Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports review

I had  Africe Adventure Sports with DCT transmission for five days. We drove about 1,500 km in total.  It is important because in one day, and even more so in two hours, as it usually takes place  when testing motorcycles at a dealer, I wouldn't be able to get to know the bike well. After a few days, you stop learning the bike, you start to understand it, you stop thinking, you start to feel.

And then you see what is right and what is not.  Africa is very correct.  Its correctness is the refinement of this motorcycle in really every detail. You know it all works fine there.  Africa gives a very, very nice feeling that it will take you everywhere, comfortably, reliably, relatively quickly. It gives the impression that you will not have any problems with her, gives the impression that she will be your buddy or a buddy  you can always count on. I felt good on this bike. I wanted to immediately take it somewhere further, somewhere outside the designated road. And that's what this motorcycle is bought for.

​

Suspension / Driving off asphalt.  

​

This is where I see the biggest plus of the motorcycle. It is quite difficult to classify Honda, place it in line with the competition. Its dimensions and weight are closer to those of the largest touring enduro motorbikes (such as BMW R1200GS, KTM 1290 Super Adventure, Triumph Tiger 1200). However, it is much weaker than them, less comfortable when traveling with a passenger, it drives worse on asphalt roads (more on that in a moment), there is no such fancy equipment. On the other hand, it is lighter, has a smaller engine, costs much less, and has better off-road characteristics. On this side, it is closer to the BMW F800 / 850 GS, Triumph Tiger 800 or KTM 1090 Adventure R.  

In my opinion, Honda is somewhere in between, it fits into its category. It is a universal motorcycle, the so-called "dualsport", or just touristic enduro. Except Honda actually does it  ENDURO is. Thanks to the great suspension (front travel 224 mm / Sachs 45 mm, rear 240  mm - pro-link), which is fully adjustable (manual adjustment),  high ground clearance (270mm), 21 "and 18" tires, handling on unpaved roads is very good. Transverse irregularities, small stones, holes are chosen in such a way that we have the impression of driving on an almost smooth surface.

For this you have a good one  standing position, which allows for a good feeling of the motorcycle. Driving off the asphalt is therefore a pleasure. Due to the tires (typically asphalt), I was unfortunately unable to test the Honda  in more difficult terrain than the side gravel road, after all, I had it right away  the impression that this motorcycle would make  doing well there.  

​

Driving on asphalt.  

​

The same features that give a motorcycle good "off-road" properties will affect the handling on asphalt. You can feel here that Africa is not the king of the turns. It is like this  mainly by wheel size, frame geometry, ground clearance, and suspension travel. We don't have such confidence in driving, such a feeling that I can go very fast, confidently. It doesn't  Adventure Sports is driving badly. But it is not in that respect either  at the forefront of enduro touring motorcycles. In my opinion, in this group of motorcycles, Multistrada, S1000XR and Vstrom 1000 are the best to drive on asphalt.  At the same time, these 3 motorcycles will perform the worst off-road. Probably the best balance between the driving properties on asphalt and off-asphalt is retained by the R1200GS. Africa has definitely gone towards unpaved roads.  This is what it is, whether it's good or bad for someone  it depends on what motorcycle this person needs. I like it about Honda, it doesn't pretend to be ENDURO, it is just that. And the fact that it does not drive so well on asphalt, well in an "adventure" journey  it has less  meaning.  

​

Engine

​

One liter two-cylinder in a row. That sounds perfect. However, when we look at the performance of this unit, it gets a little less perfect.

The engine has 95 hp / 7,500 rpm and a torque of 99 Nm at 6,000 rpm. So a little bit, but on the other hand it's a touristic enduro, someone will say.  In practice, above 4500 rpm is really good, the engine starts to catch its breath.  Energetic and beautiful  it turns into rotation with the sound, very much  he likes them. However, at lower revs  we will feel  torque shortage. Efficient overtaking at 80 km / h when we have 6th gear is difficult, to do it at "motorcycle" pace we have to reduce 2 gears. I drove a version with a DCT dual-clutch gearbox, which fortunately has the ability to change gears manually (buttons on the steering wheel).  You can do that as well  at open throttle it works very smoothly. I did it every time it was necessary to pass a car efficiently. At 80-100 km / h, the automatic gear is already engaged in 6th gear. To reduce it by 2 gears alone, you need to add a lot of gas, but before the gearbox gets what it is, let's say some time. 

Returning to the engine, the compression ratio of this unit is 10: 1. So it is a very inefficient engine by today's motorcycle standards. (BMW F850GS - 12.7: 1, KTM 1290 - 13.1: 1). Of course, this bodes well for the longevity of this power unit. But because of this, Honda has less  power.  In my opinion, it would be ideal to have an extra 10hp and 10Nm on this bike. I think the Japanese could have achieved this without too much trouble, and I think the engine would still be a viable unit. For me, this is a big minus. 

Africa consumed an average of 5.7 liters of fuel per 100 km in the test. I was driving at a dynamic tourist pace, a lot of overtaking with a gear reduction. You can go down to 5l / 100 km with a gentle ride. The Adventure Sports fuel tank has a capacity of 24.2 liters. This means a range of 480 km.

This is a good result. You just have to watch out for the fuel reserve. While driving  the computer showed the range for 19 km, the engine started to stop, the fuel ran out.  Fortunately, there was a station in 500 meters, we managed to get there. You have to remember this.  

​

Position, ergonomics, comfort.  

