Africa Twin Adventure Sports.

[Gerontious]

After owning the bike for 6 months...

 

 

(But this is also a review of the Standard AT which is identical.. only physically smaller)

20th November 2018 price OTR including centre stand fitted. £11,944

Good points:It fits me almost perfectly (no mean feat). I will need to lower the pegs a little at some point… but theres no mad rush. its not that important. The bars could also do with moving very slightly backwards.as and when.

A small but still significant upgrade on my previous bike. A move downwards from 1085cc to 998cc but the result is more power, more torque. and significantly better fuel economy with a tank range of 300 miles. Fast and eager. with the mother of all quick-shifters. LED everything. Decent seat height - 35.4”. Heated grips on wide bars. No Cables to fray and snap. Impossible to stall. Super smooth (click-click) gear changes. Great brakes as standard. Good suspension. Tiny Lithium battery.

Honda offer 3 different seats for the bikes. (820mm - 900mm)

Bad points: Tubed wheels as standard, which suits a lot of people round the world, especially where off roading is a big deal or "normal". But isn’t really appropriate for me on a bike like this in the UK. I knew even before buying the bike that those wheels would have to go. and they’ve gone.

The vast majority of after market luggage makes the bike stupidly wide.. which some owners think is a good thing!! (it isn’t) The stock panniers fit without any kind of scaffolding and are just mms wider than the bars.. but at £650 fitted. not cheap. Other minor gripe is the power socket that came as standard is only rated at 2A. So pretty useless for anything more demanding than a GPS or phone.

Would you get another? Definitely, without a moments hesitation.

Any other comments?

Bought it without a road test as the bike I specifically wanted wasn’t available to test. Not a big deal. I knew just by looking at it that it would fit me and i also knew that I would like the engine. I also knew that moving from an older BMW to a brand new Honda would take some adjustments.. especially the completely daft (but normal for Japanese) indicator switch. and insanely stupid Horn switch position.

I also knew that a short road test would not in any way answer my questions about the transmission. Which a large number of people will try and reject because its so very very weird. Weird until you get used to it… and that takes time. in the event it took me 10 minutes to get used to it.. and a couple of months to explore it completely and work out the best settings for my riding style. and settings for the various conditions i ride in mostly. I thought it would be good.. it’s not good, its bloody fantastic.

It also has a very neat bar that goes over the top of the instruments that is perfect for a GPS/phone and in my opinion the best (safest) place to have one of these. There is also a switched power outlet hidden behind the fairing that is ideal to connect up to. There is another switched connector under the seat.

The bike is a bit of an oddity for this day and age, a top of the line bike that has fuses. A bit old fashioned maybe.. but it makes it far less complicated or fussy about what you connect up. It also has a steel fuel tank.

The bars that are intended to offer some protection to the plastics are pre-drilled and threaded to fit auxiliary lights if required. Lights are bright enough though for me. Front indicators double-up as constantly lit driving lights. Rear hazards also flash rapidly and automatically in the case of heavy braking as a warning to following traffic. (a neat touch)

Horn is fairly pathetic.. but its not something I use much anyway.

My other bike was completely wacky when i first bought it. and this follows on from that by being even wackier. Its Bonkers.

Oh.. and it has an exhaust sound that is crazy. The sort of noise that people pay an arm and a leg for by upgrading their bike with a new system. followed by a remap/re-jet to make it work. But.. with this bike. This sound is standard with the stock exhaust and is loud and very distinctive. like no other twin I’ve ever heard. Like most stock exhausts its not pretty though and is something I’ll be changing as and when.

Its a great bike and compared to others in the same segment, its direct competitors: a bargain.

[Smithers]

A good review Gerontious. The black wheels suit the bike.

[The GOAT]

Nice, I saw one near me with an Akrapovic exhaust on and it truly sounded mint with a nice thumping burble to it.

I've seen more of these than GS's recently.

[Bender]

It's the gold wheels, they stand out, last time In Thailand the only bike I remember had gold wheels.

They are very distinctive bikes and definitely seeing more of them on the roads.

Excellent writeup.

[Mr Fro]

Nice write up.

