honda africa twin tft display free sample

2023-01-03 12:32:11

This is a new 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES with DCT automatic transmission. This new version is now an 1100 cc motor and comes loaded with new features like L.E.D. touch screen, ride modes, cruise control, heated grips, adjustable windshield, electronically adjustable suspension, blue tooth connectivity, L.E.D corning lights, self-canceling turn signals, 12-volt outlet, USB port, and much more. This sport adventure bike is super advanced and has all the modern technologies. Please feel free to email or call us here at 704-487-7261 if you have any questions. Thanks, Darren

And that’s why Honda Africa Twin models are so far out in front of all the rest. Technology? Check out things like Apple CarPlay™, Android Auto™, and of course our available automatic DCT transmission. Reliability? Nobody even comes close to Honda there. Comfort? Hey, you’re talking about the people who build the Gold Wing. Off-road performance? Ever heard of the Baja 1000 or the Dakar Rally? All that expertise goes into every Africa Twin we build.

For 2022 we’re offering four different Africa Twin models. Our standard Africa Twin is a great choice for serious off-road enthusiasts, with either a six-speed manual transmission or our optional DCT. For long-distance adventure touring, check out our two Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES models: They offer special features like electronically controlled suspension, an adjustable windscreen, larger fuel tank, heated grips, tubeless tires, and more. They too are available with either manual transmission or DCT. And every Africa Twin in our line features Android Auto this year, along with new control settings and a tasty new color choice.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

• 2021 Honda CRF 1100 Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Review While researching the development and history of the Africa Twin I was impressed by what I learned. When Honda entered the 1986 Dakar Rally they went on to win four straight victories, an extremely rare feat for any manufacturer in their inaugural season. This race bike, the NXR750, would go on to become the inspiration for the production model we know and love today. Having been a longtime fan of Dakar and what it embodies, when I was given the opportunity to swing a leg over the current Africa Twin, it was exciting.

After the production version of the Africa Twin was launched in 1988, the line-up went through several upgrades over the years, but production eventually ceased in 2003. Then, after a 12-year hiatus, the Africa Twin was reborn in 2015. Known for being a more off-road oriented bike in the adventure segment, it did not disappoint.

DCT was first introduced in the 1200VFR in 2010 and the Goldwing received its DCT in 2017. It behaves like the automatic transmission in your car and, if you’ve ridden a scooter, you’ll be familiar with the twist-and-go functionality. Orders for Africa Twins outfitted with DCT have been steadily increasing over the years and now comprise 37% of all models sold. Honda has been investing a great deal of time and money into this technology. I had never tried DCT so was curious to learn what the riding experience would be like.

The motorcycle looks great. You can see some of the design’s heritage, but gone are the rounded styling cues in favor of a more modern angular approach. As the technician was going over the bike, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the package that Honda put together. You have lean-sensitive ABS, four factory and two user ride modes, throttle by wire, cruise control, heated grips, 12-volt and USB accessory outlets, adjustable windscreen, paddle shifters, and a 6.5-inch TFT display that even shows your power, engine braking and traction control settings along with Bluetooth, Apple Car Play, and Android Auto. Man, motorcycles have come a long way.

At first this felt weird. Even though the brakes are obviously the primary means to arrest acceleration, it felt odd not having the clutch to modulate power delivery during slow-speed maneuvering. To its credit, the throttle response is pretty smooth, and there is the feel of a friction zone. Honda saw fit to give the rider four drive mode variants (D or SI, SII, or SIII) that can modify any of the six user (four factory and two user) modes. This includes Touring, Urban, Gravel and Off-road. The standard D mode is mellow, almost dull. It quickly shifts through the gears to keeps the rpms down under 3,000. This sometimes leaves the rpms too low for my taste. I imagine it’s there for fuel economy and/or to have a mild setting for new riders on big bikes. For those craving more, thankfully the S modes wake up the bike, not only offering shift points higher in the rpm range but staying in gear longer before upshifting. I spent a good amount of time in SII as it just felt like the right balance for the mix of spirited street, freeway and canyon riding I enjoy.

For off-road, there is a dedicated mode which will take some of the snap out of the throttle input in order to be more forgiving over rough stuff, but you can dial it back up with the S modes. Between the factory ride modes and the fine tuning, every rider should be able to find a combination to their liking. There’s also a slew of rider aids (traction control, wheelie control, engine braking, power delivery, ABS) available with their respective range of settings and, while I tend to prefer the lowest settings, I’m a big fan of modern ABS in those “Oh shit!” braking scenarios. Each aid can be dialed in according to rider preference and, again, there should be a setting for everyone as Honda has given the rider a good range of flexibility.

Powering the Africa Twin is the recently enlarged 1084cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected Unicam parallel twin, making 101 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 77 ft.-lb. of torque at 6,250 rpm.

Braking is handled by twin 310mm rotors and two four-piston hydraulic calipers up front and a single 256mm piston hydraulic caliper in the rear. Braking feels firm and responsive both in terms of lever feel and seat of the pants.

While the standard Africa Twin tips the scales at 501 lb., the touring-oriented Adventure Sports ES comes it at 530 lb. wet/ready to ride. The DCT variants add 23 lb. to either model, while fuel capacity is increased from 5 to 6.5 gallons to allow for extra range on those long rides.

As mentioned earlier, this bike has much of the same tech (and then some) as more expensive bikes in the 1000cc and up class. The big news for 2021 is the addition of Android Auto and Apple Car Play for navigation and music. Other features include heated grips with five settings, cruise control, turn signal cancellation, and access to the menu from the left grip cluster. The 6.5-inch TFT display is large and clear and you can customize what is shown for each riding mode.

