2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports review

It's not always possible to test a new bike in its intended theatre of operation, so Bikesales was thrilled to recently put Honda's heavily revamped adventure bike flagship, the Africa Twin Adventure Sports, through its paces against a fitting backdrop – a run to the most northerly community in Western Australia's Kimberley district, Kalumbaru.

A guest of Daryl Beattie Adventures on one of its Honda Africa Twin rides, over a week and 2600 kilometres I joined four other riders for an epic journey through this remote corner of Australia. And while for the majority of my time in the country's north-west I was aboard a standard, manual-transmission Africa Twin, for the toughest day I managed to snaffle the key to Daryl's own ride, the Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT – one of if not the first to reach our shores, no less.

Back of beyond
The day in questions saw us leave the safety of our backup vehicle, a military-tough example of Iveco's Eurocargo 4x4 (click here to see my review on sister site, trucksales.com.au), and push north from the one-million-acre Drysdale River Station.

Now Drysdale is remote in itself, located about 60km north of the middle of the infamous Gibb River Road, but it's another 200km north from here to Kalumbaru, which as the crow flies lies roughly halfway between Broome and Darwin.

From here we'd head a further 30km north to Honeymoon Bay, to where the tracks run out – or at least that was the plan (more on that later!).

But before I delve into the trials and tribulation of traversing a route that had only been opened a few days before after being rendered 'impassable' for the wet season, let's take a look at what Honda has done to improve on the standard Africa Twin.

Top pedigree
The inaugural winner of our Bikesales Bike of the Year award in 2016, for 2018 Honda is offering three Africa Twin models: a standard, manual-transmission model ($17,499 plus ORC), plus two Africa Twin Adventure Sports models in either manual ($19,499 plus ORC) or Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) automatic form ($19,999 plus ORC).

All three come with anti-lock brakes as standard, and all three now benefit from a ride-by-wire throttle with a choice of four ride modes, seven-level traction control (or Honda Selectable Torque Control, in Honda-speak), wire-spoked wheels, and various tweaks to produce "stronger mid-range response".

However, the bulk of the buzz centres on the two Adventure Sports models, which up the ante in the adventure-touring stakes significantly. The pair boast longer-travel suspension (with a rise in seat height from 850/870mm to 900/920mm), a flatter seat profile, more upright riding position, a larger screen, a bigger sump guard and a wrap-around crash bar.

Fuel capacity on the Adventure Sports models has been increased by 5.4 litres (for a total of 24.2 litres, up from the standard model's 18.8 litres), while the pair also boast heated handlebar grips as standard.

Both Adventure Sports models are only available in a special tri-colour paint scheme – a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the very first Africa Twin, the XRV650, in 1988.

Adventure bound
I fell for the Africa Twin's many charms during our 2017 Bikesales Big-Bore Adventure Bike shootout, which saw us guide half-a-dozen different models from Melbourne to the Willandra Lakes region in outback New South Wales. And while I was entirely happy with my standard Africa Twin both back then and over the first few days in the Kimberley, I was eager to sample the new model for our run to Kalumbaru.

Our party of four was ready to hit the track at 6:00am, as we needed as much time up our sleeves to make the 460-odd kilometre route to Honeymoon Bay and back to Drysdale River Station before sundown. However, the previous night, on telling the bloke behind the bar at Drysdale of our next day's destination, the look on his face said it all…

"Why'd ya want to go there?" he said, chuckling under his breath.

Turns out he'd been there before – in 2010 – and he never intended to go back, while the latest intel suggested the first 150 kays were 'good' (a relative term out here), and the last 50 to Kalumbaru were 'bad' (which, for city folk, usually translates to 'horrendous').

So there was a real sense of adventure in the air when we shut the gate behind us at Drysdale River Station, and headed for the Kimberley's most northerly outpost.

