CRF 1000L AFRICA TWIN

HONDA

They are all priced within a lakh or two of each other and offer a similar package to their buyers.

Strangely enough, the Honda, which is also the latest bike to jump on to the adventure touring bandwagon, is priced higher than the Ducati! By a mere 20 grand, but the fact that an Italian bike should cost less than a Japanese one? Well, who would’ve thought of that? Nonetheless, despite its apparent lack of bulk in these photographs, the Africa Twin is big in the flesh. In fact, it is both wider and longer than the Triumph here. It also comes packaged with a proper litre-class engine – a 999.1cc liquid-cooled parallel twin with a 270-crank and SOHC at that. And that 20 grand extra you pay over the Ducati? You don’t pay it for the legendary Africa Twin name. You pay it for that cutting edge dual clutch transmission that the Honda engine is mated to.

The semi double cradle chassis has been honed to perfection where it’s just the right balance between rigidity and flex. Meanwhile a near 50:50 weight distribution with maximum mass centralisation means

Like all Ducatis, this Bolognese piece of art too comes with the

soul of a racer

Engine 999.1cc, parallel twin, liquid-cooled Transmission 6-speed DCT Power 87bhp @ 7500rpm Torque 92Nm @ 6000rpm Weight 247kg 0-100kmph 6.8 seconds (claimed)

Price `13.07 lakh (ex-showroom)