All in all, the Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT is a do-anything motorcycle that can take you far, in comfort, with confidence, and in charge whether there are roads or not. And isn’t that what this market segment is all about?

honda africa twin tft display free sample

When you ride an Africa Twin you quickly feel as confortable as if it was your regular bike. Renters always return the bike with a smile on their face after having enjoyed it.

The Africa Twin is the only maxi trail motorcycle on the market that features Honda’s innovative and exclusive DCT automatic transmission. An automatic and manual gearbox at the same time that puts it a step ahead of the others bikes on the market.

We rent motorcycles ready to travel. That’s why our Africa Twin motorcycles are equipped with a complete travel equippment kit consisting of top case and side cases, already included in the rental price. They offer enough capacity so you don’t have to worry about you lugage you want to take with you on your motorcycle trip.

The Honda Africa Twin has a TFT screen that can be connected to your cell phone to make it easier for you to get around. For example, you can connect your phone to see Google Maps and get to places more quickly, regardless of whether it is an iPhone or Android.

The Honda Africa Twin features a seat that can be adjusted to two different heights without the needs for tools. This aids riding comfort for taller people and accessibility for shorter people. One bike, two heights.

A repeated comment from customers who rent the bike is its amazing versatility, which allows it to be enjoyed in all types of tracks and roads. Our customers have made long trips with the Africa Twin, from the North Cape to Morocco, through the Pyrenees, the Alps and Eastern Europe. There are no limits to the trips you can dream of on an Africa Twin.

- Additional mileage packs are available prepaid for 25€ (0,25€/km) on the CB500X and the X-ADV, and it cost 35€ (0,35€/km) on the Africa Twin and the NT.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

LONG-TRAVEL FRONT SUSPENSION: The Africa Twin doesn’t just look like an adventure bike—it’s the real deal. Exhibit A: Check out its long-travel front suspension. The inverted Showa fork is fully adjustable with huge 45mm tubes and 9.1 inches of travel—the most front-end travel in the 1000cc off-road class.

ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED SUSPENSION: The Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES and Adventure Sports ES DCT are equipped with SHOWA EERA® (Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment) electronically controlled suspension. You can choose between five suspension damper settings: hard, medium, soft, and off-road, as well as a customizable “user” setting. It’s easy to switch between them, too, so you can choose one for the highway and another when the going gets rougher.

STEEL FRAME: This second generation of Africa Twin features a frame that is almost four pounds lighter than our earlier bikes. And while it may be lighter, we fine-tuned it by making the steering head more resistant to twist.

SEMI-DOUBLE-CRADLE-FRAME: The Africa Twin’s semi-double-cradle frame layout has been proven in countless Honda dirtbikes. In principle it’s similar to the design we use on our CRF450R Rally factory Dakar racebike—a machine that’s designed to perform in the challenging Dakar rally and similar events.

FOUR-PISTON CALIPERS: Up front, the Africa Twin features twin four-piston brake calipers for powerful braking performance. The radial-mount design also helps make them stiffer, increasing brake feel and control.

43-DEGREE STEERING LOCK: With 43 degrees of steering lock both left and right, the Africa Twin provides excellent maneuverability on tight trails. This is one of the reasons the Africa Twin feels so much more nimble than many of the other bigger adventure bikes out there.

HOLLOW AXLE SHAFTS: The Africa Twin uses large-diameter hollow steel axles front and rear. They’re super strong, durable, but also light: a combination which describes just about everything associated with this bike.

Honda SELECTABLE TORQUE CONTROL: The Africa Twin’s throttle-by-wire system lets us offer Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC). You can dial in exactly the kind of power delivery you want for the conditions at hand. Honda Selectable Torque Control features seven settings for a wide range of conditions, from pavement to fast, loose fire roads to challenging singletrack. You can also turn it off. New engine settings for 2022 make a great feature even better.

WHEELIE CONTROL: Front and rear wheel-speed sensors working with the Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) let you dial in three levels of wheelie control. There"s also an "off" position—you"re the wheelie control here.

REAR SUSPENSION: Not only is the Africa Twin’s rising-rate Pro-Link® rear suspension fully adjustable, it offers a 220mm stroke for 8.7 inches of rear-wheel travel. Even better, there’s a special remote preload adjuster—you just turn a convenient knob, and you can compensate for varying loads like a passenger or full panniers.

TIRES AND WHEELS: Real adventure bikes use spoked wheels because they better survive the dings and hits of off-road riding. All Africa Twin models feature a 21-inch front and an 18-inch rear for superior performance, especially when it comes to off-road riding.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

NEW STEEL FRAME: The 2020 Africa Twin’s frame is almost four pounds lighter than our previous model’s. Plus, we’ve fine-tuned it by making the steering head more resistant to twist.

SEMI-DOUBLE-CRADLE-FRAME: The Africa Twin’s semi-double-cradle frame layout has been proven in countless Honda dirtbikes. In principle it’s similar to the design we use on our CRF450R Rally bike—a machine that’s designed to perform in the challenging Dakar rally and similar events.

LONG-TRAVEL FRONT SUSPENSION: The Africa Twin doesn’t just look like an adventure bike—it’s the real deal. Exhibit A: Check out its long-travel front suspension. The inverted Showa® fork is fully adjustable with huge 45mm tubes and 9.1 inches of travel—the most front-end travel in the 1000cc off-road class.

