Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin in a test report

Honda presented the new Honda Africa Twin in Africa – where else? Was the wait worthwhile? The first part of the test went through winding mountain passes and nearly endless asphalt straightaways near Cape Town, while the second part then went off-road.

A lot of things today have cult followings. Especially when something stands out from the crowd somehow. You sometimes wonder: Why? This is certainly not the case with the Honda Africa Twin, which was already something special in its time. It is rather unusual that it did not glisten with superlatives like some other real or perceived motorcycle legends. On the contrary, on paper the Africa Twin was rather average. It was not particularly strong on the road when it was launched in 1988 as the XRV 650 with an initially limp 49 hp. It was also not a madcap off-road at 220 kilogrammes of live weight.

Nevertheless, the Honda Africa Twin attracted fans right from the start. Its sporty outfit, the battle dress of the victorious HRC Dakar race, its desert image, but also the nimbus of unbreakability that spread quickly among the camp fires in the Sahara – all of this affected and excited adventurers and long-distance travellers. If you drove up to the club meeting in the neighbouring town on a Honda Africa Twin, the desert sand would seem to positively trickle out of every crack. On the other hand, the XRV even convinced level-headed MOTORRAD testers and earned test victories on the track with qualities of all extreme values – and even at the end of its career in the late 1990s, it could still prevail against considerably stronger, more modern machines.

Those who expect sensational things will be disappointed

These are therefore large footsteps that the Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin wants to step into today. Honda needed correspondingly long to sort out how to even find a profile of requirements in the first place. Adjustments were made here and there and corrected during the development phase, and fine-tuning and shaping still took place until just before the final whistle. Certainly a reason why presentation and market launch had to be postponed several times until recently. But now it’s here. And the expectations are all the higher after all the fuss beforehand. Can, will the new Honda Africa Twin do these expectations justice?

Before the on-road testing day east of Cape Town, let’s first take a brief look at the technology. Those who expect sensational things will be disappointed with the new edition of the desert machine. Similar to the end of the 1980s, the current Honda Africa Twin does not offer anything outstanding today. At around 230 kilogrammes, it is not particularly light. This was undercut by a KTM 950 Adventure a good ten years ago. It is also not particularly powerful. 94 hp from a litre of displacement is a solid output, but even the 800-series enduros do that today.

V-engine gives way to a parallel twin

However, there is a great deal of interesting technology hidden under the plastic dress styled by the Italian Honda designer Maurizio Carbonara. The engineers spent a lot of brain power on the resurrection project. There are more than 30 patents hidden in the new Honda Africa Twin. The former V-engine had to give way to a parallel twin, which is more compact and lightweight, and of course also a bit cheaper to manufacture. So that the V2 character is preserved, the crank pins are offset by 270 degrees, which is a common trick today. In the cylinder head, a camshaft now rotates that actuates the intake valves via the bucket tappets and the exhaust valves via the rocker arm. It is called unicam at Honda. It was first used there with the CRF crossers. After the patent expired, the technology can now be copied (see driving report KTM 690 Duke page in MOTORRAD issue 26/2015). The engine has a dry sump lubrication, stashing its lubricant away separately in the engine compartment. Two balancer shafts are meant to reduce vibrations to a minimum.

No expense was spared with the chassis as well. The spring elements in the rear and front are completely adjustable. While it is true that the Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin “only” has a backbone of steel, says project manager Tetsuya Kudo, a steel frame is sturdier and easy to repair anywhere in the world. The engine is bolted to the chassis as a supporting element at six points instead of the usual four. This saves a steering damper that may otherwise be necessary. The spoked wheels in the classic enduro dimension show that the new Honda Africa Twin is intended to cover a broad range, from touring to adventure to off-road: 18 inches in the rear, 21 inches in the front.

New Honda Africa Twin is slim fitted

For a 1000-series enduro, the new Honda Africa Twin appears slim the first time you sit on it. Especially at the transition from the tank to the seat, the machine is slim fitted in order to keep the step bend length low and to provide for good knee grip off-road. The seat height can be varied two-fold: if that is not enough, there is alternatively a lower and higher seat. The fact that the handlebar and fittings fit perfectly in your hand can be chalked up as being typical Honda. The firmly bolted windscreen also appears narrow, but it is ingeniously (and of course patented) surrounded by ventilation ducts, which offers surprisingly good wind protection. You will therefore not miss the ability to make adjustments.

The clutch lever is very easy to use thanks to the assist/slipper mechanism built into the coupling. It seems unusual that the new Honda Africa Twin still operates the throttle valves via conventional throttle cables. “We wanted to preserve the familiar quiet feeling on the throttle for tour riders”, says project manager Kudo. With Japanese restraint, but also sonorous with bass, the in-line engine bubbles from the massive silencer, of course with patented inner workings. You already notice after the first few metres how smoothly this dual in-line engine runs. It only vibrates very gently in the middle RPM range and hangs tremendously gently on the gas.

Easy controllability in any situation

Given the peak power, it is obvious that the front wheel will not pop into the air when starting. Honda also wanted to tie in with the character of the old Africa Twin and gave the new engine a similar characteristic, albeit at a significantly higher power and torque level. Accordingly, the twin never develops its power explosively, but rather steadily and evenly. It is certainly not spectacular, but offers continuous thrust and simple controllability in any situation. It actually does not matter which gear is currently engaged, the engine of the new Honda Africa Twin never feels indisposed. It manages to comfortably saunter about at lower speeds just as well as cycling through the gears up to the limiter. The top speed is still clocked at more than 210 km/h with impeccable stability, at least riding solo.

