What if you want a Honda Africa Twin but you don’t want to shell out £14,000 odd on a brand new CRF 1100 L? Well, then it might be worth considering the much-loved original.
The Africa Twin is another legendary name in the adventure bike world. When Honda announced they were going to bring back the legendary Africa Twin in 2016 they caught the attention of a large number of riders. Over the years the Twinky as it is affectionately known had gained a huge fan base due to its rugged nature and adventuring spirit. If Honda could encapsulate this ethos in a new generation of Africa Twin then there was going to be a lot of riders battering on the door of their local Honda dealer asking to slap down a deposit.
Honda promised the new Africa Twin would contain the original’s ‘True Adventure’ spirit and despite the fact it arrived powered by a parallel twin motor rather than the classic’s V-twin, it certainly hit the mark. But more to the point this new bike took the Africa Twin in a fresh direction as its larger capacity motor, modern electronics and increased size opened the doors to far more than the old model was capable of. This is a modern adventure bike, but one that is targeted slightly more towards the world traveller than the urban commuter.
Unlike some rival adventure bikes, the Africa Twin feels like it has genuine off-road capability. As well as sitting quite tall on its suspension, the 998cc motor places it in an interesting middle ground between the heavy adventurers such as the GS and the middleweight ones such as the Triumph Tiger. This placement means that when the roads turn to gravel you have a bike whose weights isn’t overly intimidating, yet its motor has more than enough punch to drive through the rough stuff. And on the tarmac it doesn’t feel under-powered against its bigger-capacity rivals while being noticeably lighter to turn. Not only that, the Africa Twin even brings some unique technology to the class.
As well as the usual traction control and ABS, Honda offered the Africa Twin with its DCT gearbox, which was a feature that its rivals couldn’t match. Not to everyone’s tastes, it does make commuting far less effort and is actually fairly decent for off-road riding, once you get used to its odd feel. But will many Twinkys be taken off-road? In truth probably not, but that doesn’t stop it being a great commuter.
Read also: Learn about the religious movement that resonated with enslaved African Americans.
On the road the Africa Twin’s parallel twin motor has a strong mid-range that makes it ideal for slogging out the hard miles. While the seat is a bit firm (that’s the off-road heritage), the riding position is upright and comfortable, the screen reasonable and there are loads of luggage options should you require some extra storage.
Although far from irritation-free, the Africa Twin is a great looking adventure bike that is something a little bit different to the ubiquitous GS with a strong heritage behind it. And prices aren’t too bad either, especially when you compare them to a GS of a similar vintage.
At the time of its release, it was criticised for being less powerful and less punchy than its rivals (and it’s certainly no Multistrada V4), but there’s more than enough grunt from its 95bhp motor to make swift progress. It’s a Honda. That means it just works. No grumbles or gremlins, plenty of comfort and suitable for nearly all shapes and sizes. And you know it’s going to stand the test of time, too. It is a good motorcycle - both on and off the road. It’ll do the lot.
Honda XRV750 Africa Twin (1989-2003)
The Honda XRV750, more commonly known as the Africa Twin, has been around since 1989 in one form or another. While Honda stopped production of the bike in 2003 the 742cc V-twin has remained a popular choice for ABRs and is slowly becoming a collector’s item. While there are still a few of the RD03s and RD04s about it is the RD07 that captured most people’s imagination. It’s no surprise then that prices for an excellent example are still fetching between £3,000 and £4,000 and a good bike should be obtainable somewhere between £2,000 and £3,000. It’s better than putting money in the bank these days as the prices are on the rise for those that are kept in good condition.
Extras can push the price up and there are still lots available from places like Romotec, Touratech and of course eBay. Keep it standard, useful mods are fine but the best examples are standard with original items such as exhausts, plastics and headlights.
Read also: 2nd Dress Styles for Nigerian Weddings
Wheels have been known to corrode from the inside, so check for signs of aluminium corrosion around the spokes and valve. Replacement rims are available but don’t come cheap (close to £300 each).
Rectifiers can fail which will boil your battery. Replacement rectifiers are easily obtainable on the internet for less than £100.
While not a common issue some Africa Twins can suffer from warped front discs. Closely inspect the brakes as there can also be corrosion built up behind the caliper piston seals. This creates extra pressure between the seals and the pistons and stops the pistons from retracting when the brakes are not applied.
