Icons: Africa Twin Inspired by the Paris-Dakar Legend
After the massive success of the Gold Wing came another really beautiful motorcycle that was, once again, derived from the world of motor sport. This was the gorgeous goanywhere adventure touring motorcycle, the XRV650, or more famously known as the Africa Twin. This motorcycle was based on Honda’s Paris-Dakar Rally winner, the NXR750, a motorcycle that won the world’s toughest raid rally four times in succession from 1986 to 1989. In 1988, Honda finally gave the world a taste of what a real cross-continent motorcycle was like. This motorcycle featured a 647-cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, 52° V-twin engine that produced 57 PS. It was loaded with long-travel suspension at both ends, massive disc brakes, a seat height of 880 mm, and dry weight of just 193 kg.
The Africa Twin started life in 1988 and, in just two years, Honda updated the model, giving it greater capacity, more power, suspension travel, and reduced weight. The model went on to win many hearts across the world, with some even regarding the bike as the world’s best cross-country/continent motorcycle. The production of this model continued until 2003, when competition outdid the Africa Twin and Honda had to pull the plug on it. However, the Africa Twin was already a legend.
Thirteen years later, the iconic motorcycle made a dramatic comeback in the form of the all-new CRF1000L, and with this bike Honda brought back the Africa Twin name. This new motorcycle is completely different from any other adventure tourer out there. It comes with a frugal 998-cc, liquid-cooled, fuelinjected, parallel twin motor that produces 95 PS and 98 Nm. It comes in two variants: one with a manual gearbox and the other, an automatic, with Honda’s third-generation DCT or Dual Clutch Transmission. This new Africa Twin created a stir around the world when Honda first showed it at the 2014 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. The bike has been designed keeping every kind of rider and terrain in mind. It truly is a tribute to the Dakar winning Africa Twins of the late 1980s.