[ignorance] What is it with the wheels then? I thought that tubed tyres would be better for off roading and such - easier to sort a major puncture, no? [/ignorance]

[Gerontious]

Nice write up.

[ignorance] What is it with the wheels then? I thought that tubed tyres would be better for off roading and such - easier to sort a major puncture, no? [/ignorance]

 

Tubed are pretty much essential for off road as you can run them at extremely low pressures for extra grip/traction in very nadgery conditions. 12psi +/- Like anything there is a knack to changing tyres (in the wild) but however way you look at it its a major hassle. Taking the wheel off the bike. getting the tyre off and the tube fixed or replaced. then getting the tyre back on and the wheel back on the bike. fingers crossed all the time that you haven't caused a 'pinch flat'.

On the road. a tubed tyre can easily be a genuine liability. It can deflate instantly and without any stiffness to the side wall mean your practically riding on the rims. Also.. in general off road tubed rims do not have the 'safety lip' which is what prevents a tubeless tyre coming off the rim after a puncture. So.. a puncture at motorway speeds for example could mean the tyre goes instantly flat and then comes off the rim completely. Doesn't bear thinking about.

On the Africa Twin, the rear wheel has this "Safety lip" but the front wheel does not. There are various companies that offer to convert the tubes wheels to tubeless.. but because of the inherent dangers of the front wheel.. they insist that it must be changed. So, you send both wheels to them and they send back the original rear - converted and a brand new front. The wheels have to go to Italy for this treatment. called BARTubeless. https://tinyurl.com/yxurouh9

Or you can buy ready done wheels from various places here in the UK that have already passed through the BARTubeless procedure.

Or you can swap the wheels completely for tubeless.. and there are two choices Alpina https://tinyurl.com/y5jq2djl Or kineo. (which I have)

I have no intention of ever going off road... so tubed wheels were just wrong for me. And so they had to go.

There are a lot of complaints about the wheels.. even some hard-core off roaders say they would have preferred rims that were suitable for both tubed and tubeless. BMW do this.. So does Triumph. Even Honda does.. their wacky scooter type adventure thingy has these types of wheels.. so does the VFR1200X.

but not.. regrettably, the Africa Twin.

[Mr Fro]

Thanks for the info [mention]Gerontious[/mention], I didn't know all that!

[Gerontious]

Yesterday marked one year since I got this bike.

Over the past 12 months its had a single warranty claim for moisture that got between the inner and outer covers of the instrument panel. A known fault that Honda didn't argue with and fixed. Aside from that - no problems at all.

And no regrets about buying it either.

Changes Ive made:

New tubeless wheels. Exhaust end can. Seat. Pillion seat luggage plate. Screen. Headlamp covers. Fork covers. Handlebar crossbar. Fork adjusters. And Tankside knee pads/stickers.

[Smithers]

Nice one Gerontious, myself as a Honda owner, I can't fault their engineering, their pedigree speaks volume for it. My only gripe with Honda is that their designs are looking a bit bland compared to other makes, I'm thinking Yamaha, Suzuki and Triumph who seem to pull out a great looking well designed good seller on a regular basis. Looking at Honda bikes recently doesn't really inspire me to buy another one at the moment. If I were to do an upgrade in the near future, I would seriously be looking at the Yamaha Tracer 900GT, great looking bike and decent spec for the money.

[Gerontious]

I owned a BMW for a long time and so as a consequence of that a bikes 'looks' are secondary to how it rides.

My own personal opinion of this bikes aesthetics is that its very 'Bright'.. its not subtle. Its very distinctive compared to practically anything else in this sector of the market. And the Tracer is not in that same segment.

Also.. all the other makers are seriously lacking in one very particular way. After riding this bike for a year including a weeklong trip to the eifel. Ive become a huge fan of the gear box/transmission. none of the other makers do anything like it and so are for the time being off my radar and indeed trading it in for anything else would be 'downgrading'. A big step backwards.

I would be more likely to get a BMW.. if Im going to downgrade.. do it with style. No half measures.

[Smithers]

It's a good job we're all different in our buying tastes, it's that diversity that keeps the motorcycle industry going and making the competition between them strong. Enjoy your Africa Twin Gerontious and I hope you rack up many good enjoyable miles on it.

