2017 Bikesales Big-Bore Adventure Bike Comparison: Honda Africa Twin

The return of the Africa Twin moniker has been a resounding success. Bikesales rode the parallel twin for the first time in early 2016 through the South Island of New Zealand, and the feedback was overwhelming: Honda was back in the adventure game with a bike that wasn't pushing the limits of technology (save for the dual clutch transmission version) but instead got its runs on the board by simply being bigger than the sum of its parts. That's why the Africa Twin won us over, despite modest performance figures and a bike that was really only light on for features.

About nine months later it was crowned as the inaugural winner of the Bikesales Bike of the Year award, defeating the BMW S 1000 XR and Yamaha XSR900 in a cut-throat final deliberation.

Equipment
The 2017 Bikesales Big-Bore Adventure Comparo was the first chance we'd had to put the Africa Twin up against the likes of BMW, Triumph, Ducati and KTM in a multi-pronged battle of the adventure heavyweights. At $16,999 (the base machine costs $14,499), the Honda brings a very different mindset to the table compared to the British and Euro tackle, with just the single riding mode for a start. Also, don't go looking for heated grips, auxiliary power sockets or tyre pressure monitoring, and there's no screen or seat adjustment. There are no crash bars, either.

There is four-way traction control (including off) though, and our comparo model was the middle-spec version of the Africa Twin (aka CRF1000L) with ABS. The ABS can be turned off at the rear but not switched off entirely.

The Showa suspension, including 45mm forks, has manual adjustment, including a remote preload hand wheel. It has the same sized hoops as the KTM 1290 Super Adventure R – 90/90-21 front and 150/70-18 rear. They were the only two bikes on test with a 21-inch front tyre – and the best fun in the loose stuff.

Meanwhile, the $14,499 base model doesn't have ABS or traction control, and the dual clutch transmission version is $17,999. For full details on the 2017 iterations of the Africa Twin, including some minor tweaks, click here.

Fun in the saddle
The Africa Twin isn't a bike that requires too much of an introduction – it's there to be ridden.

Let's start with the 998cc parallel twin engine. It had the lowest horsepower and torque on test (94hp/98Nm), by some measure, but seat-of-the-pants riding suggested we weren't really being short-changed that much at all. It's smooth, more than punchy enough off the bottom and works up an adequate head of steam as it approaches its 8000rpm redline. Lovely gearbox, too.

Of course, Honda has the capacity to engineer a much more potent powerplant, but for an adventure bike with an off-road bias the company has got it just about right. The Africa Twin recorded the best fuel consumption on test – 6.23lt/100km – but it also has the smallest tank at 18.5 litres.

It's off-road where the Africa Twin shines, as that skinny 21-inch front wheel cuts through everything in its path. That's confidence inspiring, and you can actually push on relatively hard and stay there – the sign of a well-sorted and compliant package. Standing up is easy with the Africa Twin's slim waist, too. The chassis includes a semi-doubled cradle steel frame, the same as found on the firm's CRF450R Rally bike.

With the most suspension travel of all the bikes on test – 230mm at the front and 220mm at the rear – the 232kg (dry) Africa Twin loves the rough stuff, and doesn't get intimidated when a dirt road shows some real teeth – or slosh.

When the going gets tough
On day two, we were riding back to Mildura in the dark when we hit a very wet patch on a straight dirt road. It did suggest a speed reduction to 60km/h, but it was 7:45pm and we were hungry… As expected, the Africa Twin made short work of slicing its way through the slop, while some of the Honda's heavier adventure brethren struggled.

The ability to change or turn off traction control on the fly makes the Africa Twin an even more attractive off-road proposition and, while the least sculpted and narrowest seat on test didn't look comfortable, it actually held its own – even on the longer road stretches.

It's still a 'sit on' bike, though, but didn't produce as much of a wind blast as the KTM or Suzuki V-Strom 1000XT on the open road, despite its small screen.

For such a solid off-road practitioner, it is a bit incongruous that the footpegs are so tiny, although you can take out the rubber inserts to add some grip and bite. Otherwise, head to the accessories catalogue to help you out. It'd also be nice to see lugs on the sidestand.

There was a fair bit of dust on the ride, and Honda has engineered a solution to deal with it. There's no ram-air effect into the engine as such, but instead three holes underneath the headlight channel into vertically stacked air filters underneath the front fairing.

All the vital information for the Africa Twin is displayed on a top LCD screen, followed by three smaller ones below. Scrolling between the screens is simple, too. There's a full gamut of information, including average and instantaneous fuel consumption, average speed and multiple trip meters, and when the fuel light starts flashing there's a countdown of how much fuel is left. That starts at 3.3 litres — which on conservative riding will give you about 80km to empty.

Summing up
The Africa Twin is Australia's biggest selling adventure bike, with 404 units sold in the first half of 2017. That's not only a function of great price, but also mechanical and chassis packages that are just so impressive. It's an off-road star but one that can also commute, scratch and bang out some fast touring. Mr Versatile.

It was opined on the comparo that the Africa Twin is like an overgrown enduro bike, while the others are, in the true sense of the words, 'adventure bikes'. That's a fairly apt description.

SPECS: HONDA AFRICA TWIN
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke SOHC, eight-valve parallel twin with 270-degree crank
Capacity: 998cc
Bore x stroke: 92.0mm x 75.1mm
Engine management: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 94hp (70kW) at 7500rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 98Nm at 6000rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, multiplate or DCT with on and off-riding modes

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Steel semi-double cradle
Front suspension: 45mm upside-down forks, fully adjustable, 230mm travel
Rear suspension: Monoshock, fully adjustable, 220mm travel
Front brakes: 310mm wave discs with radial four-piston calipers and sintered metal pads, ABS standard on CRF1000LA and CRF1000DCT
Rear brake: 256mm wave disc with twin-piston caliper, ABS standard on CRF1000LA and CRF1000DCT
Tyres: Front 90/90-21, rear 150/70-18

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Trail: 101mm
Claimed dry weight: 231kg standard, 242kg ABS/DCT
Seat height: 850/870mm, lower (840/860) and higher (880/900)
Ground clearance: 250mm
Wheelbase: 1575mm
Fuel capacity: 18.5 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $14,499 standard, $16,999 ABS, $17,999 DCT/ABS
Test bike supplied by: Honda Australia
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres

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