NEW SWINGARM: We shaved 500 grams from the 2020 Africa Twin’s swingarm—that’s more than a pound. This new piece uses technology developed on our CRF450R motocrosser. Any time you can take weight out of the suspension it’s a good thing, and helps handling and response.

SELECTABLE TORQUE CONTROL: The Africa Twin’s throttle-by-wire system lets us offer Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC). You can dial in exactly the kind of power delivery you want for the conditions at hand. Honda Selectable Torque Control features seven settings for a wide range of conditions, from pavement to fast, loose fire roads to challenging singletrack. You can also turn it off.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

Whether you are a relative novice or an experienced motorcyclist, a racetrack hero or a dedicated off-roader, there’s one thing that we can all agree on: Honda builds iconic motorcycles.

From the humble Honda Cub, the best-selling motorised vehicle ever manufactured, to the achingly beautiful RC30, a bike that still can make grown men weep. Or maybe you would think of the first CB750, a motorcycle that in the late ‘60s redefined road bikes and inadvertently put the final nails into the coffin of the already terminally ill British motorcycle industry.

However, for adventure riders, the icon that we all know and love is of course the Africa Twin, a bike that has risen, fallen, and risen again like the proverbial phoenix. Since it’s relaunch in 2016, the Africa Twin has returned to its position as the best-selling Japanese adventure bike ever made, it’s worldwide sales and popularity only eclipsed by the mighty BMW GS.

So, in ABR’s ongoing series looking back at the bikes that have defined and set the direction of adventure motorcycling, it was only a matter of time before we had to revisit the mighty Africa Twin. With so many of ABR readers choosing to pick either the CRF1000L, or it’s updated younger sibling the CRF1100L that was launched under the sun-kissed skies of Sardinia last autumn, it’s clear that the big Honda still ticks the same boxes it did back in 1988.

Indeed, with so much popularity, older examples of the Africa Twin are becoming increasingly more sought after and inevitably increasingly more expensive. And on the evidence seen at the ABR Festival, there are still plenty of them in regular and spirited use across the UK and the world.

So, for our third retrospective review, we reached out to the wide and wonderful world of the UK’s vibrant and varied Africa Twin community to find a prime example of Honda’s work. Frankly, we could not have come up with better than the 1998 example owned by Will, an enthusiastic and ardent fan of the model who has owned and ridden this, and other Africa Twins, across the UK and further afield into Europe and beyond.

But don’t think we’ve settled on a show pony example, some concourse machine that only goes out on high days and holidays when the sun is out. Far from it. Will’s beloved Africa Twin is used all year round, from motorway munching to green laning, commuting to fully loaded continent crossing.

Before we look at our retro machine in detail, let’s rewind to the origins of the Africa Twin, well before this well-loved 1998 version rolled off the production line in Japan. Back in 1977, a year after getting lost in the Ténéré desert on the Abidjan-Nice Rally, motorcycle enthusiast and racer, Thierry Sabine, had the idea of running a race from Paris to Dakar along the same lines as the London, Sahara, Munich event.

Neveu won again on the Yamaha the following year and, after losing out to Hubert Auriol on a BMW R 80 GS in 1981, the Frenchman returned to win once more in 1982, this time on a Honda XR550. However, BMW was about to find a winning formula, going on to dominate the event for the next three years.

Clearly irked by the Bavarian hat trick, Honda’s racing division got to work, putting Neveu and fellow Frenchman Gilles Lalay on the payroll and equipping both of them with the now legendary NXR750, an all-out desert racing weapon designed to do just one job, win the 1986 Dakar. And that’s exactly what it did, propelling Neveu to his fourth win, with Lalay taking second just behind.

Neveu would go on to take the NXR750 to a follow-up victory the next year, with the Italian Eric Orioli winning on the bike in 1988, and Lalay finally climbing to the top step the next year. The Honda seemed unstoppable.

Even before the NXR750 had taken its fourth and, as it turned out, final win at the infamous event, Honda had realised the commercial potential of their machine, and indeed the adventure styling of the bike. BMW had already launched and had showroom success with its fledgling GS range following their own successes in the Paris Dakar, and for Honda, the path forward was clear.

In 1988, the first Africa Twin was released to an eager motorcycle market, fitted with a slightly smaller 650cc V-twin engine, but crucially, bristling with all the design cues, off-road prowess, and hutzpah of Neveu’s race-winning machine.

Even by today’s standards, the original Africa Twin is a fantastic looking machine, and if you’ve got one, then it’s going to go up in value on a daily basis. And perhaps more importantly, it’s cooler than a penguin’s instep.

Buoyed by the success of the first incarnation, in 1990 Honda upped the capacity by 100cc to match the original NXR750 and, although the bike had a raft of improvements and refinements, Honda didn’t mess with the rugged look and killer stance of the Africa Twin.

Three years later, the third and, as it turned out, a final major redesign of the XRV750 gave it a new frame and a wider, taller profile. It was a calculated response to the bikes increasing popularity with buyers who wanted to indulge in touring across the world, clearly loving the Africa Twin’s continent-crossing prowess.

But for all this success through the mid-’90s, the popularity of the adventure bike gradually waned as we headed for the new millennium and, perhaps seeing the bike as the past rather than the future, Honda finally ceased production of the model in 2001. After 73,000 bikes sold, the once all-conquering XRV slipped gently into the back catalogue, apparently consigned to the history books.

