[DCTFAN]

All evidence I have seen regarding G mode suggests it is all to do with clutch engagement. The Honda data online suggest it engages the clutch with less slip, the owners manual suggests that is its function also. I have never seen any mention of it extending revs before gear changes. It may well do but it is certainly not what Honda says its purpose and effect is, or at least I have never seen them mention that.

G-mode for DCT
This is a topic that confuses many. I've pointed many online discussions to Honda Research Publication site where you can read about this in detail.
Vol28-2e_02 Development of CRF1000L Africa Twin
These 'papers' are detailed and adorned with colorful graphs that show the differences in shifting with G-mode on and off (pg.17 FIG23)
.
This paper puts it in black and white that the G-mode alters the shift schedules in ALL riding modes.

 

[Hood]

Interesting, it is the first time I have seen that. From a quick look it seems minimal change when changing up but a bit more when changing down. Would have been good if there were numbers to the graph with regards speed. Will have a better study of it when I get home.
Sadly there doesn't seem to be the same amount of info for the 1100 but likely it will be similar.

 

[DCTFAN]

I've been keen on the effects of the G-mode since the 2016 debut of the DCT Africa Twin. In the beginning Honda was also promoting this feature quite heavily.
But with each passing year the DCT talking points shifted towards the "latest and greatest" additions like IMU integration and EERA etc.
I remember I had linked to several Honda produced videos demonstrating the riders POV highlighting features of the G-button.
These were figure 8 exercises and uphill starts that make it easier to test the effects of the 'slightly faster' clutch engagement.
Obviously, the surface was gravel, not pavement. That and the remnants of what was published in the paper I linked earlier.
All that we have to go on from here is to see for ourselves
.
Best part is that it's so easy for anyone to go out and test this G-button )

 

[Pascibkk]

G-mode for DCT
This is a topic that confuses many. I've pointed many online discussions to Honda Research Publication site where you can read about this in detail.
Vol28-2e_02 Development of CRF1000L Africa Twin
These 'papers' are detailed and adorned with colorful graphs that show the differences in shifting with G-mode on and off (pg.17 FIG23)
.
This paper puts it in black and white that the G-mode alters the shift schedules in ALL riding modes.

Do you happen to have a screenshot of this? Thank you.

 

[Hood]

I've been keen on the effects of the G-mode since the 2016 debut of the DCT Africa Twin. In the beginning Honda was also promoting this feature quite heavily.
But with each passing year the DCT talking points shifted towards the "latest and greatest" additions like IMU integration and EERA etc.
I remember I had linked to several Honda produced videos demonstrating the riders POV highlighting features of the G-button.
These were figure 8 exercises and uphill starts that make it easier to test the effects of the 'slightly faster' clutch engagement.
Obviously, the surface was gravel, not pavement. That and the remnants of what was published in the paper I linked earlier.
All that we have to go on from here is to see for ourselves
.
Best part is that it's so easy for anyone to go out and test this G-button )

I have now read the paper and it is kind of short on info, it does describe things but with no numbers it kind of leaves things a bit vague, shame really, interesting all the same.
I have seen and also linked to the text regarding the figure of eight you mention but not seen any videos.

I did test out G-mode on my previous 2021 AT but felt absolutely no difference which really didn't surprise me as I couldn't feel any difference on that one when changing any settings with the exception of D/S1/S2/S3. and now I have a 2022 ATAS I know there was definitely and issue with that bike as on the current bike I can really feel the difference when I change anything. I will have to give the G-mode a try on this one and see what it is like.

 

[Hood]

Do you happen to have a screenshot of this? Thank you.

The paper is attached.

 

[DCTFAN]

Agree with you there. TBH I have not tried the G-mode on my 2022 ATAS much.
Older models have a dedicated button but after they moved the feature into the maze of the onboard display, I rarely use it.
YES, I am aware of the favorite button use but I like to leave that for the HSTC which I need more often.
.
IMO, it was always a very 'specialized' feature- to have more fun offroad.
Some mentioned that it helps in slow turns and I don't disagree but for me, the rear brake is sufficient without the G-mode.

