the scooter class a
trend towards CVTs for bigger displacement vehicles is
obvious. Evidence for this is the introduction of
scooters with a displacement up to 800 cc which use
CVT drives. Reflecting the overall CO2 targets and their
impact on individual transportation and the demand for
sportiveness in the area of motorcycles dual clutch
transmissions (DCT) are certainly a valid alternative.

1.

The Pre-Study for the application of a DCT in a

motorcycle focuses on the packaging of the major
components. Target is to be able to utilize existing
frames and engines. The study is carried out for the
KTM LC8 990 cc V2 engine. The major specifications
of this engine are shown in Figure 1.

Meanwhile automated manual transmissions (AMT,

clutch actuation and gear shifting by actuators) are
available in series production. Other than in the most
passenger car applications the shifts are initiated by
the rider. As in the car area a full by-wire interface is
utilized.

KTM LC8 990 Adventure

Engine type
2-Cylinder 4-Stroke V 75 4V
DOHC
Displacement
999 cc
Bore x Stroke
101 x 62.4 mm
Power
72 kW @ 8500 rpm
Torque
95 Nm @ 6500 rpm
Mixture preparation Electronic fuel injection
Lubrication system Pressure lubrication
Cooling
Liquid cooled
Transmission
6 gears,
dog-clutch engagement
Clutch
Multi-plate wet in oil sump
Clutch actuation
hydraulic
Figure 1 Main Engine Specifications

From its driving performance a double clutch

transmission (DCT) would fit very well into motorcycle
applications. Compared to an automated manual
transmission (AMT) a double clutch transmission does
not have any interruption of the tractive force during the
shifting and a DCT features instantaneous acceleration
and the feeling of a direct connection of the engine
with the rear wheel which is highly appreciated by
motorcycle riders. Using a DCT for the motorcycle
application it has to be guaranteed that the driver has
the same or even better control abilities compared to
the manual transmission (MT). To fulfill the drivers
demand of direct response and control of gear shift
and clutch operation the motorcycle DCT needs to
have driver controlled overrule functionalities of the
automation system.

Following KTMs READY TO RACE philosophy the

LC8 990 cc V2 engine is known as one of the most
compact and most lightweight engines in the 1000 cc
V2 engine category.

Although there are several reasons which make it

worth using a DCT for motorcycles there is currently no
DCT for motorcycles in production. An investigation to
apply passenger car DCT technology to motorcycles is
the focus of this paper. The main objective is the study
of the installation space requirements and the
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INTRODUCTION & MOTIVATION

The LC8 engine may not be the typical target engine

for the initial application of a DCT but if it is possible to
apply a DCT on this engine it will be no problem to
apply this technology on other less sportive motorcycle
engines.
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clutch conditions caused by missing damping of the oil
between the discs. Considering a DCT where one of
the clutches is nearly always opened this effect can
have a considerable contribution to the over all noise
emission.

Of course it is clear from the beginning of the study

that a DCT can never offer the same compactness and
weight optimized design as a conventional manually
shifted motorcycle transmission since the required
nd
additional components such as the 2 clutch, an
additional shift fork and the actuators for the clutches
and the gear shifting will require additional space and
will also lead to a certain weight penalty.

2.

Regarding heat flow and cooling of the clutch the wet

type has an advantage over the dry clutch in long time
load as the major heat arising from the friction when
the clutch is slipping can be transferred into the oil
which again can be cooled by an oil cooler. Thus the
cooling power can be controlled by the oil flow rate.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATION CLUTCH

However the cooling of the wet clutch by the oil has the
disadvantage of a limited peak heat load due to the
cracking of the oil molecules. For example the limiting
temperature of a standard automatic transmission oil is
approximately 200 to 300C[1].

The heart of every DCT is the automatically actuated

double clutch. Before the specification of the clutch
module is possible considerations on the clutch type
(wet vs. dry) and the investigation of possible clutch
arrangements and packaging variants on a motorcycle
are required.

The limiting temperature of the dry system is only

determined by the friction material. Usually the
materials used for dry clutches are capable to
withstand temperatures up to at least 300C.

Figure 2 shows the clutch arrangements which are

investigated.

Version 1: Packaged clutch (coaxial or serial)

Version 2: Diagonal clutch arrangement

Version 3: Right-Left clutch arrangement

The decision on the clutch type for a motorcycle

application is mainly determined by the usual power
train layout of a motorcycle. One objective of this study
is to define a DCT for a motorcycle which is very
similar to the existing manual shifted version.
Therefore a wet clutch and a common lubrication for
the engine and clutch and transmission is chosen.
Additionally the smaller outer diameter of a wet clutch
can be easier packaged than the big diameter dry type.

As described in section 3 the version no. 1 is finally

chosen as the best suitable clutch arrangement.
It shall be mentioned that for other engine concepts (e.
g. in-line engine instead of a V engine) also other
clutch applications are possible but these variants are
not covered by this study.