The massive 23l tank bulges towards the front of the bike and there’s that iconic ‘90s twin headlight fairing with its stubby screen. Below the screen is the one-piece look of the front mudguard and fork protectors, while at the back, the chunky original end can follow the line of the side panels to the surprisingly minimal back end. Jeez, it’s a good-looking bike.

With the photos and general faffing out of the way, I get the chance to actually put some distance on the bike and form a true impression of how it rides and stacks up to the 2021 Africa Twin Adventure Sports incarnation, currently in the ABR long-term fleet. Straight away, the wide bars and lack of clutter in the refreshingly open cockpit is a stark contrast to today’s machines. My classic bike’s limited number of buttons and lack of a TFT display look positively minimal. Looking for the traction control? That’ll be your right wrist.

Thumbing the starter for the first time, the silky-smooth engine spins into life with a satisfying thrum emitting from the bike’s stock exhaust. Honda had perfected the V-twin to almost an art form by the time this bike had rolled out of Japan.

Setting off onto the roads leading away from ABR towers, the 1998 bike feels instantly likeable. Like most adventure bikes, that feeling of weight and size disappears as soon as the wheels start turning, and the Africa Twin is no different. Despite having almost the full 23 litres of unleaded in the conventionally mounted tank, the deep flanks take much of the weight down alongside the motor, negating any feeling of high weight either on the road or indeed off it.

Once on the sweeping A46 heading out towards Alcester and Evesham, I can open the taps on the Honda and the bike responds beautifully, lifting its skirts and setting off with a satisfying surge from that gorgeous motor. Whereas the modern Africa Twin models have turned their backs on the original format, the 1998 has the beautifully compact 52-degree, liquid-cooled V-twin, running three valves per cylinder and a single overhead cam engine.

In terms of power, the bike put out a modest 61bhp when new, so not exactly groundbreaking at the time and certainly pretty low by today’s standards for a 750, but the Africa Twin was never about raw power, whether back in the ‘90s or indeed now.

What is evident on this bike is that it’s all about the torque. You get the best from the motor running somewhere between 3,000-5,000rpm and using every one of that 62Nm of grunt to waft you through the landscape. Honda quoted a top speed of just over 115mph, but you’d have to be a brave soldier to try that back in 1998, let alone some 22 years later. But with the A46 calling for nothing more enthusiastic than the national speed limit, being on the saddle of the old Africa Twin feels like a great place to be on a crisp autumn day.

Our test bike is a 1998 Honda XRV750 Africa Twin RD07P model. Keen-eyed readers will spot that it has a kilometre speedo, and this is because it’s originally from Germany. Owner Will is a bit of an entrepreneur, and a few years back, prices for Africa Twins in the country were lower than in the UK.

Armed with a fistful of Euros, he went on a buying trip, coming back with four similar aged XRVs and even a super rare XLV750R, the aborted model from before the first Africa Twin. Selling four of the bikes left him one for himself, paid for with the profits. Genius.

Upfront there are twin 276mm discs with a pair of twin pot callipers, and at the rear, there’s a single pot calliper and a 256mm disc. It’s pretty much state of the art for this age of bike.

What is perhaps more of an achievement is how the 1998 Africa Twin manages this efficient and unruffled braking with forks that, by today’s standards, look as thin as pipe cleaners. Honestly, there are kid’s mountain bikes in Halfords with wider forks than a vintage Africa Twin.

With enough time spent on the faster roads, I peel off to take the twisties for the return loop back to the ABR office. The Africa Twin just gets better as it sweeps lazily from right to left, sending spirals of leaves in our wake. Amazingly, for a bike of this vintage, the wide-set gold and anodised braced bars are original stock items, providing a great feel to the well-balanced and effortless steering.

In keeping with the adventure heritage of this bike, there’s a fairly slim 90/90 profile, 21-inch, front tyre just like the modern Africa Twin, but when twinned with the Conti Escape rubber, the front end provides both good grip and feel on the autumnal roads. The rear wheel is a slightly smaller and slimmer 17-inch rim running a 140/80 hoop, which may limit your choice of knobbly tyres compared to the 150/70, 18-inch wheel found on the new version of the motorcycle.

What also makes the 1998 Africa Twin quite so Parker Knoll comfy on the side roads is its wide seat perched at a sensible height of 840mm. Sat down low in the bike, with the small screen offering just enough wind protection, carving through the Warwickshire lanes is a beautifully sensory experience. The big twin motor burbles along beneath me like the best soundtrack in the world.

Just before heading back, I locate a few sneaky lanes to test the Africa Twin’s much-celebrated off-piste manners. Boy, does it deliver. The width of that big tank immediately disappears the moment you stand, and the relationship between bars and pegs feels just right for everything from spirited blasts on gravel roads to even the tightest and slowest turns. This is a manoeuvre aided by those wide bars and the surprisingly tight turning circle of the big machine. I can see greenlaning on the old girl being an addictive experience.

With the sun beginning to sink in the pale blue sky, the temperature drops swiftly and it’s time to return to base. Thanks to the local council’s badly timed temporary lights, the usually fast A46 has turned into an ill-tempered car park. But it’s no biggie for the Africa Twin, the bike showing easy commuting manners as I scoot out and around the stationary traffic, deftly dodging the stream of cars and lorries coming towards me. For a physically large motorcycle, it’s pretty agile for a daily commute.

Back at the van, I’m already regretting not having the bike for much, much longer. I’m also a bit sorry that my own collection does not include a vintage Africa Twin. While it is by no means a pristine example of Honda’s finest, Will’s bike is a true working classic with little of the bike’s original 1998 performance or ability diminished by 22 years and an impressive 57,787 miles on the clock. And given that mileage and the bike’s age, there is precious little corrosion or rust on the machine.