The top speed, however, is not the main issue with such a remote travel concept as the Honda Africa Twin. Consumption, however, is a big topic. 400 kilometres of range were stated in the specifications. Despite only 18.8 litres of tank volume, this is to be possible, which would require a travel consumption of around 4.5 litres / 100 kilometres. During the test and photo tours, the on-board computer reported a good litre more, but then again these tours are not intended to be fuel-efficient.

DCT version almost 10 kilogrammes heavier

The new Honda Africa Twin is electronically limited to the absolute minimum: A three-stage traction control system is standard equipment with the ABS version – and only these can still be sold today in Germany. It intervenes in the fuel supply, works properly and with a considerably noticeable scope during the intervention. The ABS can only be switched off on the rear wheel for off-road use. For different driving modes or a cruise control, the technical requirements are currently missing due to a lack of ride-by-wire.

However, there are all kinds of electronics in the DCT version of the Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin, which weighs almost ten kilogrammes more with a dual clutch and electro-hydraulic actuation. The function and advantages of the Honda automation have already been discussed at length. But testing the current version offered some new insights. Firstly, the performance improved with each evolutionary step. This is also true of the DCT Africa Twin, which accelerates in a very finely metered fashion and shifts wonderfully gently. Gear changes are done with almost perfect smoothness, yet many traditionalists and sports riders prefer shifting by foot – even if it’s just a force of habit. Even in the direct comparison, you cannot shake the feeling that some power was lost in the complex mechanics / hydraulics.

Soft springs, soft basic tuning

Actually, the DTC concept is intended more for tourists and casual riders. The automatic gearbox works wonderfully easily at a moderate speed. However, even sports riders catch themselves enjoying the automatic shifting of the Honda Africa Twin snaking through curves, because it keeps their head clear, which in turn is conducive to concentration. In order to adjust the shifting strategy to individual requirements, in addition to the touring mode there are now three different configured sports modes. You just have to find the right mode for you. And then there is this ominous G-button for off-road riding. More to come about that in the second part.

Whether with or without DCT, the chassis of both Honda Africa Twins are the same. In the specifications, the gentle responsiveness also stood for maximum driving comfort. Which was undoubtedly successful. Long spring deflections of 220/230 mm, soft springs and a soft basic tuning virtually iron everything smooth that the South African road network has to offer – and that’s saying something.

Honda Africa Twin makes an understatement

This is of course connected to a lot of movement in the chassis, especially with speedy shifting. It’s a typical enduro feeling, which matches the narrow tyres with a 21-inch front wheel. It offers clean stable steering through curves of all imaginable radii, thanks to the minimalised righting moment, but needs some extra effort when turning into curves, especially at higher speeds. The bike has Dunlop Trailmax tyres that look off-road with their wide grooves, which have some problems here and there with the slippery South African terrain.

First interim conclusion: In principle, the new Honda Africa Twin is what it always was: a motorcycle that does not show off with enhanced performance, but that rather makes an understatement, that shines with a tremendous range of application and whose qualities may be opened up to the owner not in the first few metres, but rather gradually. What does the Africa Twin have to offer off the asphalt? More on this in the MOTORRAD issue 1/2016, when it comes to the bush.

 

History of the Africa Twin

The Honda Africa Twin was born in the sand dunes of the Sahara. At the famous Rallye Paris – Dakar  in the early 1980s, BMW achieved a series of spectacular successes and snatched the victory from Honda. The Japanese set to the counter-attack by building the special V2 factory motorcycle in 1986, the NXR 750. The Frenchman Cyril Neveu won immediately with this new motorcycle, and by 1989, Honda had won four times in a row. These successes earned the NXR the nickname “Queen of Africa”. Eventually in 1988, the Japanese derived the series production motorcycle XRV 650 Africa Twin from this. The most important opponent of BMW was also on the market at that time – in the form of the popular Boxer Enduro R 80 GS. While the Honda Africa Twin visually leaned on the NXR racing motorcycle, both had little in common technically. For the basis of the standard XRV 650 with the internal code RD03 was actually the respectable XL 600 V Transalp.

Despite its 220 kg of weight with only 49 hp, the 650-series scored from the outset with typical Honda virtues, such as balance and reliability. In 1990, Honda increased the displacement to three quarters of a litre in the RD04 and there were minor retouches visually and technically. In 1993, the RD07 then followed as a thoroughly revised model, which was built until 1999. The basic formula did not change: The Honda Africa Twin was always an all-round enduro, robust and easy to care, it cut a good figure both on the road as well as off-road. The successor Varadero 1000 could not offer this range of applications. It was more oriented towards tourists and was too bulky for rougher off-road trips. The Varadero also followed the timely trend continuing to today of larger and more powerful touring enduros with 19-inch front wheels. By contrast, the new Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin again links to the original concept.

Test Report Africa Twin Part 2

 

Technical Data

	Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin
Model year	2016
Motor
Number of cylinders, design	2, in-line engine
Bore / stroke	92.0 / 75.1 mm
Displacement	998 cm³
Valves per cylinder	Four valves per cylinder
Compression	10.0
Output	70.0 kW (94.0 hp) at 7,500 rpm
Max. torque	98 Nm
Number of gears	Six-speed gearbox
Rear-wheel drive	O-ring chain
Chassis, wheels, brakes
Frame	Bridge frame
Front/rear spring deflection	230 mm / 220 mm
Tyres	90/90 21, 150/70 18
Front/rear brake	310 mm four-piston fixed callipers / 256 mm single-piston floating calliper
ABS	No
Dimensions and weights
Wheel base	1575 mm
Steering head angle	62.5 °
Trail	113 mm
Dead weight with a full tank of petrol	228 kg
Seat height	n/a
Permissible total weight	427 kg
Maximum speed	199 km/h
Price
New price	EUR 12,405.00