2.2. Packaging
In terms of packaging of the clutch and transmission
the possible arrangements of the two clutches are
investigated. There are several possible combinations
which could be used in a motorcycle application in
terms of clutch position (see Figure 2).
On the one hand side it has to be decided whether to
mount both clutches on one position as shown in
version1 or to mount one clutch one each side of the
engine as shown in version 2 and 3.
Figure 2 Clutch Arrangement

For version1 the type of arrangement of both clutches

has to be decided. Under consideration of packaging,
actuation and type of clutch (wet/dry) it has to be
decided to mount the clutches in a serial way or coaxial
position relative to each other (see Figure 4).

2.1. Clutch Friction Concept

One of the major aspects in the definition of a double
clutch layout is the friction concept. The clutches can
be designed in a wet clutch or a dry clutch layout. In
Motorcycle application both are common using multiple
discs. The selection of the suitable friction concept
depends on several aspects such as packaging, heat
capacity (clutch cooling), power train concept and
layout as well as industrialization aspects.
In terms of packaging motorcycle clutches it can be
seen that a multi disc wet and multi disc dry clutch for
the same application needs similar space. A
disadvantage of the dry clutch in motorcycle
applications is an increased noise emission at opened
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Torque
Clamping Force
Outer Diameter Friction Disc
Inner Diameter Friction Disc
Number of Discs
Clutch Safety (
= 0.09)
Pressure Load of Friction Disc
Maximum relative velocity at open clutch
Figure 3

KTM Adventure
current clutch

VW DCT
launch clutch

VW DCT
shift clutch

200
100
132
111
11
100
100
100

320
279
193
163
4
93
120
175

320
386
138
103
5
109
210
125

Nm
[%]
mm
mm
[%]
[%]
[%]

2.3. Clutch Specification

The definition of the clutch size for the concept layout
is mainly determined by the required safety of the
clutch against slipping, the maximum pressure of the
discs and the maximum relative velocity between discs
and plates at open clutch position.
In this study the references for limiting values are
derived from the existing series production clutch of
KTM Adventure as well as from the VW series
production DCT. The information on the VW DCT is
taken from a benchmark study done at AVL.
In Figure 5 an overview on the major influencing
parameters which are considered is shown.
Figure 4 Coaxial vs. Serial Clutch [2]

Figure 5 Major clutch parameters

The arrangement of both clutches on the same position

according to version 1 in Figure 2 is most similar to the
usual layout of a motorcycle. Furthermore this clutch
arrangement is also the common solution on
passenger car DCT applications.

The parameters regarding clamping force, clutch

safety, pressure load of friction disc and maximum
relative velocity at open clutch are shown as relative
values whereas the Adventure clutch represents 100%.
Beside the clutch safety value the values for maximum
pressure of the plates and the value of the maximum
relative velocity of the friction disc and plate are
influencing the clutch specification and the clutch size.

The clutches can be arranged in a coaxial or serial

concept as shown in Figure 4. These arrangements
differ significantly in terms of required packaging
space. Comparing two types of the same friction
concept (wet/dry) the coaxial version needs less space
in axial direction while the serial type requires less
space in diameter.

Clutch safety against slipping

Comparing the minimum values for clutch safety
against slipping it can be seen that the value of the VW
DCT launch clutch is slightly smaller compared to the
KTM clutch. For this study the clutch safety values of
the KTM application are set as limiting values for the
clutch layout.

Compared to passenger car applications the DCT

application on a motorcycle offers further possibilities
for the clutch arrangement.
As the power train of a typical motorcycle is usually
designed in a way that the engine and transmission are
combined in one housing where the transmission is
located parallel to the engine (crankshaft) it would be
possible to mount one clutch on the left and the other
one at the right side of the engine. (See version2 and 3
in Figure 2).

Maximum pressure of the plates

In terms of pressure of the plates it has to be
distinguished between launch clutch (odd gears 1,3,5)
and shift clutch (even gears 2,4,6). The clutch used for
vehicle launch is usually more critical for clutch shutter
when launching the vehicle. A major influence on
shutter is the maximum pressure of the friction plates.
The target for the pressure within this study for the
launch clutch is set to the values as used in the KTM
MT transmission. Comparing the values of the VW
DCT it can be seen that much higher pressure can be
applied compared to the KTM values. The reason for
this is seen in a different friction material, disc design
as well as in the fact that the VW DCT is using special
transmission oil compared to the standard motorcycle

Using such a concept for the clutch arrangement would

nd
require an additional (2 ) primary drive which has to be
integrated into the engine / transmission housing.

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engine oil used in the KTM application due to the
common oil circuit of engine and transmission. The
shutter influence can also be seen at the VW
application. The maximum pressure of the even gear
clutch is much higher compared to the clutch for odd
gears (= launch clutch).

3.1. Version 1 Packaged Clutch

As already mentioned version 1 according to Figure 6
is most similar to usual motorcycle transmission
layouts. Furthermore this configuration where both
clutches are located at the same position is
comparable to passenger car applications in terms of
clutch arrangement.

