im pretty sure all the bikes are manuall... eventho i wouldnt be surprised if BMW made sometjhing lke semi auto or something... but yea, no doubt... especially sport bikes... also, have you looked into the 650R... when you get you're bike.. you'll grown into it and belive me (if you like it) you;lll keep it... and the 650R will take a lot longer to grow out of.. still light and small too