Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports | First Ride | Motorcyclenews.com
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- The overnight snow has thankfully disappeared and the sunshine is out, and there’s a satisfying bark from the exhaust on Honda’s new flagship as we ascend one of the many twisty mountain roads that dominate this area of southern Spain.
A new model designed to sit alongside the stock Africa Twin, the Africa Twin Adventure Sports has more of an off-road bias, but also the ability to eat up miles like never before. Read more here:
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![ถามตรงๆ กับ อาจตุพร ทำไม ประเทศไทย ใครเป็นนายก ก็โดนด่า พอออกเเล้วคนคิดถึง!!?? l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3YFLMXxBGAs/mqdefault.jpg)
Great, straightforward review. When the presenter is good the production does not need to be fancy.
Yeah I think this is the best review I've seen yet. Too much BS in other reviews and some are like 30 min long and didn't convey half the info this guy did.
Greetings from Chris and Arfan was a pleasure speaking to you and your dad really nice to get great advice from a person with great knowledge and passion for bikes cheers mate
What a great informative review. No fancy schmancy, just good points. Well done mate!
Michael Guy - best MCN reviewer
Finally, a good, informative review from MCN, no desks or waffle in sight!
Thank you and congratulations for this review! =). I have seen many other reviews and opinions about this motorcycle but no none of them were so close to my own thoughts. I consider myself an amateur rider and I get lost in technicisms, to see a review like this which explains the bike in an understandable way helps me a lot, for me you just hit the nail on the head! thank you again and congratulations!
Thank you for this review! I appreciate the focus on the essential revisions, rather than covering all the finer detail, which ends up becoming a review that's too long. A local electronic brochure provides all the detailed spec any way.
Superb review. 👍 Covered the technical changes, covered the ride experience. I think the reviewer nailed it with his summary: it’s not a groundbreaking bike. It’s not a bike of superlatives. It IS an excellent all-rounder for the vast majority of long-distance ADV rider needs.
Pretty much settled that this will be my next motorcycle. I live in a rural area miles down a dirt road, and I have a long commute on winding mountain highway with less-than-perfect pavement. Plus lots of miles of backroads and forest to explore. I have a Cagiva Gran Canyon which is markedly similar to the AT and is ideal out here... but it has become an “old Italian project” more than a useful vehicle.
As far as this updated Africa Twin Adventure Sports, I might need two: one for home in the United States, and one to explore the Philippines with when I head down that way for a couple years of work... I have an opportunity to grow professionally there that is too good to pass up. The northern island of Luzon is quite large, with many miles of poor and broken rural roads to get back into some beautiful landscapes. Good fuel range and a flexible, capable chassis make the AT Adv Sports the perfect motorcycle. Plus it’s a Honda... reliable, and easy to find service when you do need it.
Great review Great Bike and sound!
just gotten one for myself, I hope it helps with the bad nature of roads in my home country.
Ordered one yesterday & this review was really helpful in making the decision to buy. Thanks for posting.
Video angles are the best, keep up with the good footage!
In the flesh it’s down the best looking large ADV, the paint is awesome. My main gripes are vibes at motorway cruise speed and really fiddly cruise control! Didn’t like the DCT but the quick shifter on the manual is brilliant. Overall great value
I wish this channel would include some new review of the Africa Twin and include them in some of the ADV bike comparisons.
I agree with this - it is a straightforward review and more informative! Thanks
Glad I got my 2017 model and did not wait for the 2018.
Love the beefier look i want one !
Saw this in person, fell in love
Good review. Thank you!
I heard someone who rode the Africa Twin (standard bike) & compared it to his ride on the bigger Africa Twin Adventure Sport (ATAS) and found:
- the seating position was not as comfortable on the ATAS. It tired him out faster whereas the AF (standard bike) was fine all day.
- the larger Africa Twin Adventure Sport (ATAS) very "bulky" fuel tank got in the way of his legs.
Besides those the ATAS was a good bike but he preferred the smaller Africa Twin (standard bike).
Top review. These days (2 years later) the off factory prices have been increased significantly.