Maximum relative velocity of the clutch discs

One additional effect which has to be considered for
the definition of the clutch size is the relative velocity
between friction disc and clutch plate at open clutch.
Assuming an operating condition where the vehicle is
in standstill while gear 1 and 2 are engaged and the
maximum input speed is applied the outer discs are
moving towards the inner friction plates with the
highest possible relative velocity. If this operating
condition can really appear in the motorcycle depends
on the chosen control strategy.
As the clearance between disc and plate is in the range
of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm a high shear stress within the oil
occurs. With increasing velocity the shear stress
increases and as a result of this stress forces the oil is
heated up. To avoid overheating of the oil which would
result in cracking of the oil molecules the maximum
level of the stress and therefore the max relative
velocity has to be limited. This effect is most critical in
a clutch arrangement where the clutch is located
directly on crankshaft of the engine (version 2 in Figure
2) since such an arrangement leads too a higher
relative velocity because the clutch rotates with engine
speed which is approximately double the speed of the
transmission input speed which is equal to the clutch
speed in a usual motorcycle transmission. Of course
the higher relative speed of the clutch on the
crankshaft would be partly compensated by a smaller
clutch diameter due to the lower torque at the
crankshaft.

Figure 6 Transmission Layout Version 1

To keep the transmission dimension in axial direction
as small as possible a coaxial arrangement of the
clutches is chosen. The total width of the transmission
would be the width of the current manual transmission
plus the additional space requirement for a fourth shift
fork (for details see section 4). The two transmission
input shafts are designed in a hollow shaft system. As
shown in Figure 6 either the outer or inner clutch can
be used as vehicle launch clutch. The position of the
launch clutch leads to different gear arrangements
st
nd
whereas the 1 and 2 gear are positioned close to the
shaft bearing as this is usually done.

Within this study the limiting velocity is set to a level of

the VW DCT application as this effect is more critical in
this application due to higher speed (engine speed)
and bigger clutch diameter.

Inner clutch used for launch (1.1)

Gears 1, 3, 5 are positioned on the inner shaft
Gears 2, 4, 6 are positioned on the hollow outer shaft

3.

Outer clutch used for launch (1.2)

Gears 1, 3, 5 are positioned on the hollow outer shaft
Gears 2, 4, 6 are positioned on the inner shaft

TRANSMISSION LAYOUT SELECTION

Within this study several different transmission layout

configurations are analyzed (e.g. arrangement of 3
shafts in a triangle vs. 2 shaft axes whereas 2 of the 3
shafts are concentric, shaft in hollow shaft vs. bearing
in the middle, vertical split engine cases vs. horizontal
split cases,). Some of the concepts are rejected in
the early stage of the study either because they are not
applicable for a motorcycle at all or because they are
not suitable for the V2 engine concept of the LC8
engine. Finally a feasibility investigation of three
different layouts as mentioned in section 2 is carried
out to identify the most promising layout for this
motorcycle application. In the following the investigated
transmission layout concepts are described and
discussed in terms of required clutch size and
packaging.

SETC 2007

The advantage of using the outer clutch for the odd

gear group (version 1.2) is a bigger clutch diameter
which results in higher safety against slipping using the
same clamping force compared to the inner clutch. In
the VW double clutch transmission the outer clutch is
used for the odd gears and respectively as vehicle
launch clutch.
When the outer clutch is used for the odd gears of the
motorcycle DCT the first gear has to be located on the
hollow shaft. The inner diameter of the hollow shaft is
st
too big in relation to the root diameter of the 1 gear.
Thus the material between root diameter and hole of
the shaft is not sufficient which would yield into tooth
brakeage.

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Therefore such a layout would only be possible by
st
increasing the root diameter of 1 gear which again
results into an increased center distance of the
transmission shafts. Assuming the same gear ratio and
module as in the existing MT application an axis
distance increase of approximately 20% would be
required. This however is not acceptable in terms of
packaging.

Figure 7 Transmission Layout Version 2

The additional clutch on the crankshaft (clutch 1)
requires a relocation of the alternator. For example the
alternator has to be moved to the front of the engine
and has to be driven by an additional pair of gears. The
drive gear of the second primary drive can not be used
to drive the generator since this gear only rotates when
the clutch is closed. Alternatively it can be checked if
the alternator can be moved to the right engine side
where the drive gear of the primary drive may be used
to drive the alternator.

In the arrangement shown in version 1.1 the inner

clutch is working together with the odd gear group.
st
Thus the 1 gear is located at the inner shaft which is
smaller in diameter. Thus the tooth root conditions of
st
the 1 gear are the same as in the MT version. The
disadvantage of the smaller diameter of the launch
clutch in this arrangement is compensated by a
balanced definition of the number of friction plates,
friction area and clamp force. A more detailed
description of the clutch definition is given in section 4.