 

[Hood]

I tried it out today on a 130 mile run of narrow hilly single track back roads and I must admit I kind of liked it.

What I can say is for me I felt no difference on delaying the upshift, it seemed to upshift at exactly the same revs/speed as when it is switched off.

I did think it changed down quicker when slowing down, this was quite evident as I normally kick down the gears with my foot shifter but quite a few times today I was about to downshift and the bike did it itself and after that I just let it do the downshifting and it mostly matched the way I like it.

Take off just felt the same with the clutch slip I normally have and I can't say I noticed the clutch engaging faster in other gears but what I did feel is it seems more of a direct connection to the throttle. It is hard to explain really but it kind of felt like the fuel mapping was changed in some way.

I will have to try it some more and see if I can narrow things down.

The manual says if you enable in the User modes it will stick after a cycle of the ignition switch but sadly for me that is not happening so it needs to be done via page 4 of the gold screen, all my modes with the exception of offroad are set to the gold screen so it is fairly easy to navigate and change it but it is a shame it wont stick, at least for me, in the user modes.

Like you I have HSTC set for the favourite button and I will keep it that way.

 

[Hood]

Here is a vid of the hill road to Kenmore, couple of tight hairpins on a narrow road and DCT is a breeze.

 

[Hood]

Oh and BTW I am now using G Mode mostly and liking it a lot. Still can't really quantify what the difference to it is in the main but it just feels nicer to me. I don't notice any change in the upshift pattern but I do notice it does downshift quicker. Shame I can't get it to stick to G mode in the User modes like the manual says. At the moment I have it set to the favourite but do prefer that to be for HSTC.

The reason I had never tried it on this bike was that on my last one there was absolutely no difference with it on or off but then that bike didn't seem to respond to any settings, whether modes or power or EB etc, they all felt the same.

 

[mike5100]

Oh and BTW I am now using G Mode mostly and liking it a lot. Still can't really quantify what the difference to it is in the main but it just feels nicer to me. I don't notice any change in the upshift pattern but I do notice it does downshift quicker. Shame I can't get it to stick to G mode in the User modes like the manual says. At the moment I have it set to the favourite but do prefer that to be for HSTC.

The reason I had never tried it on this bike was that on my last one there was absolutely no difference with it on or off but then that bike didn't seem to respond to any settings, whether modes or power or EB etc, they all felt the same.

I've been trying it too (on my 2019 bike) and previously I didn't think I noticed any difference, but now I think it does indeed hold on to a lower gear for longer - for instance it will choose 3rd instead of the normal 4th gear at 30mph in town in D mode. Which got me puzzling as to how this is different from (say) S1 mode 🤷‍♂️
Mike

 

[Hood]

I've been trying it too (on my 2019 bike) and previously I didn't think I noticed any difference, but now I think it does indeed hold on to a lower gear for longer - for instance it will choose 3rd instead of the normal 4th gear at 30mph in town in D mode. Which got me puzzling as to how this is different from (say) S1 mode 🤷‍♂️
Mike

As I said, mine seems to change up at the same point as it normally would in whichever S mode you are in but when slowing down for a corner etc it seems it will change down sooner than it normally would. As for being in a lower gear for a given steady speed I don't see that but then it may be different in D as I never use that. Previously I used S2 but when I got the foot shifter I preferred S1 as it changes up when I would but it was slow to change down but with the foot shifter I could knock it down manually when approaching corners or junctions. With G mode enabled I am finding it is knocking down automatically at the points I would have been doing it manually with the foot shifter.

 

[Hood]

Just been for a short run to the workshop so I had a look. Going through a small village with a speed limit of 20mph and in S1 mode the bike was in 3rd gear with or without G mode enabled, so for me it seems to use the same gear when doing a constant speed no matter whether G mode is enabled.