Yamaha recently filed a patent in the United States for an enduro motorcycle with a continuously variable transmission. The CVT, as it's better known, is one of the most efficient means of transferring power in an automobile application. Yamaha, as well as nearly every other manufacturer of modern scooters, already uses simple CVT transmissions in its line of small-bore scooters, but the gearless transmissions have yet to make an appearance for off-road applications. While the inherent efficiency of the design is one reason we are interested, we also imagine that the single cylinder engine design used by nearly every off-road motorcycle would be well suited to the CVT's strengths. New riders would likely appreciate the ease at which the machine would operate, as no gear lever or traditional handlebar-mounted clutch lever would be necessary to access the smooth and steady acceleration. While durability could be a potential concern, we're looking forward to seeing what the tuning fork company is able to work up.

[Source: Gizmag]

As we've reported before, Nissan is committed to the continuously variable transmission (CVT) for use in passenger cars due to the environmental improvements that the alternative transmission's enhanced efficiency allows. CVT transmissions are not locked into set gear ratios, instead they can offer any ratio which falls in between their minimum and maximum values as defined by multiple internal pulleys or planetary gearsets. In 2007, Nissan surpassed its stated goal of selling a million CVT transmission units in passenger cars by selling 1,088,000 in total, just less than thirty percent of its total global sales. In North America and Japan, though, the CVT represents almost half of Nissan's total transmission output.

Just how much good are Nissan's CVT's for the environment? Nissan's data suggests that a million cars equipped with CVT's is equal to the carbon reduction of 200,000 hybrids -- many of which use CVT transmissions as it is.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]