Honda’s 2016 Africa Twin

The Africa Twin is BACK – and this time around things have got a whole lot more serious (and capable) for a quid under £10,500...

It was just over a year ago that Honda unveiled its off-road capable True Adventure concept at the EICMA Show, in Milan. A motorcycle with a ‘go anywhere’ attitude, promising more than just utilitarian looks and dual-purpose tyres. Fast forward several months and the prototype morphed into a modern-day reincarnation of the Japanese brand’s iconic Africa Twin, picking up from where things left off in 2003 when the popular adventure machine got given the heave-ho.

Influenced heavily by the model of old, owing to its huge popularity, every single component on the new Africa Twin is unique, with perhaps the engine being the most notable change. The V-twin motor of the XRV750 has been dropped in favour of a lighter, punchier and more economical 998cc parallel-twin, which produces over a third more power – 94bhp as opposed to 61bhp – than the original.

The motor itself is of revolutionary design, boasting many firsts for Honda including the innovative packaging of the water pump within the clutch casing, for compactness, and the crankcase contained oil tank, which lessoned the necessity for a deep sump; shortening the height of the engine and optimising ground clearance.

It’s embraced within a perfectly tuned steel semi-cradle type frame, mounted at six specific fixing points to achieve the right levels of flex for both on and off-road performance. The fitment of hi-spec, fully adjustable Showa suspension front and rear only exaggerates the manufacturer’s determination to achieve excellence, and then you’ve got an arsenal of electronics to get your head around.

Honda has released two versions of the Africa Twin; manual and DCT. The former comes with four-levels of traction control and switchable rear ABS as standard, while the DCT model takes things to another level. As well as the tech already mentioned, the DCT can be selected across four different drive modes (D-mode, or three tiers of S-mode) and then you’ve got the addition of the ‘G’ button, which offers a more direct power delivery and added engine braking. In total, the DCT model can be toggled between 80 different setup configurations, each of which gets displayed clearly on the bike’s practical and stylish puredigital dash. But of all the features and technology present, perhaps the most talked about and questioned feature is the 21in front wheel. Skinny and tall, it made perfect sense for off-road, but the question was whether it would compromise road riding? Having headed over to Cape Town, we were soon to find out.

Those first few steps

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the new Honda, but it wasn’t until I actually swung a leg over the bike that I started to indulge it. As had been portrayed, the Twin felt immediately very spacious with the wide bars and notably low seat height pairing up to offer a comfortable feel. Leg room was plentiful and my knee angle was relaxed at 90º. It felt roomy like a tourer, only notably lighter and narrower than the majority of such machines. Prior to our first day of riding, which would see us take on a 280km route on both trails and road, we had been told in the model’s presentation about the efforts put into mass centralising the Honda’s weight. It had been a core design focus, intended to provide a lighter and more stable feel. Having not turned a wheel, it wasn’t possible to confirm those goals had been met from a riding perspective, but I was impressed with how easy it felt to man-handle the motorcycle around, it lacking a top-heavy feel.

Testing out the manual version first made it much easier to get my head around the tech. Lacking DCT or G-button options, I only had to worry about whether I wanted ABS on the rear and how much torque control I required. When you turn the ignition on, the Honda’s default setting is to provide you with level-three traction control – the most intrusive.

The onus is on you to depress a switch on the left bar and work your way through the tiers, which are displayed clearly on the dash. Unaware at this stage of how sensitive the positions were, it was only when I set off out of the shale car park that I got some perspective. As I released the clutch and allowed the engine to drive me forward, the dash was lit up orange as the traction control kicked in and did its best to find me grip.

The system, in its most aggressive state, was very engaging and completely overrode my requests for full gas with a wide-open throttle. The technology is governed by many different controls, but the best way to describe the interaction is along the lines of a misfire. The bike felt jerky and the engine note spluttered, occasionally clearing and launching forward before the rear wheel lost grip once more and repeated the process. It felt a very safe system, but was far too intrusive for me.

A quick switch to level-two made the long trail up to the road slightly more bearable, but it wasn’t until I got into level-three that I truly felt comfortable with the aid engaged. Before I had chance to really play around with the last setting we had reached a Tarmac road, forcing me to put things on hold.

Riding the Africa Twin on the road

Aesthetically speaking, the Africa Twin is a neat and compact motorcycle. Its features are suggestive of an adventure-tourer, but it also bears some similarity to a minimalist off-road bike. Its tank looks broad, but that’s only because the engine and frame are so skinny. It’s deceiving, as is the performance of the protective top fairing and screen. With a deadstraight 20-mile road ahead of us, the first stint on the Twin proved a great opportunity to gauge how well sheltered I was from the elements.