The V-twin motor is still beautifully fresh and punchy, complimented by a strong but flexible frame, near perfect ergonomics, and wonderfully evocative Dakar-inspired styling. Things have moved on in terms of just about every aspect of the modern Africa Twin model, yet the shared heritage and DNA of the original bike, and Neveu’s desert conquering machine, follows through whether your Africa Twin was made in 1988, 1998 or 2021. The Africa Twin is a truly iconic motorcycle, and we love it.

Getting yourself a vintage adventure bike just to submit it to the ignominy of hours of traffic congestion would be almost criminal. The Africa Twin will do it well enough if that’s your thing, but confining this adventure icon to an urban jungle is like putting a condor in a budgie cage.

Again, this is a no brainer because any Africa Twin, whether old or new, is made to take on the rough stuff and have you grinning like a six-year-old on Christmas day. If you are going to invest in a slice of adventure biking history, don’t keep it in the garage and polish it. Instead, get that bad boy outside and mucky.

Now we are talking. The iconic Africa Twin is the perfect companion for weekends or even weeks away. Load up the top box, fill up the tank and the Africa Twin will reward you with uncomplicated riding pleasure from sunrise to sunset.

For the soundtrack, we’re going right back to 1998 and the equally iconic Mancunian genius of Oasis. The Masterplan is the track, and indeed the album of choice, and for Honda’s Africa Twin, it couldn’t be more appropriate.

Yes, the Africa Twin will be pretty damn good at continental touring. With plenty of luggage carrying potential, that delicious torquey V-twin motor, and all-day comfortable seat, you’ll only have to stop every 200 miles for fuel and coffee. However, you won’t want to rush it as you’ll be busy enjoying the day’s ride.

The Africa Twin is easily capable of taking you around the world. In fact, at 57,000 miles, our test bike has already clocked up enough distance to circumnavigate the globe not once, but twice. Spares for the XRV are widely available worldwide but with Honda’s legendary reliability and build quality, you’re not likely to get through anything more complicated than tyres and fuel.

Two-up touring is going to be a definite option on any age Africa Twin, but the older you go, the more basic the experience gets for both you and your squeeze on the pillion seat. If they get the adventure riding thing, then fine. If they are looking for where to plug in the hairdryer, maybe not.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

SEMI-DOUBLE-CRADLE-FRAME: The Africa Twin’s semi-double-cradle frame layout has been proven in countless Honda dirtbikes. In principle it’s similar to the design we use on our CRF450R Rally bike—a machine that’s designed to perform in the challenging Dakar rally and similar events.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

SEMI-DOUBLE-CRADLE-FRAME: The Africa Twin’s semi-double-cradle frame layout has been proven in countless Honda dirtbikes. In principle it’s similar to the design we use on our CRF450R Rally bike—a machine that’s designed to perform in the challenging Dakar rally and similar events.

LONG-TRAVEL FRONT SUSPENSION: The Africa Twin doesn’t just look like an adventure bike—it’s the real deal. Exhibit A: Check out its long-travel front suspension. The inverted Showa® fork is fully adjustable with huge 45mm tubes and 9.1 inches of travel—the most front-end travel in the 1000cc off-road class.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

For three straight years, BMW had won the grueling Paris Dakar, and when the starter’s flag dropped on the world’s toughest motorcycle rally in 1986, all eyes were on Gaston Rahier and his R 80 G/S. But Honda had been quietly developing a new desert slayer of its own. Piloted by three-time Dakar winner Cyril Neveu, the Honda NXR 780 dominated the desert stages and completed the 9,300-mile rally in first place. The desert had a new king, and the NXR would reign over the Dakar for the next three years. It would also be the template for a new production model that debuted in 1988, the Honda XRV650–better known as the Africa Twin.

Underpowered, even by the era’s standards, the XRV Africa Twin was, nonetheless, a superb machine. Widely praised for its smooth stability and effortless handling, which belied its imposing size and seat height, it was also a stunning design, familiar to all thanks to the exploits of its desert slaying forbear. The Africa Twin soon garnered a reputation for everyday practicality and outstanding reliability, and demand would sustain production until 2003. In the meantime, BMW had turned its sights from pro rally to the growing dual-sport production market, and the R 80 G/S had morphed into the R 1100 GS. The first of the big-bore, off-road-capable globetrotters and a model that would set a high bar in this evolving class. Fittingly, Honda would resurrect the Africa Twin in 2016 to battle against the GS once more, this time as the liter-class CRF1000L. Not for glory in the Tunisian desert, but for sales in the burgeoning adventure bike market.

The dual-sport scene of today is a crowded place, and although BMW’s R 1250 GS remains, arguably, the bike-to-beat, it faces credible competition on all sides. From KTM’s established monster,the 1290 Super Adventure, Triumph’s updated Tiger 1200, and a raft of newcomers, including Harley’s Pan America, Husky’s Norden 901, and Ducati’s DesertX, which surely drew some of its design inspiration from the Dakar winning NXR. As with the original, the latest iteration of Honda’s Africa Twin, is relatively low on power but continues to lead the big-bore adventure class toward prioritizing off-road over on-road performance. A direction followed by both the Nordon 901 and DesertX. The Africa Twin is also one of only three full-sized Honda motorcycles offered with its dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT), a feature on my test bike, marking my first experience on an automatic motorcycle.