When the alternator is moved away from the

crankshaft the starting system has to be modified since
in the original design the one way clutch of the starting
mechanism is positioned in the alternator as this is
usual for motorcycles.
Furthermore a second primary drive is required. The
principle design of this second primary drive including
damping mechanism would be the same as in a usual
manual motorcycle transmission. Two separate
primary drives for the gears 1,3,5 and 2,4,6 offer the
potential for a more flexible definition of the gear ratios.
The second primary drive would lead to an increased
engine width.

Advantages of version 1:

Clutch- / transmission arrangement similar to usual
motorcycle layout

Also typical optical appearance of a motorcycle can
be maintained

Only one primary drive required

No modification of alternator

No major effect on center distance of transmission
shafts

The clutch on the crankshaft (clutch 1) could be

designed very compact since the torque is
approximately half of the usual transmission input
torque. Problems may occur with the higher maximum
relative speed between the clutch discs. But as
mentioned before the higher relative speed of the
clutch on the crankshaft would be partly compensated
by a smaller clutch diameter due to the lower torque at
the crankshaft.

Finally version 1.1 is chosen as the optimal concept.

3.2. Version 2 Diagonal Clutch Arrangement
In Figure 7 the basic packaging layout of the clutch
arrangement according version 2 is shown. Version 2
is based on the idea of mounting one clutch on each
side of the transmission. Clutch 1 is located directly on
the crankshaft at the alternator side of the
transmission. Clutch 2 is located at the same position
as on the original LC8 transmission.

Compared to version 1 the clutch on the transmission

input shaft (clutch 2) can be designed in a more
compact way since there is only one clutch located at
this position instead of two nested coaxial clutches.
The clutch dimensions (e.g. outer diameter) could be
optimized according to the clutch load parameters.
Compared to the current manual transmission clutch 2
could be packed into approximately the same radial
and a smaller axial installation space since this clutch
would have only 6 discs instead of 11 (see section 4)
The total width of the transmission would be the width
of version 1 plus the additional space requirement for
the second primary drive and the drive for the
alternator.
The major reason for disqualification of version 2 is the
collision of the additional primary drive with the final
drive (chain sprocket). When the gear ratio of the
primary drive is the same as on the current manual
transmission, the overlap is bigger than 30 mm. Some
improvement of the situation can be achieved when a
different gear ratio is chosen for this primary drive but
this is not sufficient to solve the problem completely.
To avoid the collision a gear ratio of the primary drive
of 1 would be required which leads to a high

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transmission input speed which then causes the
following problems.
st

nd

Too high gear ratio of the lowest gear (1 or 2 ) of

this input shaft required. Possible compensation
potential of final drive is not sufficient.

High speed may cause problems with the bearings.

A possible solution would be to increase the center

distance of the transmission shafts but the required 30
mm are not acceptable in terms of packaging.
For other motorcycle engines where an increased
center distance of the transmission shafts can be
accepted a variant with adapted primary gear ratio,
slightly increase center distance of the transmission
shafts and higher final drive ratio may be acceptable.
Another theoretical solution is to arrange the additional
primary drive outside of the chain sprocket. This
version is unacceptable due the significant increase in
engine width, the very complicated service (e.g.
changing of sprocket) and the collision with the frame.
Finally version 2 is rejected due to the following main
reasons:

Figure 8 Transmission Layout Version 3

The additional clutch on the left engine side (clutch 1)
collides with the alternator. Therefore a relocation of
the alternator as discussed for version 2 is required
too. Again this would lead to a modified starting
system.

Not acceptable requirement for increased center

distance of transmission
Additional primary drive (more components,
increase in transmission width)

Reference

Torque
Clamping Force
Outer Diameter Friction Disc
Inner Diameter Friction Disc
Number of Discs
Clutch Safety (
= 0.09)
Pressure Load of Friction Disc
Maximum relative velocity at open discs

Version 1.1

Version 1.2

KTM
Adventure

Shift
Clutch

Launch
Clutch

Launch
Clutch

Shift
Clutch

200
100
132
111
11
100
100
100

200
153
160
145
6
104
153
157

200
204
129
93
6
102
117
127

200
189
160
135
6
125
118
157

200
192
119
95
6
92
171
117

Nm
[%]
mm
mm
[%]
[%]
[%]

Figure 9 Clutch Dimensioning

Furthermore also version 3 requires a second primary

drive which offers the same potential in terms of a
more flexible definition of the gear ratios but would
again lead to an increased engine width. Same as for
version 1 both clutches have to transmit the
transmission input torque. Nevertheless the clutches
would have a different size in order to optimize the
clutches in terms of the different limits regarding
maximum pressure for the launch and shift clutch.

Significant modifications for relocation of alternator

and new starting system

3.3. Version 3 Right Left Clutch Arrangement

In Figure 8 the basic packaging layout of the clutch
arrangement according version 3 is shown. In version 3
one clutch is positioned on each side of the
transmission but different to version 2 both clutches
are located on the transmission input shafts.