Big update
The differences between the Adventure Sport and the standard Africa Twin are, for the most part, stark. For a start, it's a clear 50mm higher, which means even my lanky self, at 188cm (6ft 2in), had to limber up before throwing a leg over. As a result you sit higher and the slightly more upright ride position enhances control in trickier sections.

The Adventure Sport felt like a better fit for me right off the bat. Standing on the pegs which, like all of the Daryl Beattie Adventures fleet, had had their rubber pad removed to leave the bear-trap-style metal platforms beneath, I didn't need to stoop forwards to reach the wide and fairly flat bars, like I did (a little) on the base model.

The digital LCD instrument panel has been redesigned too, and features a more legible layout that presents everything you need to know in a logical fashion. It's still difficult to read in direct sunlight – especially when covered in dust – but I noted there's now a small sun visor over the top of it, which helps.

The tech has been upgraded in the form a new ride-by-wire throttle with a choice of four ride modes: Tour, Gravel, Urban and User. Each one sees the bike adopt different maps for power, engine braking and traction control, with the latter now offering a choice of seven different settings (up from three on the predecessor).

'User' mode allows the rider to set each of these parameters to their liking, essentially creating a customised package just for the bike's regular rider.

The brakes copped an easy time of it on these predominantly wide, open outback roads, but the twin-disc setup up front feels strong and delivers decent feedback, while the ABS can be deactivated on the rear wheel (but only when at a standstill, in neutral).

So far, so good…
We covered the first 150km north without a worry. A grader had already ironed out the corrugations for a decent section, while elsewhere the going was relatively smooth save for the frequent floodplains, where a dip and often a water crossing required some extra care.

Soon after the turnoff to the region's famous Mitchell Falls, however, things took a turn for the worse. The road became tighter and more undulating, and the surface became rocky, then sandy, they rocky again. The river crossings became deeper and more frequent – nothing like a sign stating, "Crocs: swimming not advised" to speed up the process – and the heat, which peaked at 37 degrees, started to take its toll.

Still, the rolling countryside was spectacular and the rough going served as a great test for the Africa Twin, which was lapping up the challenge far better than its rider as we rolled into Kalumbaru.

The fully adjustable Showa suspension did a great job of soaking up the hits both big and small, and only on one particularly nasty section did I smack the sump guard on a rock – pretty good going, given the weight of the bike (253kg wet) and rider (100kg).

Daryl reckons the suspension is spot-on right out of the box for the sort of terrain he covers with his tours, while he had to fettle the older Africa Twins to get them to a similar standard. The aftermarket Öhlins suspension on what was his previous bike bears this out.

Top tech
I stuck the new Africa Twin in Gravel mode, naturally, and opted for the sequential manual mode for the automatic transmission. I also killed the traction control entirely, as even with minimal intervention the bike was prone to bogging down and losing precious momentum through the deep, sandy sections.

I've ridden DCT Hondas before – the VFR1200F was the last, from memory – and to be honest I've been a little skeptical. Unless you have some physical impediment with your left hand or foot, why would you bother?

At least that's what I thought before this day on the Africa Twin…

As the mercury climbed past triple the daily maximum of home (Melbourne), and my strength waned as the sand deepened, I began spending more time sailing over the handlebars than sitting behind them. The last Superman impression saw me smack my bonce (thankyou, Airoh) and tweak my ankle, and so with just a handful of kays to go to Honeymoon Bay, I called it quits and headed back to Kalumbaru, to rest and rehydrate before the 200km run south back to Drysdale River Station.

It's just not worth pushing past your limits in remote country like this, where the nearest help is hours – and a Royal Flying Doctor flight – away.

It was disappointed not to reach the beach, but no reflection on the new Africa Twin, although I will make the general observation that of a quarter of a tonne of motorcycle is a lot to muscle around and especially to pick up off the deck, if that particular fate raises its ugly head.

Righting it is more of a two-person operation than a solo affair, although I have to say I'd still prefer to have the extra range afforded by the boost in fuel capacity (and thus the subsequent extra weight).