Although a relative latecomer to the adventure-bike party, the revived Africa Twin proved immediately popular, especially amongst riders looking for genuine dual-sport capability, thanks to its relatively light curb weight and lofty stance. The model received its last major overhaul in 2020, when Honda increased the twin engine’s displacement, lengthened the piston stroke, revised the valve timing, and added larger throttle bodies, resulting in a notable increase in power. Meanwhile, aluminum cylinder sleeves and a revised counterbalancing system combined to reduce engine weight. The Africa Twin also benefited from a new, lighter, steel chassis and a new subframe, now an aluminum bolt-on design. The 2022 model is available in two trims, the standard Africa Twin, and the long-range touring specified Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES. Both offer DCT as an optional extra.

The 2022 Africa Twin’s 1,084cc liquid-cooled, 270-degree crank, parallel-twin has four valves per cylinder, with variable exhaust timing and twin-plug ignition. The ride-by-wire throttle system works with revised ECU mapping to optimize power and economy. The use of Honda’s Unicam cylinder heads, which aim to combine the best attributes offered by SOHC and DOHC engine designs, results in a highly compact and lightweight powerplant. Peak horsepower is a claimed 101 at 7,500 RPM, and torque tops out at 77 foot-pounds at 6,250 RPM. Still relatively conservative by current standards but a marked improvement over the orginal CRF1000 and more than adequate for the Africa Twin"s intended purpose.

Honda"s DCT system debuted on the VRF1200 in 2010, and the firm continued to refine its pioneering technology over the ensuing years. For 2022, the Africa Twin’s DCT received an algorithm tweak for smoother engagement in first and second gears. It works with the IMU sensor, in tandem with the chosen rider mode, to optimize off-road control, time gear shifts with cornering, and provide smooth acceleration from a dead stop. The system also adapts the gear-shift pattern to account for inclines and declines.

The DCT setup on the Africa Twin offers three gear-change modes, selectable from the right-side handlebar control module. D (Drive) optimizes fuel economy for inner-city and highway riding. S (Sport) allows for higher revs and acceleration before changing up and changes down sooner to provide more engine braking. Three sub-settings within S mode dictate the extent of its sportiness. MT (Manual) mode enables riders to manually select gears using the up- and down-shifters built into the left handlebar control. In both D and S automatic modes, riders can still employ the shifters to override the system and manually select up or down as they see fit. The system reverts to automatic after a short lapse in time.

The DCT adds about 20 pounds of centralized curb weight, and traditionalists looking for the lightest possible setup will be more inclined to take the Africa Twin with a standard six-speed manual. This option includes a slipper/assist clutch promising easy lever operation and controlled engine braking. An optional up-and-down quickshifter facilitates clutchless shifting.

The lighter and narrower semi-double-cradle steel chassis and bolt-on aluminum subframe combine with a longer cast aluminum swingarm, providing a more rigid platform. A Showa 45mm inverted fork offers a class-leading 9.1 inches of front wheel suspension travel. At the rear, Honda’s Pro-Link and Showa gas-charged monoshock provides 8.7 inches of travel. Both are fully adjustable and receive updated spring rates and damping for more precise handling. The Adventure Sports ES benefits from Showa’s EERA semi-active suspension system, which works with a six-axis IMU sensor to manage damping and compression in real-time, according to the chosen rider mode and settings.

Spoked wheels, a skinny 21-inch up front and 18-inch at the rear, fitted with Bridgestone Battlax Adenturecross tubeless semi-road tires, add to the Africa Twin ES’s on- and off-road touring credentials. The standard model gets tube tires with a gnarlier tread pattern. Dual, four-piston Nissin calipers, clamping on 310mm discs take care of braking upfront. For the rear, a single one-piston Nissin caliper and 256mm disc. Both model trims include IMU-data-driven ABS, with lean angle aware intervention and on- and off-road settings, which work together with the riding modes to enable application-specific braking performance. The system allows for deactivating the rear brake"s ABS for dynamic off-road riding.

Whereas the old CRF1000 offered rudimentary electronics, the new Africa Twin’s updated ECU and Bosch MM7.10 six-axis IMU have enabled Honda to incorporate a full suite of modes and aids. On offer are four preset rider modes and two user-defined settings, which determine power output, engine braking, suspension damping (within the chosen hard, standard, or soft maps), and ABS intervention. Tour mode, for long-distance riding with luggage, provides strong acceleration. Urban, for day-to-day comfortable riding. Gravel mode optimizes settings for loose surfaced, flat roads, and Off-Road for tackling technical terrain. With two user-defined modes, riders can switch between their personalized settings for on- and off-road riding.

A 6.5-inch color TFT display, supplemented with an LCD touch panel, affords a choice of three presentation formats and background color customization for each of the six rider modes. Wireless smartphone connectivity enables hands-free telephone and music functions via a helmet communication system. The system is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (something BMW, and others, have snubbed in favor of clunky proprietary systems offering less functionality).

The Africa Twin"s IMU also allows for intelligent traction control, handled by Honda’s Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) system. Riders can pick from seven levels of integration governing rear wheel slip, allowing for different riding scenarios and skill levels. HSTC also offers three levels of wheelie control, with Level 1 allowing intentional front-wheel lift and Level 3 making it much harder to wheelie. HSTC operates independently of the selected rider mode and allows the skilled and the bold to entirely deactivate the system.

If, like me, you have laid awake at night endlessly pondering the intended function of the GS and Triumph Tiger"s ugly ‘beak," you can’t help but be drawn to the Africa Twin, which remains one of the most appealing adventure bikes on the market. Beakless, with the famous twin headlights, high-mounted front fairing, upright body position, and 21-inch front wheel, harking back to the original Dakar Rally winner and poster bike of the ‘80s.