Following the argumentation for version 2 the major

reason for disqualification of version 3 is the collision of
the additional primary drive with the final drive (chain
sprocket).
4.

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DETAILED INVESTIGATION VERSION 1

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lever spring 2. Via this clutch the transmission input
torque (Tin) is transmitted to the gears 1, 3, 5.

Version 1.1 is chosen as the most promising concept

for the application of a DCT on the KTM LC 8 engine.
The following sections show the results of the detailed
investigations.

The lever ratios are between 3 and 4. This reduces the

actuation force of the hydraulic pistons but increases
the required piston travel. The maximum required
piston travel including compensation of the clutch wear
is 13.5 mm for the outer piston and 17 mm for the inner
piston.

4.1. Clutch dimensioning

As basis for the packaging investigations the clutch
dimension are specified. Figure 8 shows the main
dimensions and most important parameters for the
clutch dimensioning for the current Adventure
transmission in comparison to the calculation results of
version 1.1 and 1.2. The parameters regarding
clamping force, clutch safety, pressure load of friction
disc and maximum relative velocity at open clutch are
shown as relative values whereas the Adventure clutch
represents 100%. As described in section 2 the current
KTM clutch and the VW DCT are used as reference to
set the limits for the major parameters during the clutch
calculation.
The detail calculation of the clutch is carried out for the
versions 1.1 and 1.2. In principle the version 1.2 where
the outer clutch is the launch clutch would be the
preferred version but as explained in section 3 version
st
1.1 is finally chosen so that the 1 gear can be
positioned on the smaller inner shaft.
For the finally chosen version 1.1 a clutch safety
against slipping of 102% for the launch clutch and
104% for the shift clutch in relation to the original clutch
of the manual transmission is achieved whereas the
friction value for the wet oil system is set to 0.09.

Figure 10 Example Clutch Actuation Principle

The lever springs rotate with the speed of the clutch
cage and are connected to the actuation pistons via
axial bearings. An exploded view of the clutch inclusive
actuation lever springs and hydraulic pistons is shown
in Figure 11.

Since the clutch is not any longer actuated by hand

(see 4.2) it is possible to increase the clamping force
and therefore reduce the number of clutch discs from
11 to 6.
To avoid clutch shutter the pressure load of the launch
clutch is only moderate increased (117%) compared to
the LC8 clutch. This is done by an increased contact
area of the clutch discs. An increase of the pressure by
17% is accepted to keep the clutch size small.
For the maximum relative velocity the VW clutch is set
as limit whereas the maximum of 157% relative to the
LC8 is still significantly lower than the 175% of the VW
clutch.
4.2. Clutch Actuation
The clutches are actuated by hydraulic pistons via a
lever spring system. The required oil pressure can be
either generated by an electro motor connected to a
piston by a spindle gear or with a direct driven oil
pump. The electro motors or hydraulic valves are
controlled by a transmission control unit (TCU). The
principle arrangement of the lever spring system for the
clutch actuation is shown in Figure 10.

Figure 11 Clutch Exploded View

For safety reasons the clutch actuation strategy is
normally open. This means that the actuator is
working when the clutch is closed. If safety regulations
or requirements need a mechanical controlled
overruling function of the electronic system an
additional mechanical linkage has to be integrated to
open the clutch mechanically by the clutch lever.

The outer clutch (shift clutch) is actuated by piston 1

via lever spring 1. Via this clutch the transmission input
torque (Tin) is transmitted to the gears 2, 4, 6. The
inner clutch (launch clutch) is actuated by piston 2 via

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locking of one clutch at standstill can not be
guaranteed due to oil leakage in the valves. Here a
special park brake device as used in passenger car
applications could be implemented. That most likely
additional device is required which secures the
motorcycle against rolling away. There are several
ways how this can be realized and this not seen to be a
critical issue.

The clutch actuation force is additionally loading the

transmission bearings all the time during operation
whereas in a normal motorcycle transmission the
clutch release force only occurs during the clutch
opening. This load occurs independent from the clutch
type (normally open / normally closed) as one clutch is
clamped and the other is open beside of the situations
of shifting or stopped vehicle.

In Figure 13 the main parameter for the clutch

actuation are summarized.
Reference
Adventure
Clamping Force [%]
100
Actuation force [%]
100
Disc Clearance total [%]
100
Wear total [%]
100
Actuation travel [%]
100
Figure 13 Clutch Actuation Parameters

Outer Inner
153
204
51
62
55
55
55
55
164
179

The clamping force at the clutch discs is 189% for the

outer and 192% for the inner clutch compared to the
Adventure clutch where the clamping force is limited by
the actuation by the rider.

Figure 12 Additional Bearing Load

Although the clamping force is significantly higher the

actuation force of the hydraulic piston can be kept
relatively low due to the lever spring actuation system
but the required piston travel is increased accordingly.

