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African Twin

backtochain said:
Watching the burnouts , that 998cc engine puts out some serious power. It weighs roughly 60 lbs. more than our NC's. Looking forward to a test ride indeed. Wonder how many miles one can squeeze out of that 4.96 gal. tank?
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Those stunters are almost always re-geared. Don't expect a stock bike to do burnouts and power wheelies as easily. Also, the burnouts and drifting were done with weight well forward and probably liberal use of front brake. I'm willing to bet that none of use could hop on it and make it do similar magic.
 
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Old Can Ride said:
This article I am sure got someone at BMW's attention!

Africa Twin: Bike comparaison avec la GS
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Sometimes I think that BMW only listens to the voices in their heads. Even between my 2012 NC and 2013 GS, there are quite a few things the Honda does better. But speaking only for myself, which I prefer does not come down to specifications or checklists, it comes down to how much enjoyment it brings to ride them. On that, the GS wins handily for me. In fact, my 1976 and 1992 BMWs win handily.

I just put a new rear tire on the NC and I was muttering "Damned chain!"
 
When at Daytona a few days ago, I went by the Twisted Throttle tent. I was told that they are currently in the processs of making the parts for the Africa Twin. They stated they currently have no Africa Twin parts in yet. I was told they will have Africa Twin parts in stock in two months.
 
The good old chaps test the Honda Africa Twin! Other interesting tid bits here also.

[video=youtube;Ywst6EaQv6k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywst6EaQv6k[/video]
 
A damned post on r/motorcycles led me to my local dealer page where they are selling VFR's for about $5k under sticker. Must stay content.
 
I was off out on the AT for about three hours today. I was mostly on the roughest backroads that are my favourite stomping grounds. Then I went offroad on some mining tracks and finally I returned the bike to Honda on the motorway.

It is definitely all about the chassis. Nice willing motor, free revving, very smooth, nice sound. Ergonomics are excellent for me with a comfortable riding position. Good saddle. Nice reach to the bars and plenty of leg room. It was also easy for me to almost flat foot at a stop. There was plenty of space for my Wife with the top box in place, although the AT would not be as strong as my Triumph for two up with gear, but we will check that out at some point later as She only tried the back for size today.

As far as I am concerned the suspension is really good. There is one particularly rough uphill lane at the mines, with washed out ruts and rock outcrops up thru the surface of the track. I was quite pleasantly surprised at how the suspension gave me such a cushy ride over such a rough surface. That was when I got to thinking that this AT is better suspended than my KTM690 Enduro, and up to now I had thought that bike was ok as it is also an "R" with longer travel than a standard 690.

Overall the AT is a very nice motorcycle. At this stage of my life I am no longer interested in mega horsepower. Truth be known it would take an expert rider to ride the AT motor to its limits despite its "meagre" 100bhp or thereabouts. It certainly has plenty for me. I thought my Triumph was cushy with its Wilbers suspension, and indeed it is, but not as cushy as the AT.

The TC is easily switched off (or adjusted) on the fly, as is the ABS. Any moans ? Just two. There was a touring screen on it and it created a lot of noise for me. However it does provide a lot of protection. Offroad I found the abruptness of throttle a bit of a pain when standing, in lower gears. The solution was to click up a gear and the motor was happy to haul. A couple of times I took off from a stop in second gear without realising it. No problem to this motor.

Since my KTM 950 Adventure there has not been anything in the Big Trail bike market that has interested me. My Triumph Explorer is basically a road bike so it doesn't count. However this bike certainly has caught my attention. Keep in mind it was just handed over to me by the shop with no set up of suspension or adjustment of tyre pressures etc. I just got on it and took off into the hills. The last time I felt as confident on such a big bike offroad, it was on my 950 Adventure when I got it first. That was eleven years ago. Mind you I wouldn't like to have to pick it up tho and obviously one would have to chose the terrain carefully.

After I returned the AT to the shop, I got back on my NC and came on home over the same roads. Even with the Wilbers shock on the NC, it is still not in the same league as the AT for ride quality over rough surfaces. However I must admit that my NC motor still felt pretty good by comparison, and that just goes to show what a brilliant job Honda did with it from the getgo .

P1040797.jpg

P1040806.jpg
 
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Great info. For purely road use which includes maintained gravel or limestone, would you consider the AT over the NC's handling? Handling prowess only, not concerned with power comparison at this point.
 
dduelin said:
Great info. For purely road use which includes maintained gravel or limestone, would you consider the AT over the NC's handling? Handling prowess only, not concerned with power comparison at this point.
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That is indeed a point which occurred to me on my return journey to home on the NC. Because it is much more firmly suspended, I would classify my NC's handling as more "taut" than the AT. My NC does have alternative suspension and I am still in the process of getting an optimum setting on that. However I did notice that the AT needed more riding input at the handlebars when transitioning through a series of tight S bends on a narrow well surfaced road that I like to ride. That is something to be expected on a bike that probably has twice the amount of suspension travel that the NC has, because the radius of lean between left and right is greater on the taller bike. As such, if I were to approach this series of bends successively on both bikes I believe the NC would be slightly quicker through them.

In summary therefore the best answer I can give you is that NC's handling is more precise than the AT's based on my experiences today. I suppose that is only to be expected given the difference in chassis geometry between the two bikes, but even at that, with its offroad biased suspension, the handling of the AT is still quite remarkable overall.
 
Very good write up that Griff did on the AT. I have set on two AT's, but have not got to ride on yet. Griff's write up was exactly what I thought it would be.
 
Old Can Ride said:
Very good write up that Griff did on the AT. I have set on two AT's, but have not got to ride on yet. Griff's write up was exactly what I thought it would be.
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I'm not ready to move off my NC (again!, learned that lesson) but I do have a commitment from my dealer to demo the first AT DCT on their floor. Hopefully that will be May 31.
 
dduelin said:
I'm not ready to move off my NC (again!, learned that lesson) but I do have a commitment from my dealer to demo the first AT DCT on their floor. Hopefully that will be May 31.
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It would be ideal if you could get it when it has at least 5/600 miles on it. The one I tried had only 300 on it when I took it out and I was aware that the forks still had a bit of loosening out to do. I gave it back with about 450 miles on it, but even then the forks had loosened out some more, probably due to the rough roads I had been on. Just a suggestion so you get the best possible experience on it.
 
dduelin said:
I'm not ready to move off my NC (again!, learned that lesson) but I do have a commitment from my dealer to demo the first AT DCT on their floor. Hopefully that will be May 31.
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I have seen so many folks leave the NC7 and in a short time they most return. That is why I did not sell my NC7 when I purchased the AT. The dealership that I use wants my NC7 to show the miles on the showroom. I will most likely let them use it for awhile, but I just can not bring myself to sell the NC7.
 
2brnut2b said:
Manual VS DCT off-road review:
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With the muscles in my left hand starting to cramp from clutch usage after a day's ride, the DCT was the best of the two for me. Also, some of the folks I know on this forum that are great riders swear by the DCT once they have ridden it and got use to the transmission. I fell the DTC will keep this old, short, fat, ugly fellow riding in some lite off roads usage for a few more year.
 
Old Can Ride said:
With the muscles in my left hand starting to cramp from clutch usage after a day's ride, the DCT was the best of the two for me. Also, some of the folks I know on this forum that are great riders swear by the DCT once they have ridden it and got use to the transmission. I fell the DTC will keep this old, short, fat, ugly fellow riding in some lite off roads usage for a few more year.
Click to expand...

I'm absolutely sure you're gonna be happy with this DCT Africa Twin !
Have fun !
 
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