Our test ES version has a larger 6.5-gallon tank for improved range, and larger front fairing and widescreen, adjustable through five positions, for better protection from the elements. Although the windscreen is slightly lower than the previous touring model, Honda claims it offers improved wind deflection thanks to its revised shape. Honda has billed the standard Africa Twin as the off-road-focused model. Accordingly, it has a smaller, fixed windscreen and a five-gallon tank. Both models benefit from the new aluminum rear rack and larger aluminum skid plate.

The Africa Twin offers exceptional suspension travel and a whopping 9.8 inches of ground clearance, and the standard seat height is a tall, 34.3 inches. However, the slim engine/chassis design helps to negate some of that height, and the adjustable OEM seat has a lower 33.6-inch setting (higher and lower accessory seats are also available). At six-foot, two inches tall, I had no issues getting my feet flat on the ground, and with the high pegs, there’s a little more bend at the knee than I might have expected. The high, wide handlebar provides a comfortable upright position and excellent slow-speed control. Nevertheless, when standing up, I found the handlebar was a little too close and felt more cumbersome than I would have liked.

The complete absence of a clutch lever baffled my muscle memory as I set off on the Africa Twin for the first time. In its place (although well out of reach) is a handy parking brake. Nevertheless, after a few rides, I got used to the DCT and stopped grasping at thin air with my left hand. With the Rider mode set to Urban and the DCT set to Drive, I headed for the mountains. On the street, the Drive settings felt too focused on fuel economy, short-shifting to sixth before hitting 40 MPH. I found myself overriding the DCT using the manual thumb selector to switch down a gear for better throttle response. The Sport mode felt more natural, moving up and down the gears at similar RPMs I’d choose for myself. Ideally, the gear change mapping for Drive should sit somewhere between its current map and that of Sport, while Sport mode would benefit from being a little more aggressive.

On the highway, with Tour mode selected, the gear setting in Drive is still too short, feeling bogged down. But in Sport, a rapid twist of the throttle results in a timely shift down for overtaking maneuvers and allows the revs to climb further, and I often used the index finger up-shifter to move up a gear sooner than the system dictated. The DCT performed extremely well in the mountains, and the skinny, 21-inch front tire provided more cornering confidence than anticipated. With the Showa EERA system set to Mid, there was plenty of feedback through the forks and limited nosedive. Okay, it"s not a canyon carver, and BMW’s R 1250 GS would be quicker on the same road, but the Africa Twin goes where you point it, and our spirited pace is plenty fast enough.

An automatic transmission makes sense off-road, where clutch control can become tiring and distracting. Nevertheless, with no clutch to slip, my first encounter with the dirt on the DCT-equipped Africa Twin was an anxious affair (it doesn’t look good when you return test bikes with pieces missing). While the immediacy of a clutch lever is difficult to replicate in an automatic transmission, Honda’s DCT performed better than expected in the most technical sections I tackled. Once you get used to the slight delay as the automated clutch engages, it becomes an afterthought. With the G-button disengaged and Off-Road mode selected, the Drive setting works best, making the most of the parallel twin’s torque band.

DCT adds another dimension, and its $900 premium won’t smash the budget. It works well, especially in the least sporty, Sport setting, but it doesn’t solve a problem; DCT offers a unique alternative. There are a lot of liter-class adventure bikes, and, to differing degrees, they all aim to deliver a workable compromise between street and dirt riding. Some are street-focused, and others, especially the most recent models, are dirt focused. In many respects, the Honda Africa Twin manages to make the best of both worlds. No, it"s not as fast or dynamic on the road as some. Nor is it as light as debutants from Ducati and Husqvarna, ideal for the dirt, but if you want to ride both on- and off-road, in comfort, over distance, assured of reliability, and with all the latest electronic trickery up your sleeve, the Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES is tough to beat. But it isn"t just a globetrotter, of all the test bikes in my garage today, the Africa Twin is the one I jump on when I need to make a milk run, because it"s just as happy zipping through the city as it is scrambling through the desert, and in that sense, it is a true all-rounder. The legend lives on.

The 2022 Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT model I tested has an MSRP of $18,099. The manual six-speed version has an MSRP of $17,299, and both are available in Pearl White with gold rims, which (oddly) don’t match the rose gold fork stanchions but, nonetheless, its a great color combination for the bike. The standard Africa Twin, with DCT has an MSRP of $15,299, and with the manual gearbox, $14,499 and available in the Grand-Prix Red color scheme.

honda africa twin tft display free sample

In its basic form, it’s £12,399 (or £13,399 for the DCT model) – correct at the time of writing in April 2022 after Honda’s price increase of £400 on each model.

I can’t for the life of me understand why Honda clumped everything together in the messiest assortment of buttons I’ve ever seen. And then stuck it on the handlebars.

To make it worse, these buttons exist only because the touchscreen doesn’t work when the bike is moving. I wish Honda would either make it so the touchscreen works when riding or dispense with the touchscreen altogether and pass on the cost reductions to the customer!

It’s the same engine that’s in the Africa Twin. But to me, at least, it doesn’t feel like it! I’m pretty certain that my 2019 AT is quicker than the NT1100 – despite the smaller displacement.

Many people thought the original Honda Deauville was dull. And I can imagine them thinking the NT1100 is just as lacklustre. I must admit, I was expecting a little more oomph from its 1,084cc’s.