It’s not unknown for the fuel pumps to pack in between 30 − 40k miles. You can fit the solid-state facet ones as a mod but it needs mounting and a bracket making to replace the original pump.
Service items are as cheap as for any other bike and very easy to obtain. Before our Morocco trip last year with 38k miles on the clock I thought ‘prevention is better than cure’. I replaced brake pads, chain and sprockets, air filter, engine oil and filter, spark plugs (2 per cylinder) and tyres and tubes all for my Morocco trip. On the ride we covered 3,500 miles. Mostly on tarmac with about three good long off-road riding days including Sahara desert sand and rocky Atlas mountain trails.
Read also: Significance of the Second Niger Bridge
Crash bars are almost essential to protect the plastics. Wider footpegs (Though the originals do have rubber inserts if a little narrow). These can be expensive, £60 upwards, but I bought some for the Honda XR range (same fitting) from China off eBay for less than £20 and they are great.
You don’t need to spend over £10,000 to have an adventure bike and to enjoy adventure bike riding. It’s all about how you feel and the experiences you have on your bike. The Africa Twin is not powerful by modern standards but has plenty of torque and will easily keep up on the road. Too much power off-road isn’t always a good thing.
Restoring my iconic Africa Twin 1992 Honda XRV750
Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin (2016-2019)
Having only appeared in 2016 the Africa Twin is a relatively new motorcycle, so in many ways it is a fairly safe used buy. However as with any introduction model there are always some teething issues and as a result buyers do need to be slightly wary.
What to Look For
The biggest issue that owners are encountering is due to the Twin’s spokes, which have a tendency to corrode quite badly. While not a major structural issue, tarnished spokes do detract from the bike’s visual appeal so always check them well and also inspect where the spoke meets the wheel rim as this area can trap water, exaggerating the effects of corrosion. Treating the spokes with anti-corrosion spray seems to ward off the worst of the corrosion, but it is still disappointing on a premium bike from Honda that you need to take such measures.
Alongside the spokes, another bugbear of Africa Twin owners is the switchgear, which appears somewhat fragile and prone to failure with sticking buttons also a common occurrence. Test every function and ensure the buttons feel nice and quick to respond and release as any sluggishness hints at a problem in the future.
There are a few threads on cold start issues with the Africa Twin, which doesn’t seem to have a direct culprit but it is worth ensuring the bike you are looking at buying is cold when you arrive and the owner hasn’t sneakily warmed it up to disguise the problem.
As with any off-road style bike check for damage due to drops (it has quite a tall seat height), but also get on your hands and knees and inspect the bike’s underside for impacts that may have dinged the bash plate. If the plate is hammered then you have to suspect the bike has been used off-road and that means suspension, bearings etc will have been subjected to hard use and may need replacing.
Finally, and this is a crucial one, always run an HPI check on the Africa Twin as Honda slashed prices in late 2017/early 2018 due to the arrival of the updated model and many were sold on finance.
With all these check complete you only need to worry if you want a ‘normal’ gearbox model or one with Honda’s flash DCT system and the level of accessories as it is always cheaper to buy a bike with panniers, top box etc already fitted than buying them afterwards and retro fitting.
Updates
In response to owner’s comments, Honda updated the Africa Twin in 2018 with the new model introducing a ride-by-wire throttle alongside three set plus one user-defined riding mode, four selectable traction control settings (Honda Selectable Torque Control), revised suspension, a lighter balancer shaft within the motor and a fruitier exhaust note. The DCT version received the same upgrades with extra off-road modes and incline detection. Stainless steel spokes were also introduced…
Alongside the standard Africa Twin, 2018 also saw the introduction of the Africa Twin Adventure Sports model, which included all the 2018 updates in a bike with longer travel suspension, a flatter seat with a more upright riding position, chunky pegs, heated grips, a taller screen and a larger 24.2-litre fuel tank.
What to Pay
When it was launched in 2016 the Africa Twin cost £10,499 for the stock model and £11,299 for the DCT bike, however some huge discounting by Honda (especially on the DCT model) in late 2017 and early 2018 has seen its used value drop. You can pick up an early standard Twin for between £6,500 and £7,000 with DCT models even popping up in this range. A low-mileage machine or a 2017 model ups the price to £7,500 to £8,000 with luggage also adding a few hundred quid. There are loads of used Africa Twins out there, so take your time and bag a beauty.
Popular articles:
tags: #Africa