[The GOAT]

Nice looking bike for sure but can't help feeling it's missing them gold wheels

[S-Westerly]

Africa Twin was on my short list of bikes but my short arsed legs just couldn't cope with it. I needed a step ladder to mount! My Ducati Multistrada is bad enough and I have to be careful not to put my foot down on the downhill side of any slope or it gets embarrassing fast.

[skyrider]

you mean you might end up going down in the world

[Six30]

nice looking bikes , lot of money for a massive scooter.

[bonio]

Africa Twin was on my short list of bikes but my short arsed legs just couldn't cope with it. I needed a step ladder to mount! My Ducati Multistrada is bad enough and I have to be careful not to put my foot down on the downhill side of any slope or it gets embarrassing fast.

 

Oooh. Ducati Multistrada. Nice bike

[Pie man]

I'm in the market for a new steed next year. I have a test ride booked next week to take out the KTM 1290 Adventure S, a bike I have been interested in for a while, and one that will replace the Bavarian Mudslinger in the New year. I have read this review several times now and thought I need to give the bike a try. So in the meantime I took the big Honda Africa Twin (DCT) out for a test ride today. I have to say I was impressed with the big Honda, I liked the smoothness of the DCT and the ergonomics of the bike were just right, I liked the bars being that bit closer to my body and couldn't believe how comfortable it was to ride. Anyhow this has now thrown a spanner in the works, if the mighty KTM doesn't come up trumps next week, and I resist a test ride on a 1250GS, It might just be the big Honda for me.

[Gerontious]

Now with added corned beef cans.

 

[Mawsley]

On 23/05/2019 at 22:44, Gerontious said:

 

Tubed are pretty much essential for off road as you can run them at extremely low pressures for extra grip/traction in very nadgery conditions. 12psi +/- Like anything there is a knack to changing tyres (in the wild) but however way you look at it its a major hassle. Taking the wheel off the bike. getting the tyre off and the tube fixed or replaced. then getting the tyre back on and the wheel back on the bike. fingers crossed all the time that you haven't caused a 'pinch flat'.

 

On the road. a tubed tyre can easily be a genuine liability. It can deflate instantly and without any stiffness to the side wall mean your practically riding on the rims. Also.. in general off road tubed rims do not have the 'safety lip' which is what prevents a tubeless tyre coming off the rim after a puncture. So.. a puncture at motorway speeds for example could mean the tyre goes instantly flat and then comes off the rim completely. Doesn't bear thinking about.

 

On the Africa Twin, the rear wheel has this "Safety lip" but the front wheel does not. There are various companies that offer to convert the tubes wheels to tubeless.. but because of the inherent dangers of the front wheel.. they insist that it must be changed. So, you send both wheels to them and they send back the original rear - converted and a brand new front. The wheels have to go to Italy for this treatment. called BARTubeless. https://tinyurl.com/yxurouh9

 

Or you can buy ready done wheels from various places here in the UK that have already passed through the BARTubeless procedure.

 

Or you can swap the wheels completely for tubeless.. and there are two choices Alpina https://tinyurl.com/y5jq2djl Or kineo. (which I have)

 

I have no intention of ever going off road... so tubed wheels were just wrong for me. And so they had to go.

 

There are a lot of complaints about the wheels.. even some hard-core off roaders say they would have preferred rims that were suitable for both tubed and tubeless. BMW do this.. So does Triumph. Even Honda does.. their wacky scooter type adventure thingy has these types of wheels.. so does the VFR1200X.

but not.. regrettably, the Africa Twin.

Ba-bump.

 

I’ve not been a fan of tubes for ages. Despite the off-road ability, they outstrip my hedge-based spanner skills.

 

I bought myself all the Adventure Spec farkles to facilitate easy rubber replacement and set aside a long weekend to practice taking boots on and off the XT600E. It ended up being a red-faced sweary fat man venting loudly at inanimate objects for five hours - and zero tyres taken off the rim.

 

Limiting myself to gravel tracks and easy dry trails, the AT isn’t going to see conditions requiring low inflation pressures. So, my question to myself is do I buy a set of tubeless rims or suck it up and look to spend the £2000 as a down payment on a ‘24 model in a year’s time - the next time Honda try to shift stock over winter. Or just buy a recovery package. I’m a naturally lazy bloke, I think I’ll just pay Green Flag £50.