Lastly, the NT1100 appears to be less frugal than my Africa Twin. Throughout my ride, I averaged around 48mpg. And in a world where petrol prices are through the roof, that’s a concern.

One of the most important requirements for my next bike is that it’s lightweight. So I was somewhat bemused when I saw the DCT version of the NT1100 was a full 20kg heavier than my non-DCT Africa Twin.

I currently pay around £170 per month (over three years) for my Africa Twin on PCP. For the NT1100 with DCT, the payments work out (for me and my specific circumstances) at £185 over FOUR years, or £215 over three years.

That said, the NT is incredibly easy to ride and supremely comfortable. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Honda will sell lots and lots of NT1100 units!

honda africa twin tft display free sample

The owner’s manual for the new generation of the Africa Twin is more than 300 pages thick, but nowhere in it could I find any information about lowering the seat height. Believe me, I looked. Along the way, I learned how to adjust the suspension (front, back, and both together, in any of 25 increments), how to install Apple CarPlay (you have to have a connected headset and microphone in your helmet, and there’s no Android Auto yet), and how to change the colour displays on the TFT screen to any of three different options. I skimmed over a lot of other stuff before I gave up.

This is a clever motorcycle. Much cleverer than me. (That’s a fairly low bar though… – Ed.) It was just above freezing when I collected the Africa Twin Adventure Sports from Honda’s parking lot earlier this month, with snow on all the car windshields alongside, and I didn’t want to hang about trying to set up the bike just so. Instead, I put on my silk undergloves and slipped them into my leather mitts, scaled the 870 mm (34.3 inch) seat, and stabbed the starter button with my thickly-padded thumb.

I remembered the previous-generation Africa Twin as being a complex motorcycle, but this redesigned bike is complex and then some. Fortunately for me, the weather warmed through the week, peaking with several days of unseasonable 20 degrees and sunshine. The heavy mitts were tucked away for another time and, as I rode the bike and then rode it some more, all the complexity fell into place and started to make sense. You may not like it because it’s too much to fix if something goes wrong, but it certainly makes the motorcycle a better, more accommodating machine.

Of course, it’s also more expensive. A fair bit more expensive. The basic Africa Twin starts at $16,499 and the Adventure Sports version starts at $19,999, which is a big hike from the older bike’s cost of $15,199 and $16,799. Add $845 for Freight and PDI, and then add $1,000 if you want the automatic DCT version.

Right now though, all Africa Twins have a manufacturer’s rebate of $1,500, which helps. So, if you pay Ontario sales taxes, for example, the most basic bike will cost you almost $18,000 out the door, and the Adventure Sports DCT will cost you just over $20,300 out the door. That’s a lot of money, but it’s in line with the KTM Super Adventure R and S, and it’s comfortably below BMW and Ducati territory.

There are some big and very obvious differences: for a start, the parallel-twin engine is punched out to 1,084 cc, which Honda says increases the peak power by 7 per cent and the peak torque by 6 per cent. Honda Canada, not so helpfully, doesn’t actually say what those final horsepower and torque figures are, but Honda in Europe is much more obliging and lists them over there as 100 hp and 77 lbs.-ft.

It’s also not quite so tall when it’s the more-equipped Adventure Sports version. This used to have a higher seat than the regular Africa Twin, but now they’re both the same height. There’s even an optional lower seat that brings your butt down to 845 mm (33.3 in) and 825 mm (32.5), so shorter riders have no excuse. For me, with a 32-inch inseam, I could place my boots flat on the ground on the lower, standard height of 850 mm.

In the last generation, the Adventure Sports was the true off-roader, with longer suspension travel and greater adjustability, while the regular Africa Twin was the standard, more affordable road bike. Now, the Adventure Sports is the classic touring machine, with the same suspension travel but a larger gas tank, more conveniences, and electronic Showa suspension.

The regular Africa Twin has manually-adjustable Showa suspension, but the Adventure Sports has what Honda calls Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment, which lets you change the damping and the pre-load through the TFT display screen. You can do this directly on the touch screen itself, or by toggling through one of the many buttons on the left handlebar.

There are four pre-set ride modes: Urban, Touring, Gravel, and Off-Road. There are also two other ride modes that you can pre-set yourself just the way you like it. All these modes can change their individual levels of available power, engine braking, traction control, suspension rebound at front and back, suspension damping for passengers and luggage, wheelie control, clutch bite, and activation of the rear-wheel ABS. Off-road mode also increases the damping under greater pressure, such as landing from a jump, so the shocks firm more quickly as they’re compressed. Oh, and each one of those ride modes can be displayed with your choice of screen: simple with just a sliding or rotating tach, or more detailed with a digital speedometer and all the setting values laid out.

There’s more, of course. Apple CarPlay ties the bike in to your iPhone, with texts and maps and all those other things we’ve grown used to on the bike’s main screen. (Android Auto is surely on the way for next year.) The handlebar grip heaters are standard on all models and have five different settings. If you pay for the automatic dual-clutch six-speed transmission, you also get the choice of Automatic or Manual, and Drive or Sport. Fortunately, the standard cruise control is really simple to use, and the five-position windscreen takes two hands to physically slide up and down. This is probably supposed to be a Honda safety feature, forcing you to pull over and adjust the screen, but did I mention the standard cruise control? Any Africa Twin rider worth his or her salt will seize the challenge of adjustment at speed, and it’s not that tricky.

The Africa Twin has big brakes and big spoked wheels, with 21-inch front a

honda africa twin tft display free sample

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