Due to the additional bearing load the life time of the

bearings have to be checked. A first investigation
shows that the additional axial force would only have a
negligible able effect on the bearing load at maximum
torque operating point. At operating points with lower
torque (e.g. 50%) the relative reduction of the bearing
life time would be considerable (e.g. life time only 40%
to 50% of the manual transmission) but the absolute
lifetime in these operating points is that high that even
such a high relative reduction is not critical for the
overall life time of the bearings especially when a usual
load cycle is taken into consideration.

Due to the higher clamping force the number of clutch

discs is reduced which reduces the total disc clearance
and the total wear.
4.3. Clutch Lubrication
Comparing the clutch lubrication and cooling concept
of the MT version with the DCT it has to be
investigated if an increased forced cooling oil flow is
required.

The investigations regarding bearing lifetime are

carried out for the bearings used in the original manual
transmission. By changing the bearing type or
introducing an additional axial trust bearing the bearing
life time can be increased significantly and brought up
and above the level of the manual transmission.

As the weight and torque which are mainly influencing

the heat load during launch are the same in MT and
DCT version it is expected that the heat load on the
clutch discs is the same.
An additional effect which has to be considered in the
coaxial clutch arrangement of the DCT is that the inner
clutch is surrounded by the outer one which results in
different lubrication conditions compared to the MT
version.

Assuming comparable regulations as in passenger car

applications another issue which has to be considered
caused by the normally open clutch control strategy is
an additional device which secures the motorcycle
against rolling away when parking. However this is not
seen to be a most critical issue. Usually a motorcycle is
parked in a plane and even area where uncontrolled
rolling away is not expected. If special applications
require a parking device several solutions are possible.
When using the electro hydraulic clutch actuation
system with the spindle gear the self locking behavior
of the spindle combined by the closed hydraulic system
a permanent closing of one clutch even at standstill
can be realized. Using a hydraulic actuation system
with constant driven oil pump and hydraulic valves a
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shaft. Thus the arrangement of inner clutch used for
launch is used in this study.

A difference in terms of heat load on the clutch arises

by the fact of overlapping clutch during shifting under
load. Here it has to be investigated if additional cooling
is required. In the motorcycle application the boundary
conditions are less critical than in cars as the
motorcycle has less weight and gear spread which are
mainly determining the heat load on the clutch during
shifting.

Figure 14 Clutch Lubrication / Cooling

If detailed investigations show that additional
lubrication of the clutches is required the forced oil flow
controlled by the oil pump has to be adapted. The
principle of the oil path via the inner shaft would be
similar to the MT version and can be seen in Figure 14.

Figure 15 Gear arrangement

In Figure 15 the gear arrangement is shown. For the
DCT configuration the position of the gears 1  2
and 5  6 is exchanged compared to the MT
version; gear 3 and 4 stay at the same position.
In a detailed investigation it has to be considered that
the bearing loads will change due to the rearrangement
st
nd
of 1 and 2 gear.

However this topic is strongly depending on the final

vehicle type and operating conditions. Comparing an
off-road motorcycle with an on road application
different load caused by different driving profiles will be
applied to the clutch. Off-road applications usually
show much higher launch cycles compared to on roads
and often higher load on the clutch during launch.

Furthermore the bearing concept for the transmission

has to be changed. Due to the hollow shaft system
additional bearings are required (see Figure 16).

Depending on the application the necessity of

additional oil cooling of the clutch will be decided later.

The inner shaft is supported in the outer shaft by two

needle bearings. Currently needle bearings with a
needle diameter of 2 mm are foreseen in the concept
and the bearing width is adjusted to a value which will
be capable to achieve the required bearing lifetime.
The bearing size has to be validated by detail bearing
calculations.

4.4. Gear arrangement

Compared to the MT version the gear arrangement of
the gears has to be changed as a DCT needs 2
separate gear groups; one for the odd gears 1, 3 and 5
and one for the even gears 2, 4 and 6. Each group is
located at one shaft to ensure a pre-selection of next
gears. The location of which group is at which shaft is
depending on the layout of the clutch. As already
mentioned in section 2 the definition of the clutch size
is depending whether the clutch is used for launch or
only shifting. Respectively the gear group for odd gears
st
containing the 1 gear has to be mounted to the launch
clutch.

Beneficial in terms of bearing life time is the relative

low bearing speed which is the differential speed
between inner and outer shaft. As the shift system is
designed in a way where only sequential gear
engagement is possible the difference in shaft speed is
only between two neighboring gears; e. g. considering
a gear spread of 1.36 and a transmission input speed
of 4000 rpm this results in a difference speed of 1400
rpm which is uncritical.

According to section 3 the arrangement where the

outer clutch is used for launch would be the preferred
version in terms of clutch safety and shutter behavior.
However this arrangement is limited as the root
diameter of the first gear is too small for the hollow
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st

For the design of the 1 gear it has to be decided

whether to use a pinion shaft or separate gear with
spline connection to the shaft (see Figure15). On top a

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variant with spline is shown and the lower picture of
Figure 16 shows a variant with pinion shaft.