Any improvements on riding better on roads ?? Or is it still a big dirt bike ?.
30 years ago I had a Honda XLV 750r and then a Suzuki DR 750 and did Oodnadatta, Strezlecki and Birdsville tracks in AUS. 2 years ago I had an F800 gs. The difference between the old bikes and the new? Not much really after 30 years if you take away the electronics.
Great presenter and clear review. Thanks.
Good to see the quality of your videos improving. Nice gimbal shots. Sound still a bit sketchy and you could do better with some drone footage. Who knows, one day you may even catch the MC in terms of views and subscribers to your channel. Good luck.
Very helpful thank you.
Great review!
Excellent and knowledgeable review, thank you for your hard work and effort.
Outstanding!
Strip it and supermoto it 😍
I have a very simple suggestion to Honda.
1. Make it DCT.
2. Instead of having a paddle shifter give it gear liver.
3. Let there be clutch.
So it's a DCT and regular shifting motorcycle.
If you can do this..... This is one one gem of a bike. ❤️
And why only DCT model in India.
one of the best review bravo
Great review, many thanks
Great review... Love the honestly. My take away is, yes you can spend more but you wouldn't necessarily be getting a better adventure bike. I owned as GS but it really couldn't handle the adventure but boy did I enjoy the ride in the city and on the highway.
Still tubed tyres? :( Wish they’d do a road bike with that motor and DCT.
Hate the pirate eye on head lamps. Never could understand why some manufactures do that?
could not agree with you more
Cost half as much that's why!
Safety. Dual headlights on a bike can appear like a car’s headlights that are farther away. But many manufacturers like the look of dual headlights so having one on at a time is the workaround.
Triumph tiger, ducatti muiltistrada, cbr600. Sv650's. Yamaha Fazer. I think a car that's far away looks like a motorcycle to me.
Safety !! An elegant british answer to everything. We should probably carry a massive cutout M sign on top of the helmet to make sure car drivers realize it`s not another car :)
Like having to have a light above the numberplate, wtf? No wait, SAFETY ;)
Michael Guy , Where you been? I don't see your videos that often?
Great review ! I'm so tempted for one of these over a GSA. Would really help if you could say the height of the rider in the reviews.
Now that it's fly by wire does it have cruise control? And does it now have tubeless tyres?
Sam I am ,no cruise control! Sometimes I don't understand how this big companies spend tons on money on "research", when almost every body out there in every forum is asking for cruise control but no sir,we at honda whill put cruise control (maybe) when we want! Who cares about what the actual owner wants! Lol
Can't understand that either. Rider modes, TCS, ABS and so on... Honda will discover CC in next generation of AT. Even cheaper bikes such as new tiger 800 and nonoffroad Tracer 900 GT will get one! Honda team, you are to slow folks! Just add it for God's sake.
Darek Nowak ha,is funny they were some of the first to add led headlight,tha I love,but so slow to implement something on this times basic as cruise control.
Tubed tyres and thats the worst feature.
Why is only one headlight on? The only thing I think of besides a burnt out bulb is that both lights are the high beam.
"moi hoight" well, but what height is that?
(I ask because I am 5'9" and Im wondering how it'll be? 175 cm I think?)
In this test, there were the same tires on off road and on road?
Japanese bike makers pleeeeeaaaaasssee turn both headlights on at the same time 😂
just turn your bright on
Yamaha Super Tenere as both always on
I agree, my Varadero has both lights on
ah no, then it would like a car far away. I would rather someone not pull out in front of me in the dark.
@@hugomick9975 my sporty only has one light!
They should of changed the cheapo foot pegs, added cruise control, made the fuel tank plastic spread under the seats and have a better pillion seat
What are the best road use only tyres to put on this bike?
Beast.
5’8” so I don’t have a lot height assets. Can you get it lowered.?
Nearly bought one. Great but just not scarey enough.
Hi,
Whats your height??
And, whats the total petrol tank for the L2???
