American Honda has released pricing details on the 2016 Honda Africa Twin today, an eagerly awaited nugget of information for many adventure-touring riders who are interested in the CRF1000L.
We won’t waste your time with hyperbole, if you want a Honda Africa Twin, you’ll need $12,999. If the dual-clutch transmission model is your cup of ADV, then you’ll need some extra coin, as its MSRP is $13,699.
After leaking twice yesterday, Honda has officially dropped details and photos on its highly anticipated adventure-tourer, the 2016 Honda Africa Twin. A continuation of the legacy by the same name, the new Honda Africa Twin is an off-road focused machine that will go head-to-head with the big ADV bikes already on the market.
Built around a 998cc parallel-twin engine, which makes 94hp and 72 lbs•ft of torque, the Africa Twin tips the scales at the curb at 503 lbs (standard model, first photos after the jump) / 534 lbs (DCT/ABS models, shown above).
Spec-sheet off-road racers are likely not going to be happy with these numbers, though they measure well against the KTM 1190 Adventure R and BMW R1200GS Adventure.
What we think ADV riders will come around to is Honda’s off-road built dual-clutch transmission, which will have the benefit of making shifts while out of the saddle much easier, and giving clutch-free operation, much like a Rekluse clutch.
Last night we brought you a leaked video of the new Honda Africa Twin, which revealed the off-road oriented adventure bike in all its glory. Today, we get to see the leaked specs of the Honda CRF1000L (the model designation of the Africa Twin), along with what looks like an official high-resolution photo.
The spec-sheet for the Africa Twin has long been something of interest for ADV fans, with the obvious questions being 1) how much horsepower will it make? and 2) how much will it weight. The answers are 94hp, and 458 lbs dry (467 lbs with ABS, 489 lbs with DCT).
UPDATE: Technical specifications for the 2016 Honda Africa Twin have also leaked.
Honda has been teasing a six-part video series about the Honda Africa Twin, and the final installment has just leaked onto the internet. As you would expect, the video finally gives us the full monty on what the Honda CRF1000L will look like, along with some great action footage.
Perhaps even better, the final installment of Honda’s video series also features a very interesting discussion with HRC riders, Honda engineers, and stakeholders to the Africa Twin brand.
The discussion is very insightful to the development of the 1,000cc adventure bike platform, including off-roading’s first dual-clutch transmission (DCT).
After a few grayscale photos of the new Africa Twin hit the internet from Honda’s Australian patent filing, now even more photos have emerged, which show the adventure-tourer from every angle…literally.
The Honda CRF1000L, as it is designated, will features a 1,000cc parallel-twin engine, an option dual-clutch transmission that has been tuned for road use, and a setup very similar to Honda’s Dakar stage-winning bike.
If the hype is to be believed, the Africa Twin is going to be a very capable off-road ADV bike, something that the machine’s 21-inch front wheel hints at with a purpose.
After Honda first released heavily cropped and vignetted photos of the 2016 Honda Africa Twin, we have been wanting to know more about the 1,000cc ADV bike.
It helps that a video leaked of the Africa Twin out playing in the dirt, but of course we know that the CRF1000L (as Honda designates it) will be very similar to the True Adventure prototype that Honda brought to EICMA.
But like the spoiled children we the media are, we want to open all our Christmas presents right now, so we go digging through the interwebs for every little clue.
Luckily, patent applications for the Honda Africa Twin’s design show the new off-roader in all its glory, sans color unfortunately. Still, this is our first glimpse at the final design of the Africa Twin, which will be in US dealers early next year.
It looks like some video of the new Africa Twin has leaked out of Honda HQ, showing the adventure-touring bike going through its paces.
From the few glimpses we see from the video, the Honda Africa Twin looks very similar to the True Adventure prototype that Honda unveiled at EICMA.
Designated as the Honda CRF1000L, the Africa Twin is shaping up to be a very interesting motorcycle from Big Red.
American Honda dropped a bombshell today, confirming that the teased “True Adventure” ADV model will enter production, and be named the “Africa Twin”, as expected.
Officially designated at the Honda CRF1000L, the Africa Twin will be a 2016 model (in dealerships early next year), and best of all, it will be coming to the USA.
The 2016 Honda Africa Twin draws upon a legacy of rugged off-road race-proven machines that also wore its name, a sign that Honda intends the CRF1000L to be very capable off-road, and thus not follow the road-going adventure-sport trend.