Finally the variant with pinion shaft is chosen since the

theoretical potential of a bigger shaft diameter with the
spline connection can not be utilized due to other
st
constraints but would cause problems to fix the 1
gear.
The gear arrangement in two groups (odd group and
th
even group) requires an additional (4 ) shift fork. In the
rd
th
DCT concept 3 and 4 gear require a separate
actuation which needs two individual shift forks for the
gears 3 and 4. In the original configuration one sliding
gear for gear 3 and 4 using only one shift fork is
required. This has an impact on the packaging size of
the transmission.
As shown in Figure 15 the axial width of the DCT gear
box will increase by approximately 10 mm compared to
the original MT version.
4.5. Shift system
The principle shift system concept of the DCT using
sliding gears which are actuated by a shift drum via
shift forks is the same as at the existing MT version of
the KTM LC8 engine.

Figure 16 Hollow Shaft System Arrangement

The difficulty using a spline connection configuration is

st
that the integration of the spline to fix the 1 gear is
critical while maintaining a minimum gear diameter but
ensuring that the shaft diameter at the position of the
st
1 gear is bigger than the diameter of the left
transmission shaft bearing.

The transmission actuation and shift system of the

DCT is shown in Figure 17. Different to the MT the
actuation of the shift drum is done by an electric motor
via a spindle drive. As the spindle drive can be
designed to be self locking no additional detent system
is required. The control of the electric motor is done by
a transmission control unit (TCU). The necessity of an
additional positioning sensor for the detection of the
shift drum position is depending on the control system
and electric motor layout.

Theoretically the spline connection has the potential to

increase the diameter of the needle bearings and
therefore the shaft diameter in the middle since the
gears can be assembled from the left side. This
potential can not really be utilized since the maximum
possible needle bearing diameter is also limited by the
gears which are mounted on the hollow shaft which
should be kept as small in diameter as possible while
maintaining the required wall thickness of the hollow
shaft.
In the design variant using a pinion shaft configuration
rd
th
the assembly of the gears of 3 and 5 gear has to be
done from the right side (over the running surface of
the needle bearings). Therefore it has to be ensured
that the root diameter for the sliding gear spline needs
to be bigger than the inner diameter of the needle
bearing of the hollow shaft system. This may require a
reduction of the needle bearing diameter which
reduces the shaft diameter in this area which would
result in a weakened shaft design in terms of strength
and deformation. Comparing the outer diameter of the
VW DCT inner shaft with a diameter in the range of 23
mm with the diameter of the inner shaft in this concept
with pinion gear of 24 mm this feature is not seen to be
critical.

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Figure 17 Transmission Actuation and Shift System

The additional shift fork (see section 4.4) and the shift
strategy of a DCT where two gears are engaged at the
same time require a new shift drum. In Figure 18 the
principle groove layout of the shift drum is shown.
th

First one additional grove is required for the 4 shift

fork and second the grooves itself have to be adapted
to the DCT shift strategy. In order to keep the same
length of the shift drum although an additional groove
is required it is necessary to change the shift drum
material from Aluminum to steel and to skip the rollers
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on the shift forks in order to reduce the width of the
grooves.
In Figure 18 the gear sequence of the DCT shift drum
can be seen. Starting from neutral position no gear is
st
engaged. Together with engagement of the 1 gear the
nd
2 gear is engaged. The following step keeps gear 2
st
engaged while the odd gear set is changed from 1 to
rd
3 gear. This strategy of keeping one gear engaged
while changing the gear of the other group is also done
th
for the following gears up to 6 gear. This results in 6
positions of the shift drum.

Figure 19 DCT vs. LC8 MT

The main objective of the packaging was to keep the
outer dimensions of the DCT as close as possible to
the current manual transmission and at least to ensure
that necessary modifications of the outer contour are
kept a small as possible in those areas where
extended dimensions of the transmission cases would
cause negative effects on the riding performance (e. g.
reduced lean angle) or on the riders ergonomics.
Though one of the major limits in this study is keeping
the width and diameter of the clutch cover the same as
in the MT version. As shown in section 4.1 the
definition of the clutch size requires an increased outer
diameter of the friction discs compared to the MT
version but this can be partly compensated by a more
compact design of the clutch housing. Nevertheless
the clutch outer diameter increases by approximately
14% and slightly exceeds the existing clutch cover
surface.
The length of the clutch is reduced according to the
reduced number of clutch plates. This provides space
for the hydraulic pistons for the clutch actuation.
Figure 18 Shift Drum Layout
During the optimization of the shifting drum groove
layout the DCT offers a higher freedom than the MT
since the actuation forces can be higher. There is no
limitation of actuation force by the riders feel engaging
and disengaging by foot actuation. Furthermore it
would be possible to realize different rotation angles of
the shift fork e.g. for N  1/2 compared to 1/2  2/3 to
optimize the gradient of the groove.
4.6. Packaging
Figure 19 shows the CAD models of the complete DCT
concept including shift system, actuation, clutches and
clutch actuation and the current manual transmission
of the KTM LC8. These models are used for the
packaging investigations of the DCT.