I will never use the traction control again on my Africa Twin. The first time I tried to go up a very long steep gravel covered forest road the traction control started to cut the power as the back wheel lost a bit of grip - then it kept cutting power until it brought me to a full stop and over it went onto the right side. What a useless option in my experience. So every time I start the engine TC goes off. Always.
How can it be the same engine as 2016 when there is an increase in stroke to increase displacement and it has redesigneg heads? HP and torque have now increased and the ecu has been remapped. Hardly the same engine!
Which of these changes has been added to the 2018 'standard' AT? I assume more than just ride by wire - better suspension if not the extra travel?
Gary Walker i
You forgot to mention that the new display has smaller characters and is very glare... I just did a test ride and review last weekend and I literally could not see my speed as I was traveling down the road that's not good at all
A 10-minute review and not a single word about the Dual Clutch Transmission and absent clutch lever?
Whats that front tire his running?
still good video,but better than what mcn usually does
África twin or KTM 1090 R?? For road 80% offroad 20%
What height are you? seems you'd have to very tall to ride this bike
i have a neighbor who is 5foot7 whos owns this big honda
What is the Cost of One Used Bike?
need a review of Benelli Leoncino 500
Where is the Honda Africa Twin Enduro Sports?
I want a lightweight, eventually air-cooled version with lower horsepower and no drive by wire of this, something like a GS100-Africa-Twin-Thing.
Just keep the color scheme, please.
Sorry, innertubes are a deal breaker.
Sexy looking machine. Good review mate. Straigh to the point. You know what you're talking
No electronic suspension means a cheaper bike.....Awesome... (I hope !!!!)
The africa Twin ,i love this type of bike,but the drive shaft,saddle,cruise control,More HP,adjustable windscreen..the Tenere 1200 is just more value for money..
I rented one of these bikes last week in Arizona. I did like the exhaust note, and what he says about the suspension is true,but- my V-Strom 1000 will eat this thing for breakfast on the road. Overall on the road its twitchy and - hate to use the word under powered. Its not that so much as underwhelming. Very Honda like power delivery. Linear. Did just a little bit of off road, and it does feel very dirt bike like, although tall and heavy.
this is why i think the AT is more Off road,otherwise you take a tenere 1200,vstrom 1000,versys 1000...
Is there cruise control?
George Bitsadze no!
DCT or not DCT, which would you choose?
DCT
NOT DCT
DCT, I've had hand surgery and can't squeeze a decent clutch all day while off road like I once could.
I have the non dct my17 at I want the dct with the foot shifter.
DCT is perfect on this bike
No doubt its a good bike but its gone really lardy compared to earlier models,it needs the extra power to pull the extra weight
I dont get it... It sounds like almost every new feature u mentioned makes it worse... Higher seat, more bulky, ride by wire. Id rather have a less bulky easier to put a foot down and standard throttle!
Have you ever ridden a GS and then a GSA? If you had you’d understand a bigger heavier bike feel better, more comfortable, more planted and the firmer suspension gives it better feel.
It’s gonna make more bikes available used! Sweet!
Learn how to ride a bigger bike or don't buy one. SMH
Mike X for dreamers. Doesn’t mean it won’t sell though. Just wish they’d do a road bike wish this motor.
Obviously you aren’t into ADV bikes.
@Mike X
I think Honda have played it too safe with this bike. After all the hype of the Africa Twin, 230+ kg and 95hp just did not make it stand out enough for me. This bike gains more height and weight, neither of which appeal to me, and a big hike in price. They should have really pushed themselves and brought out a much lighter bike. I rode the normal Africa Twin against the V-strom, and as much as I wanted to prefer the Twin, the Strom was just as good or better. The strom had a stronger engine, felt as well made, had a great ride and was cheaper. Yes you could argue the twin is better off road, but who is going to take a 230+ kg bike that far from tarmac. I would rather venture off road on an old dr650 for a fraction of the price, at least if it goes over the tears are less, and I stand a good chance of picking it up.
Front fender is still too low to the tire - needs decent hand guards.