 

I do like that Scorpion, looks far better than the OEM can.

[Gerontious]

The wheels were an extravagance. but, when I bought the bike something unexpected happened. I got a loan for the full amount and then on the day they reduced the price - significantly. (this was in November)

 

At the time there were 3 options. SM-Pro. which have the bartubeless treatment. essentially a solid rubber band is bonded to the inside of the wheel and fully covers the spoke ends. Or Alpina, which relies on Orings to seal the spokes. Or Kineo. I had the cash for the first two and really ummed and aahed. then just went for the Kineo - this was over Christmas so I was doing a shedload of overtime and ordered them in January. they arrived after a 9 week wait. The rims are solid and the spokes are held on the inner track of the wheel. I knew about them, mostly because they had been an order upgrade for some MV-Agusta specials. and other Special builds/customs. Once again black everything to make cleaning a breeze.

 

 

I thought the black exhaust would look alright, it has an outer ceramic coating so it doesn't take much effort at all to keep it looking good. a wipe and done. Im quite lazy about cleaning to be honest. Again I was lucky and had a 20% eBay voucher and used it.

I really wanted the Termignoni, but couldn't justify that kind of money for what was really just an aesthetic change. Changing just for looks rather than any kind of performance benefit.

 

 

[Copycat73]

well i did try one of these .. honda newcastle had several  at hartside cafe .. something organised by honda uk .. came in a big truck with all the roadshow trappings you would expect .. they took us on   good mix of road ....and off road around  Cowshill Bishop Auckland ... frankly too big for off road and not powerfull enough for road use ... trying to be both and it didn`t work .. bought an enduro instead and kept my honda road bike.

 

 

[Steve_M]

On 07/01/2020 at 23:29, Gerontious said:

Now with added corned beef cans.

 

What capacity are those panniers? 
 

The question of what to buy to replace my current bike pops up in my mind from time to time* and luggage capacity is a significant factor. 

 

* translation. Frequently. 

[Gerontious]

@Steve_M there were 3 sizes. call them small medium and large. I went for the medium as they are a total of just 1" wider than the mirrors. 1/2" either side. this makes filtering a tad less stressful and thats important to me. if the mirrors will fit through a gap then I don't really need to worry about the panniers. except in very rare circumstances.

 

 40/36L

 

there is also a 35/31 and 45/41

 

one minor point in their favour.. unlike some pannier frames. no 'surgery' was required. ie with some frames holes need to be drilled though plastic. usually behind the rear brake light. not always.. but sometimes. you need to look at the fitting instructions before you commit to any particular brand. if you don't want that kind of a hassle.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Gerontious

[Steve_M]

23 hours ago, Gerontious said:

@Steve_M there were 3 sizes. call them small medium and large. I went for the medium as they are a total of just 1" wider than the mirrors. 1/2" either side. this makes filtering a tad less stressful and thats important to me. if the mirrors will fit through a gap then I don't really need to worry about the panniers. except in very rare circumstances.

 

 40/36L

 

there is also a 35/31 and 45/41

 

one minor point in their favour.. unlike some pannier frames. no 'surgery' was required. ie with some frames holes need to be drilled though plastic. usually behind the rear brake light. not always.. but sometimes. you need to look at the fitting instructions before you commit to any particular brand. if you don't want that kind of a hassle.

Thanks for the info’. The ones you’ve chosen are about the same capacity as those on my GS and would probably be my choice, too. Shame they’re different capacities, mind. A consequence of the idiot high exhaust, no doubt. 

[Gerontious]

1 minute ago, Steve_M said:

Thanks for the info’. The ones you’ve chosen are about the same capacity as those on my GS and would probably be my choice, too. Shame they’re different capacities, mind. A consequence of the idiot high exhaust, no doubt. 

 

Yes.. the exhaust side is identical at the top and a little narrower at the bottom. so from above you get a more balanced look. And also.. the panniers are held closer to the bike - unlike some panniers that seem to stick out a stupid amount with the exhaust side being narrower and looking very unbalanced. 

 

soft panniers.. but the effect is the same (with some other brands)