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In Figure 20 a dummy model of for the actuator is

shown on top of the transmission. Generally the
packaging of the clutch actuator is not very critical as
the connection between clutch actuation piston and
actuator is done by hydraulic lines. Thus depending on
the vehicle packaging situation different positions for
the actuator are possible.
The position of the primary drive is kept at the same
position as on the MT version.
The transmission itself has the same center distance of
the transmission shafts as the current manual
transmission. As described in section 4.4 the total
width of the gear group increases by approximately 10
mm mainly due to the additional shift fork. This
requires modifications of the transmission case in the
area of the chain sprocket of the final drive and
possibly a rearrangement of the chain line. During
further optimization loops this can be partly
compensated by shifting the transmission a little bit to
the primary drive side by modification of the primary
drive.
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The shift drum and shift fork can be packaged into the
given space. The actuation of the shift drum by an
electric motor via a spindle drive a relatively compact
solution and offers several possible positions for the
packaging whereas for definition of the final version it is
principally possible to arrange it at both ends of the
shift drum under different angles.
Finally the position of alternator, oil pump drive, starter,
balancing gears and water pump are kept at the same
position as on the MT version.

Figure 20 Packaging of DCT

The overall impact of the double clutch transmission on
the over all package can be seen in Figure 20. Most
significant is the increase in clutch diameter and the
increased width of the gear group.
The packaging of a DCT will lead to slightly extended
dimensions of the base engine and transmission cases
and requires the packaging of additional components
(e. g. clutch actuators) on other locations on the
motorcycle.
5.

CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK

The objective of this study is to investigate the

installation space requirements and packaging with
special focus on lean angle of the double clutch
transmission into a motorcycle.
The study shows that the DCT can be packaged into a
motorcycle. Of course the application of a DCT will
require compromises in terms of compactness and
weight compared to a manual motorcycle transmission.
Furthermore it shall be mentioned that also an
increased inertia of the transmission has to be taken
into account.

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For multiple applications a DCT will enhance the riding

comfort and the continuous torque flow over a shift will
also enable a high acceleration performance.
This study was the first step to a successful application
of a DCT on a motorcycle. In a next step a more
detailed transmission design needs to be prepared
particularly regarding actuation and control unit. In
terms of actuation it has to be investigated if a system
using a permanent driven oil pump in combination with
electric valves is more suitable for such an application
compared to an electromotor system. Considering
packaging it is expected that the constant driven oil
pump is less critical. Here it also has to be investigated
if a separation of the oil circuits between engine oil and
transmission/hydraulic oil is possible and beneficial. In
the existing MT version the same oil is used for both
engine and transmission lubrication. Using a different
oil circuit for the transmission and engine would have
the benefit of using a special oil with better lubrication
behavior compared to the engine oil for the
transmission. This would increase the lubrication
condition for the bearings and gears. Thus the life time
of both could be increased.
Engine and transmission structure as well as the
electric system shall be adapted for DCT: an additional
transmission control unit (TCU) will be required which
communicates with the engine control unit (ECU); also
an electronic throttle body shall be considered to utilize
the whole potential of this transmission technology in
terms of riding performance and comfort. With focus
on safety it has to be investigated more detailed if an
electronic throttle needs to be equipped with a
mechanical connection to the driver throttle to
guarantee closing of the intake manifold in case of
electronic malfunction.
Another important feature of DCT will be to develop
engine and transmission control strategies adequate to
the
desired
motorcycle
application
(sportive
acceleration / cruising comfort). Here it has to be
investigated more detailed if the final functionality
needs to be designed in a way where the driver of the
motorcycle has the possibility to overrule the electronic
control system in terms of gear shift and clutch
operation. It is expected that especially in driving
conditions like wheelie or drift a driver controlled clutch
operation is required. Here it has to be investigated if a
driver controlled clutch actuation which is overruling the
electrical system can be realized on a mechanical way
or if it can be done via the electric actuation system by
an electronic clutch lever sensor.
The final key factor for the market success of a DCT in
a motorcycle will be a refined ECU and TCU
calibration.
Further to the system study presented it is therefore
clearly recommended to verify the DCT performance in
a complete motorcycle demonstrator.

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6.

REFERENCES

[1] OMV-Aktiengesellschaft:
http://www.omv.com/smgr/portal/jsp/index.jsp?p_si
te=AT
[2] Dipl. Ing. Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Gerd Jggle, Dipl.-Ing
Karl Ludwig Kimmig, Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Berger,
Dr.rer.nat Julien Boeuf, LUK GmbH & Co. oHG,
Bhl: Systemauslegung von Doppelkupplungen fr
groe und kleine Fahrzeuge; VDI Berichte
Nr.1987, 2007

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