Schaaf from Austria almost got killed losing the front end on the road at speed, so be careful on the road and stay within the limits of that front tire. But I really like the bike overall. Fantastic machine. Terrible roads in NE USA and the suspension is great.
Talk about putting a bike through what it was made for. :-D
Can you stroke a bus on it though?
EinkOLED
lol
"CRUMBLE TASTIC"
:-)
Needs an extra 20 ponies to get me interested
how can honda not add cruise control??? for me, that's a deal breaker. a non-starter.
they have, that's the main reason for throttle by wire.
in the reviews that i've read, the reviewers indicated that there's still no cruise control. please show me where you learned otherwise. thx
mcolman02 I dig this bike, but no cc is a deal breaker for me too. I'm told by a friend who worked for Honda for decades, that they don't sell a lot of these here in the US. I told him how, months before the Africa twin was first out in 2016, I saw lots of others complaining about no cc. And I see it again now! My friend said the big market for these is in Europe, not here. So I guess people over there don't want cc or comment about it, thus it's not on it.
Hey Honda, I bought a BMW R1200GSA in October 2015. Absolutely love it. But, my off road riding ability is surpassing my 19" front wheeled 600lb bike. I ride hundreds of miles in a day sometimes. A chunk of that is off-road. Cc helps me save my hand/wrist/arm for the fun stuff. Helps guys like me with repetitive motion work injuries a lot. So does the quick shifter. Too bad yours is external where it can be smashed. That's a liability out on an adventure ride.
You've almost got me Honda. I'm so close. Looking at KTM 1290 SAR...
CRUISE CONTROL
TFT SCREEN(SUPER VISIBLE)
QUICK SHIFTER(less vulnerable)
TONS OF POWER
ABS/TC can be turned off
never thought i'd hear bikers bitching about cruise control
I still struggle to see why you'd need a bike like this in the UK. There are so few bridle paths/off road sections where you can ride without getting shot/shouted/barked at. A lot of money and a lot of compromise on road holding for off road ability, that maybe 80% of owners will never use.
you're way off the mark there bud, first off you cannot ride on Bridleways unless you are on a Horse! secondly there are thousands of green lanes, Byways Open To All Traffic, Un metalled roads etc. that are open to bikes if you can be bothered to look for them, just pick up an OS map.
Agree 80% of riders won't bother off road but these bikes do make good travel / commuter bikes too as they are quite comfortable, have good luggage systems and are easy to handle.
Fair comment, I just think the africa twin goes a bit too far down the off road route compared to a multistrada or tiger. If you're gonna find these byways, surely a crf250 or similar would serve you better?
That is very true - The big adventure bikes are really designed for the long gravel / dirt road traveller not anything too serious off road, as you say a CRF or my choice KTM EXC would be a much better choice. These bikes are big sellers though at the moment ?!
I agree there are more road & off road biased options for the job but these bikes can be used for the daily commute as well, I don't own one but I took a KTM 1290 Adventure out for a couple hours and it was comfortable and useable, I prefer my RSV4 though !!
While this might not be ideal for the UK, it’s absolutely bang on for places like the western US. We have LOTS of wide open country, endless miles of wild land fire roads and logging roads that are open to the public, lots of wilderness to go explore. The bigger tank and better off-road chops of this new Adventure Sports model push the Africa Twin from “want” to “this is my next bike.”
Those who wish to adventure through South America, this would be ideal. Many riders from the US start off in California or Arizona and ride thru Central America, then down the entire continent of South America to Tierra del Fuego.
There are also lots of places in Asia where this thing is perfectly suited. The big northern island of Luzon, in the Philippines, for example. Endless hours of winding backroads and broken pavement and dirt tracks to explore and go see some stunning landscape.
Even in Continental Europe, as you get toward the eastern bloc countries, lots of country where this thing is perfect for exploring.
So while it might be overkill for the UK market, there are plenty of places in the world where avid adventure riders will love this bike.
Bonkers
These motorcycle reviewers really need to start telling us what height they are. It’s totally misleading for shorter guys when people give their opinion on seat height.
