• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Negative comments from others about DCT

Forty Two

Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
40
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Canada
Visit site
I am getting only negative comments from other riders and non-riders about my wish to get a DCT bike. They do not ride a DCT bike and have never ridden one. They know what they know and unfortunately are unwilling to expand their knowledge. I do not like shifting. Although I am getting better at it, I will most likely never like it. If anything will ruin this hobby for me, it will be the shifting.

The comments I am getting is get a scooter. You will be missing the main bike experience. It is for old people. If you do not like shifting you might as well park your bike. You are giving up. You will like it once you get better. What if you get the DCT bike and you do not like it? (This is possible but how will I know for sure unless I try?) When I point out that there are many people who love their DCT bike with various experiences, those people are considered as an anomaly and not as the norm.

To me a hobby is suppose to be enjoyable which may mean modifications (eg DCT) to keep it enjoyable. I came up with a possible solution that keeps me in the hobby. Instead, this is starting to be a chore full of negative opinions. Some of these opinions are from people close to me so I cannot get away from them.

So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place with two choices. Choice 1 is to give into them and stay with a manual bike which will not make me happy in the long-run and probably eventually ruin the hobby for me. Choice 2 is that I buy the DCT bike I think would be suitable for me but then constantly deal with the negative attitude and comments.

Any thoughts? How have other people responded to negative attitudes towards the DCT bike?
 
42.... Buy the beautiful DCT and tell them to pack sand! I mean seriously 42, their negative opinion should mean very little to you. I mean really girl "It is YOUR bike", not theirs. "It is YOUR hobby", not theirs. "It is/will be YOUR passion", not theirs.................. and when it really comes down to it, "it is also YOUR money and YOUR decision", you are the only one that needs to be happy with it.

just my $.02 worth. :{)
 
42.... Buy the beautiful DCT and tell them to pack sand! I mean seriously 42, their negative opinion should mean very little to you. I mean really girl "It is YOUR bike", not theirs. "It is YOUR hobby", not theirs. "It is/will be YOUR passion", not theirs.................. and when it really comes down to it, "it is also YOUR money and YOUR decision", you are the only one that needs to be happy with it.

just my $.02 worth. :{)

I see where you are coming from but it is difficult when it is people close to you. Ones that you see all the time.

The latest comment that caused me to write this thread is the comment that I should park the bike if I did not want to shift gears rather than get the DCT. So basically it is better you give up rather than modify from what "everyone else does."
 
Sort of goes against the premise that “motorcycle riders are an independent lot”, don’t ya think? The phrase “ride your own ride” applies here just as it does on the road.

6263D735-F889-4E64-A434-FD716E09B51E.jpg

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Live in the shadow of your crowd or get out and enjoy the view. You might be surprised at the folks that will find a new respect for you and......follow your lead out of the cave they’re living in.

But, as true motorcycle enthusiasts like to point out, it ain’t WHAT you ride - just THAT you ride. So ride whatever ya want - cause if it isn’t what YOU want, ya may as well find a different hobby.

As to your last question, I honestly have never experienced any mean spirited comments on my choice of rides. Riders (real riders) respect fellow members of the breed.

Good luck to you. And not just in your endeavor to become a motorcyclist...
 
Last edited:
If i were ever to give up my 12' NC700x, it would be to get a newer style DCT! ...and i have already been looking for one. I'd really like to find one that is similarly farkled and the PO is willing to just trade haha. Otherwise, i'll have to sell mine first then get a newer DCT. But i a so looking forward to getting one in the future... :{)
 
I got exactly the same comments.

But if that is true then why do the professional riders/writers who reviewed the Africa Twin, in both DCT and manual variants, generally prefer and write so positively about the virtues of the DCT?

Buy what you want. Ride your ride.

I came off a Harley and onto a 2018 NC750x DCT and I now have no desire to ever operate a clutch lever again. But that is my choice. Others may differ. So be it. Ultimately RIDE YOUR RIDE.
 
I'm with those that suggest making the best decision for you and going that way despite what others think. If these people are really close to you and want you to be happy then they should be the kind of friends you can level with and though they may still disagree about DCT or shifting they still want you to be happy and will lighten up on the negative. If they are not those kind of friends.... you might start looking for new ones.
 
...
Any thoughts? How have other people responded to negative attitudes towards the DCT bike?
I would hope that even though they want to discourage a DCT choice, once you’ve made your decision and purchase they would respect it. That’s what friends do, right?

I had reservations about DCT because of incidents of failure, not due to any fears of my not being a “real” motorcycle rider. The good folks on this forum eventually turned my mind around about reliability and I came very close to getting one. I went with a BMW F700GS for unrelated reasons—in fact, I might add a Rekluse auto-clutch to it in the future. Much less sophisticated than a DCT, but most of the same “negatives” would apply. Why should I care so long as it increases my enjoyment?

Sorry, I don’t have much to offer in support but these rambling thoughts. Best wishes for happiness with your eventual decision.
 
People actually dont recognize that my bike is DCT. I have to show them that it is. Without telling them more information they think it is a nice looking bike. When faced with that kind of mentality I just tell them I get 70 mpg and they forget about those small details that dont really matter. I have small hands, I am a guy, and I was tired of being stuck in traffic and my hand would cramp. This bike is perfect for city traveling, haven't done long distance yet.
Usually you get that kind of mentality with harley riders, but when you get this bike you will hang out with other type of riders. So overall, I would not worry about what others think, its little to none that actually care about it.
 