My torso felt completely covered from the wind and it was only the top half of my helmet that was subjected to buffeting, which I considered perfectly acceptable. The top of the screen sat just under my eye-line, giving me a clear and easy view of the road ahead. Protection for my lower arms came from the sizeable handguards and my legs felt well concealed behind the radiator encompassing tank shrouds. Doing motorway speeds and higher, it was evident that this bike had the potential to offer true comfort, aided massively by the enormous and wellpadded saddle.

I felt right at home on the Honda and didn’t find myself needing to shuffle around on the seat to find a stance that suited me, but the option was there if I needed it. As the miles clocked by and I toggled away with the trip modes and consumption metres, by means of direction buttons on the left switch gear, it became blatantly obvious that the one thing missing for ultimate comfort was cruise control. I was left with no option other than to man-up and hold the throttle open like you did in the good old days.

In the bends

Twenty minutes into the ride, the arrival of corners came as a real surprise. The Honda had shown its prowess in a straight line, but the question was, how well would it deal with bends? Faced with a series of flowing bends, getting the Honda to turn proved effortless and I was impressed at how stable the bike felt at lean. We’re not used to seeing road bikes with such big wheels and I must admit to having been a little sceptical about the large wheel’s fitment, but my first impression was that it didn’t appear to compromise the bike in any way whatsoever. It felt perfectly normal.

As our ride continued, we traded Tarmac for trail. The Africa Twin is fitted as standard with dual-purpose Dunlop Trailmax rubber. They’d proved good on road and I only hoped for the same inspiring feel on the dirt. Despite its clever packaging, the Honda is no featherweight; the standard bike weighing in at 232kg, while the DCT version bolts an extra 10kg onto that figure. Curious to see exactly what I was dealing with, I used the opportunity of a photoshoot to switch the torque control off completely and set off into a bend with my brain out and throttle open.

It’s not hard to get a bike into a slide, but it’s another thing trying to control it during one; especially a bike of this

size. But there was no effort needed. I felt robbed of a scrap for control as the Twin’s rear-end moved out so controllably and elegantly under throttle, continuing to oblige me as I exhausted the offerings of second gear and went looking for third.

There were no sketchy moments to recount and that immediately gave me a huge amount of confidence along the next 40km of trail. I really tried hard to find the model’s weak spot, changing direction and gassing on simultaneously. All that would happen is the rear end would go walkies, before obligingly stepping back in line without any snatchy feel whatsoever. I’d like to say that I was impressed, but that would be an understatement. The loose surfaced trail also proved the perfect time to wind the pace up and see how the bike dealt with speed on the rough stuff. Even at speeds of triple figures I felt undeniably safe and was also amazed how effortlessly the bike dealt with big potholes that caught me

out on occasion. Naturally, the bike always reacted during such moments, but it never felt unstable or scary.

Rough (er) stuff

The afternoon’s ride took us out over two of the most stunning, and bumpy, mountain passes I’d ever seen; Mitchel’s Pass and Bain’s Kloof. The first was fast and flowing, prompting sixth gear cornering during which the Twin really got put through its paces. As had been discovered during those very first corners, the bike remained unflappable regardless. The second pass was very narrow, much slower, bumpier and far more technical. Rock-faced on one side with a sheer drop the other, it was the last place in the world you’d choose to go looking for trouble, but I was keen to see how the bike dealt with the rough surface.

Throughout the day, on road and trail, the suspension settings had remained the same and worked a treat. But riding the bike hard on this pass did highlight a problem with the front end, which seemed to rebound so quickly over the bumps that it began to slide a little, made worse by dips in the road which made you feel as if you were riding off the edge of the tyre. With a bit of time to tweak the setup, I don’t doubt the Honda could have been made far more suited to the challenge. But this is an adventure bike, not a sports bike, and yet it was being raced around at a pace I would never consider if I was travelling around the world with luggage and a pillion. I slowed things down and found the bike was more comfortable.

To sum up

Transmission type aside, I was taken aback by the competence of the Honda. It’d delivered on every front, from economy to comfort, handling to true off-road ability. There are plenty of competent motorcycles out there in all these areas, but none can match the Africa Twin in every regard. Honda’s done something magical here, it’s revived a legend.