Why would anyone buy a Ducati. KTM or triumph, bmw over this when there all £20k. And this is only £12.5k
The KTM 1090 R is about the same price and is a nice package too ;)
Mike Parry as long as you don't bend one of those frame/rear footpeg hangers
In Canada the KTM 1090 is less expensive by $1500
If this were shaft drive,I would have given it serious consideration.Instead,I found an extremely low mileage VFR1200X.👌
COULD THEY HAVE PUT A SKINNIER TIRE IN THE FRONT?
No one looks at the dash when they're standing...if they do, then they're doing it wrong haha
What's his height
BraGa About 5’ 10”
Could be 6ft 3"
No, I know him and he’s about 5’10”
I really like this bike but I live in England and bar some of the crap road surface its extremely unlikely it would be used off road other than a gravel car park as there is no where off road to ride it. Not like the open offroad areas all the reviews are done. Thats it's selling point and advertising base. I can't decide if it's a bit dare I say pointless in the UK. Would I be better off with a decent road bike designed for the road rather than an adventure bike destined to never go off road.
You keep saying "offroad" but then show the bike on unsealed roads. Where is the offroad portion of the test?
So under powered road bike with no electronics but good off road, got it. Honda as usual taken eyes well off the ball, well done
Meh, power is fine, I think. Not something to ride fast on road in the first place. Want to ride fast, get a bike like yours in your pic.
fattymcgee123 where does it fit in. Purely off road bike? Better bikes out there and cheaper, road bike ? It’s a Honda joke, dual purpose far better bikes. Honda have in my humble opinion gone right of the boil
yeah, fair enough. Def not a purely offroad bike, guess you'd have to be in the market for dual sport to know the pros and cons of it. For what it's worth, I'd weigh the price vs reliability of the machine. Parts far easier to find and cheaper (for where I am) than, say, "exotics" like Triumph or Ducati. I just want honda to make a goldwing "light" for someone like my dad.
In the real world, it has enough power and is a great road bike where you don't end up doing silly speeds, I wouldn't say no to a bit more power for the overtakes, but speed on the road is plenty.
Drzee1968 fair enough but if your looking at road bikes there are loads of bikes that are more able, certainly cheaper more technologically advanced. Back to the point of where it fits in ? Iconic name poor product look at the blade, left behind by opposition a real shame same as Africa twin great pedigree but .....
The Africa Twin looks like it's wearing adv goggles.
7:20 the exact problem with this bike. If it had 15% more power it would pretty much be the ideal bike.
90(ish)HP offroad is plenty. More just digs holes.
There is something known as the real world, unless you really do live purely in dirt then 90HP should be fine.
They’re too high for me. And I’m a 32 inseam.
It still needs more power
Your right... Needs more Power! Africa twin with 115-120 hp woud be perfekt. Switching Power per Electronic, from road to offroad
Please tell Honda to stop forcing DCT on everyone....
If it weighed 100 lbs. less it would be perfect.
KTM.
I got a Varadero 1000. Same weight, same power so wtf?
Lol. Make your homework better, boy.
Wet Weight: 243 kg for CRF1000L2, 276.7 kg for XL1000VA.
Front wheel travel: 252 mm vs. 155 mm
Rear wheel travel: 240 mm vs. 145 mm
Ground clearance: 270 mm vs. 180 mm
Wheels: 21/18 offroad wire wheels on the AT, 19/17 road alloys on the Varadero.
Africa Twin is a true touring enduro, capable for heave offroad trips. While Varadero is just an old heavy bike for the bad tarmac roads.
Ride the the Africa Twin and you'll understand :)
if this bike not tube tyre, no one buy bmw ktm and other.
....Dirt covered front by artist made, looks unreal. 😜......
Yep, no dirt on down pipes and only on lights and not fairing?? Sad MCN, very sad :(
Surely Honda has missed a trick here. Both BMW & Yamaha produce similar machines with shaft drive. On long cross continental travels with much of it on gravel / dirt roads the last thing you want to worry about is chain maintenance. Otherwise it's a winner!