YOU’LL GET BUZZ OUT OF AFRICA
The thing Japanese people love most, apart from drinking lots of whisky and belting out My Way in karaoke bars, is ‘wa’, or group harmony.
And there’s no finer example than the dual clutch transmission gearbox on the Africa Twin, with one clutch handling the odd gears and the other the even.
As you change gear, one clutch bows, hands control to the other clutch, then stands by politely waiting for it to be handed back for the next gear change.
Thank heavens the process doesn’t involve the exchange of business cards, or getting to sixth would take several days. This is the 30th anniversary of Honda’s iconic adventure machine, and to mark it, the bike is finished in a stunning red, white and blue colour scheme. On board, the riding position is slightly more upright and commanding, and the previously hard to read digital dash is much improved, with NICE BIG NUMBERS. Thank you, Honda.
The tank’s up from just under 19 litres to just over 24, giving it a proper adventure range of about 300 miles.
On the DCT, Drive mode is still disturbingly languid, changing up to sixth gear at as low as 36mph. I really can’t imagine anyone riding like that, even my granny. And she’s dead.
However, Sport Modes 2 or 3 are spot on, letting the revs build and shifting the way I suspect most riders will.
Handling, with semiknobbly tyres and a 21in front wheel, is never going to be as clinical as a surgeon’s scalpel, but it’s precise enough for anyone but a superbike addict, while the new longer travel suspension makes rough road riding deliciously plush for all-day comfort.
Off-road, the DCT is a joy, removing the tricky process of changing gear manually while standing on the pegs. That counts as blokes multi-tasking, which is an oxymoron in the same way as Theresa May getting a good Brexit deal or Donald Trump banning guns.
A bit of tweaking by the Honda exhaust boffins has made the sound even more glorious than the previous model, and that’s saying something. Is the DCT better than the manual version? Good question, since sales are split 45/55 respectively.
I guess the answer is that the manual is more engaging, and the auto more effortless.
So if you want to get engaged, give your Honda dealer a ring.
See what I did there?