Rubber solutions
One of Britain’s best-selling bikes is woefully short on tyre choice. Got an Africa Twin? You’d better be a big Continental fan
Continental Trail Attack2 tyres Price: £210 per pair Used for: not yet Info: conti-bike.co.uk
Two critical things affect tyre choice on the Africa Twin; how big do you want your knobbles, and what’s actually available in the 90/9021 front and 150/7018 rear tyre sizes. I wanted to switch from Continental TKC70S to a more road biased pattern for winter, but when I contacted suppliers in November there wasn’t much choice, so I’m back on Continentals, this time the Trail Attack2s. ‘We’ve done really well with Africa Twin tyres,’ says Bryn Phillips of Continental distributor Cambrian tyres, ‘because we’ve got three different types depending on how much off-road bias people want.’
Renthal handlebars Price: £47.65 Used for: one year (previous set) Info: bandcexpress.co.uk
Riding position is critical on dirt bikes where you’ve got to be able to stand or sit, and move between the two positions. The bars currently fitted to my Morini Camel are too low. Scouring the website of B&C Express I located a set of Renthals with extra height, but they’re still sufficiently narrow to allow the bike to fit through my front door. I’ll fit them during the bike’s winter fettlathon.
Givi XS320 tankbag Price: £122 (including ring) Used for: two months Info: givi.co.uk
I’ve used Givi stuff without a problem for years. The neat Tanklock mounting system requires an Africa Twin specific mounting ring that’s easily attached by swapping three of the screws in the fuel cap flange. This one has a (so far) waterproof port to allow electrical device cables . This and a roll bag are my luggage of choice.