​

Seat  in Honda, it is as high as 920 mm in the standard version  they can be lowered to 900 mm. This is the greatest height of the saddle  in this class of motorcycles. Here again the "endurance" of this motorcycle is bowing. This height forces the position  which is conducive to off-road driving. It suited me very well, I am tall (190 cm) so I felt perfectly at the controls. The standing position is also very pleasant, despite my height  and the standard handlebar mount, I didn't have to bend over, which allowed me to better control the bike. I tested the convenience in practice. Africa took me on a trip from Warsaw to Masuria  where we drove a little bit by side roads. Then a quick break for a fish with non-alcoholic beer and return. In total, we did about 500 km in about 7.5 hours. It was really comfortable. The knee deflection angle is  small, despite the fact that the seat is narrower than, for example, in the GS (here again "endura" bows), it is really comfortable. The only thing that was uncomfortable was the protection against the wind, here it is average. Due to the high position on the motorcycle and not too large windshield, the wind deflector ended at my shoulder height. The whole mass of air hit my head directly. In addition to the noise of the wind, gentle vibrations could be felt  at speeds above 120 km / h. It will be tiring for longer motorway flights for taller people. On the other hand, here you can also see that the Africa is designed more for side roads. In  standing position  or when we're sitting but we're not going that fast  less wind protection means more air (off-road driving, especially in summer, can be exhausting).  

​

Factory trunks

​

When it comes to an adventure travel  that's for sure  it would do well to equip a Honda with decent trunks. The ones I got from Honda are the factory kit.  The system is based on factory mounts, without any frames. The trunks are mounted directly to the rear rear end, on 3 plastic hooks. The system itself is relatively easy to install,  but the hooks do not give the feeling of a securely mounted luggage.  In my opinion, if we load them with the standard expedition amount of luggage, there is a good chance they will  they will break off somewhere on a hole in the side road.  The trunks themselves are light, which is their only plus. They are light because they are 100% plastic, but the soil may end up tearing off or breaking the trunk.  So  these trunks are not suitable for  no serious foray beyond the one to work… They're loaded from the side. This  it's ok, if we take the trunks off, load up at home, or where we are staying for the night. But if we want to charge them with something on a motorcycle, either  take something out of them during a short stop, that's a lot,  poorly. Honda  she should think about selling a genuine set of expedition trunks. Currently, it remains to look for solutions on the market, which are fortunately not lacking. However, the company's one-key set would be something great. A big plus for stabilization while driving, at any speed, you feel confident on the road, there is no  nervous behavior  caused by the trunks.  

​

DCT gearbox

​

Dual clutch six  running  Honda automatic has only one drawback. A motorcycle equipped with such a gearbox weighs 10 kg more than a version with a manual gearbox. In addition, only pluses. Convenience first, you don't need to change gears. Secondly, the gearbox works very quickly and precisely, it changes gears faster than we would be  can do it manually, even with a quickshifter. It can also be operated manually in automatic mode using the switches on the steering wheel. You can downshift and drive up in any throttle position, there is no delay in operation. You can also choose manual mode, then it's all in your hands, but the gearbox will shift up or downshift itself, if necessary (at maximum and minimum revs). There are three driving modes to choose from.  This machine is very fun to move, the clutch system allows you to  dynamic start. The chest also has a switch, on the main cockpit there is a large button with the letter "G". The gearbox then switches to "enduro" mode and the overall system reduces slippage  clutch, making the response to the addition of gas more direct. Thanks to this, we have greater precision in dosing the rear wheel slip. We can completely turn off the traction control. ABS can only be turned off on the rear wheel. The automatic gearbox works well in the field, you don't have to bother changing gears and controlling the clutch, we can only focus on the road. I do not know if I would prefer a Honda in the manual or in the machine. 10 kg and a significant surcharge  are cons, on the other hand this slot works really well. A difficult choice, it's best to check it yourself :)  

Appearance / Lights / Display

​

Honda is really pretty.  From every side. This is immediately evident from the reactions of other people.  This is her plus and  probably not  what more to write about it. 

We drove in beautiful painting for 30 years. 

All lights are made in LED technology. Front dual headlights  candle  very good, in the tested specimen we also had additional headlights on the crash bars, which also illuminated the road well. Their disadvantage is the appearance, as for the factory option, they could be nicer.

The display is similar to this  in a regular Africe, despite Honda's promises to improve visibility, it is still average. You can see the speed well, the rest requires more concentration or getting used to. Visibility in the sun is poor.  

Brakes

​

They work properly. We have here  Two 310mm front discs with four-piston calipers and one 256mm discs with single-piston rear caliper. Two-channel ABS system. Everything works fine, it's hard to write anything more here. It can be added that the DCT version has handbrake levers in the place of the clutch. However, it is so far away that we are incapable of reflex  squeeze it while driving. Serves as a parking brake.  

​

Conclusions

​

It's a really good bike. It offers more adventure than the normal Africi Twin version. Adventure Sports is larger, more comfortable, has a larger fuel tank, and is better suited to off-road driving. It also gives the impression of a motorcycle more mature than the standard version.

Easy  I  like.  The coolest feeling is that you have  dealing with something really thoughtful and refined. You can go really far on a motorcycle and in almost all conditions. 

With such Japanese precision and correctness. Due to this correctness, unfortunately sometimes it is a bit boring, you would like to have more claw, emotions that should accompany riding a motorcycle. More power and it would be really cool. 

The Honda Adventure Sports version costs PLN 64,300 with a manual gearbox and PLN 69,000 with a DCT gearbox. In this range, Africa is placed between smaller F800 / 850 GS or KTM 1090 Adventure R and R1200GS and eg Tiger 1200, which are much more expensive. This is a motorcycle for a mature motorcyclist who is looking for reliable equipment for long trips with the ability to slide off the asphalt.  This is what Africa was designed for. And it will work well for this. If someone is looking for a tourist enduro, for example, because of its convenience, but will never or very rarely drive off the asphalt, should consider  rather, over another bike. It is a pity to waste this off-road potential of Honda, which on the other hand limits the driving characteristics on asphalt roads.  

​

​

​

​