I'd say number one thing to work on is caring less about what others think or say, and do what makes you happy. As a DCT owner, I absolutely love it. And I am a more performance oriented rider, only riding a NC700X DCT due to being a left leg below knee amputee (can't work a normal shifter).

If you like riding and shifting is the only part you dislike, problem solved. Sounds like those people close to you don't have your best interest in mind, and/or are ignorant of DCT capabilities. Kinda like the majority of Harley owners are douchebags and think their Harleys are the fastest baddest thing on the road, and if you don't ride a Harley then.....well you get the picture.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
I don't understand. Are these people buying your bike for you?

Are you part of a gang that requires a manual-shift bike?

Do you think you would have fun not having to worry about shifting, mis-shifting or broken clutch cables?

Then tell your influencers to have a Coke and a smile and shut the hell up!

(Thanks to Richard Pryor for this)
 
You say these people are close to you. If so, they should be able to see when you are happy.
Buy the DCT and enjoy it! They will see that you are happy. It will become a non-issue in very short time.

JT
 
I too have noticed some riders turn-up their noses when you mention "DCT" but it's my bike and I'm happy with it so the heck with them!

At the recent MSTA National Rally in Bristol VA, the Honda demo team was there and by far the most popular bike and it had the longest wait was the Gold Wing with DCT. And from what I can tell, nary of one of those guys and gals complained about the DCT. :)
 
Thinking a bit more about this topic.

Oddly enough my friends still talk to me.

Stranger yet, we did a 4000 mile ride on 2 Hondas, each with DCT, and while we talked with many bikers along the way, not one time did anyone even notice the DCT but we did, on occasion, point it out. Especially on days when the riders complained about dealing with riding in traffic. It was generally considered a positive feature by most.

And technology moves along.

Look at the electric motorcycles. Clutchless and gearless. Yet they are screaming torque monsters.

If anything the DCT is at the leading edge of change. BMW is offering a clutchless (actually reduced clutching) option. It is bound to happen up and down the product lines of the major brands. Honda has already put it on several models from the CTX all the way up to the Goldwing. The Africa Twin, however, proves its not just for city streets and I think the media, previously giving the DCT an afterthought mention, now realizes how legitimate it is on a daily basis.

I keep mentioning the media and the AT when speaking about DCT, and really I think the AT firmed up the DCT in my mind too. After reading several reviews of the Africa Twin and its product launching, it was interesting to see the professional riders/writers speak so glowingly about the dual clutching automatic. For many it was their first exposure to using the DCT. And they found it useful and many found it preferable, on and off dirt. That says a lot. In fact it speaks volumes.

Put a DCT in the hands of a capable experienced rider and watch them have fun. They frequently walk away convinced its not just easier, but better. Some do not. Most do. That is proof enough.

But I don't need their validation. I have my own experiences.
 
DCT is a brilliant system. I have four motorcycles. Three of them have a standard shift and one, my X-Adv which has the same motor and drive train as the NCX, has DCT. I have been riding continuously for almost 50 years and ride several times a week. The DCT bike is my favourite of the four. On the first day that I tested one I was a bit anxious but within half an hour that anxiety disappeared.

With regard to your friends, if they haven't ridden a DCT then their opinion is totally useless. Do what you need to do. Get a test ride and decide regardless of the unfounded opinions of others. My X-Adv is a hybrid but is more scooter than motorcycle. There is a serious anti scooter prejudice over here and I get a lot of stick over it. Occasionally I get to ride with some of my antagonists. After such rides most of them are silenced, permanently ! They now look at my X-Adv with a different slant ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
To the members who wrote real constructive advice and ideas, I thank you for your kindness and understanding and your wish to help.

To the members who commented on my personality and the need to get pills...you read a few paragraphs and yet you think you know everything about my friends, family (it is mostly family causing the problems), or my life situation. How is your judgement any different than the people who judge the DCT? I hope that posting such comments made you feel clever because they served no other purpose.

I came here with the hope to receive real advice from others who may have faced the similar issues. If I wished to have my personality judged, I am sure that there is a nearby teenage hang-out that could serve that purpose.
 
Hey FortyTwo, don’t be too hard on us. As bikers/riders/motorcyclists, we tend to think of the sport as filled with people who know their own mind and want to go their own way. It’s part of the attraction to riding in the first place. The challenges you are facing are not so much technical as they are emotional. You have all the technical answers you need; from how the bike works to the pros and cons of riding one and how it may best suit you. That should be sufficient to address your critics. But it looks deeper than that and driven more by emotion than logic or technology.

No one likes a bully. No one likes seeing someone get bullied. And that sure looks like what you’re describing. And the collective response from the “fraternity” to those around you that appear to be pushing/forcing/bullying you to accept what THEY want you to ride - for no apparent logical good reason, seems to be a big Middle Finger.

And the other, smaller part of that is to just urge the person on the receiving end of that bullying to stand tall and set them straight on his/her own behalf. But it may not always quite come across the way it’s intended.

I apologize if my particular post offended you or your family. Hope things work out and you end up enjoying many miles on a bike (any bike). :cool:
 
Back
Top