It was in these circumstances – and after spending all day on the auto – that I realised I actually preferred it to the manual. Shifting by pushing either of the two small paddles on the left-hand bar is rapid and seamless, and when your energy levels are shot, not having to shift manually is simply one less thing to do.

You can choose between manual and fully auto shifting modes, where the bike matches a ratio to your speed by itself. I didn't like handing over this level of control, but Daryl reckons he spends a lot of his time in the fully auto 'sport' mode (which adopts more aggressive shift points).

Extra beef
Honda says the newie has more mid-range response, but to be honest I couldn't really pick it – rest assured there's plenty of poke whenever you need it.

Honda Australia doesn't quote official power and torque figures for the 2018 Africa Twin but Honda UK's website lists outputs of 97hp at 7500rpm and 99Nm at 6000rpm. That's heaps for rough terrain, and still plenty for high-speed highway work. The bike tops out somewhere north of 210km/h, by the way (or so we're told!).

It really is an impressive engine, deceptively smooth for a parallel-twin, and more than once did I catch myself scooting along at 100km/h in third gear, before realising and knocking it up to fifth or sixth. Redline is indicated at 7750rpm, but for the most part I kept the engine spinning around 4500rpm and all seemed right with the world.

Fuel economy hovered somewhere around 5.2lt/100km for the week which, with its boosted tank capacity, spells a safe range of over 400km – significantly more if you're simply cruising down the blacktop.

Daryl approaches river crossings with far more caution on the Africa Twin than he does with the Honda CRF450X enduros he uses on his Cape York and Simpson Desert tours, and for good reason. If you go down in a crossing and drown an Africa Twin, it's a far longer process to drain and dry the bike and get it going again.

For that reason we ended up walking the bikes through crossings where you'd otherwise ride, just to be safe.

However, we witnessed first-hand what was involved in stripping an Africa Twin down when, on the return to Drysdale River Station, my bike began coughing and spluttering, nearly conking out before taking off again.

Daryl managed to limp home on it as I swapped back to the standard Africa Twin (and its manual six-speeder – bugger!), and draining the tank later revealed a heap of water in the fuel.

The fuel we bought at the top of Cape Leveque was the most likely culprit, as it had been stuttering a bit in the days since. In any case, it's quite a bit more involved to strip one of these down compared to a dirt bike, where everything is pretty much on show.

Summing up
We rolled into Drysdale River Station just as the sun was slipping below the horizon, some 11 hours after we'd set out. The Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT was a faithful companion on what was a fairly tough day, right up until that bad fuel caused it to falter.

Priced at $19,999 plus on-roads, it's a hell of a lot of adventure bike for the money, and now it's even better equipped to cater to those who want to get well off the beaten track. Don't buy a manual model before first taking a DCT version for a test ride, and relax in the knowledge you're on one of the most capable, value-packed adventure-tourers money can buy.

SPECS: HONDA AFRICA TWIN ADVENTURE SPORTS DCT
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, eight-valve, four-stroke parallel-twin
Capacity: 998cc
Bore x stroke: 92mm x 75mm
Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 95.2hp (70kW) at 7500rpm*
Claimed maximum torque: 99Nm at 6000rpm*

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet, multi-plate
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Semi double cradle steel
Front suspension: Inverted 45mm Showa fork, fully adjustable
Rear suspension: Monoshock, fully adjustable
Front brake: Twin 310mm wave discs with four-piston, radial-mount Nissin caliper, ABS equipped
Rear brake: Single 256mm disc with single-piston Nissin caliper, ABS equipped
Tyres: Michelin Anakee Wild; 90/90-21 front, 150/70-18 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed wet weight: 253kg
Seat height: 900/920mm
Wheelbase: 1580mm
Fuel capacity: 24.2 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $19,999 plus on-roads
Colours: 30th Anniversary Tricolore
Warranty: Two-year/unlimited kilometres
Bike supplied by: Honda Motorcycles, hondamotorcycles.com.au

*Source: Honda Motorcycles UK