Test Rode a Honda Africa Twin

[betoney]

My buddy has a 2017 Africa Twin, base model with manual transmission.  He has been eyeing the Tracer GT for quite some time as a 2nd bike, he says he will never sell the AT and he actually uses it for its intended purpose and has many thousands of offroad miles on the bike.  I told him I would meet him for a ride and we could switch bikes for the day.

When I met my buddy yesterday morning, we swapped bikes and I told him he could ride it for as long as he wanted and we could go anywhere he wanted.  We didn’t have a plan, we just winged it and rode whatever roads came up but all of them were quality 2-lane rural winding farmland roads - ALL day long. 😎👍

We would ride for an hour and then stop and B.S. for awhile and he was just gushing over my FJ, he couldn’t stop heaping it praises, he LOVED the motor!!  The AT was a little larger in every dimension but not over bearing and the 21” wheel wasn’t a detractor in any way except for the front feeling slightly tall and a few degrees more rake, so not quite as quick steering. 

 

 

I’m glad it wasn’t just a 20-30 minute test ride because I would have really disliked the bike, it takes awhile to adapt to the parallel twin especially with the stock gearing, most of the day I stayed in 3^rd gear, sometimes 4th and very seldom 5^th – never tried 6^th.  3^rd was comfortable to over 60, 4^th was good to 70-80 and 5^th got me into triple digits, though there were plenty of times I was in 4^th up to around 90, 8k rpm redline and no issues running in the upper end of the rev range, I rode it like my FJ, keeping the rpms mostly well over 5k, it really could use a larger rear sprocket, it reminded me of the Aprillia Tuono gearing.  The motor seems to rev a bit slower (ignition timing and heavier crank or parallel twin characteristic in general?) but different gearing would really wake it up nicely and make the transmission overall more usable.
 

He was hauling ass on my bike, we were tearing through the farmland roads and I was holding 90 and he was pulling away fast on my FJ. (and continuously let me know how much he loved doing so).  The AT had stock suspension but it was set up perfectly, the long travel really soaked up bumps nicely but it held a positive line and tracked true through a corner with no wallow, considering it was stock including springs, I was very impressed.

 

 

He had a custom Russell Day-Long saddle and it fit like a glove - VERY comfortable, there was never a time I felt like stopping except to get gas, I can totally understand how he can ride 700-800 miles a day, the bike was very comfortable but his ’17 didn’t come with cruise control like the newer models. 

 

 

So we ended up doing all day test rides on each other’s bikes, I was actually impressed with how much I liked the bike, different gearing, cruise control and personalized ergonomics and it would definitely be a road-trip worthy machine.  If I was ever going to get an adventure-type bike, I would want something a little smaller/ lighter, there is absolutely no need for 500-600 lbs and 1000/ 1100/ 1200cc for riding off road trails or gravel/ dirt roads.

[keithu]

Excellent review. Depending on the day of the week I think maybe my next bike should be the AT1100 ADV DCT. It would be perfect for my long dreamed ride up the Haul Road in Alaska. Or there is the T7.

If the destination is Prudhoe Bay, the Honda is probably ready to go straight off the showroom floor. The Yamaha is about half the price and would probably be a little better on the Haul Road. But it would require a lot of farkling to be ready for a long trip, and it still wouldn't be as good on the paved roads between here and Fairbanks. 

[betoney]

9 minutes ago, keithu said:

If the destination is Prudhoe Bay, the Honda is probably ready to go straight off the showroom floor. The Yamaha is about half the price and would probably be a little better on the Haul Road. But it would require a lot of farkling to be ready for a long trip, and it still wouldn't be as good on the paved roads between here and Fairbanks. 

True, I would have no reservations with taking the AT to Prudhoe Bay or Tuktoyaktuk.  The only modifications you might 'need' to do are personalized ergonomics and luggage system.  For a trip like that, I would welcome the 1000/ 1100cc slower revving motor and more 'substantial' feel and comfort of the AT vs a smaller/ sportier feel of the FJ or Tracer.

[Michiel900GT]

I test drove the AT (2020 model, Adventure Sport version) too before buying the Tiger. The AS version is really big and heavy. One of the reasons I bought the Tiger instead.

[keithu]

OTOH, BMW released details of the updated R1250RT yesterday. That's what I really want today. Ask me tomorrow and maybe I'll be back to the AT, or something else. 😀