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.
The Erzbergrodeo billed as the toughest single-day motorcycle race on the planet – a name the race more than live up to each year. For 2015 though, Sunday’s Red Bull Hare Scramble, as its known to the marketing-hip, was something out of Dante’s seven circles of Hell.
500 riders qualified for the main event, a number that was whittled down from the 1,500 entries. Of those 500 riders though, only 5 of them finished the course, known better as “The Iron Giant”.
Though the Erzbergrodeo is known for its low-finishing rate, this year’s event was extra difficult because the race organizers added an additional 21 miles to its length, including the new “Downtown” section, which was a virtually impassable with its ravine and steep muddy hill.
With four co-winners (Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis, Andreas Lettenbichler, and Alfredo Gómez), and a fifth lone finisher (Mario Roman Serrano), we bet this will be a race talked about for some time. Luckily if you missed it on TV, we have the full TV episode right here, after the jump. Enjoy!
The 2016 Dakar Rally has already has the setback of Chilé being removed from its rally raid course, and now today we get word that the ASO is making another alteration to next year’s event, as Peru is being removed from the course as well.
The news comes about after weather forecasts predict a particularly strong El Niño this year, which has lead the Peruvian government to declare an emergency in 14 regions of the country.
This has also lead to the cancelation of the Inca Desafío race, and of course nixes the country’s involvement in the 2016 Dakar Rally.
Taking a superbike off-road isn’t the dumbest thing we’ve ever done, but too many it certainly is sacrilegious. The truth is, the Venn diagram of motorcycles and their capabilities for different uses has a lot more overlap than riders are willing to admit.
That’s why when we see our friends at Holographic Hammer working on a scrambler model based off a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R we get a little excited. With enough suspension travel, bash plates, and right-handed traction control, there’s no reason that a ZX-10R can’t be the basis for a fun dual-sport.
And naturally, the talents at HH are going to make the project look amazing, so what’s the rub? Think differently, and have a brappy day – we say!
Let’s just be clear: this is the coolest thing you will see today. Robbie Maddison is better known for his non-surfing abilities, but after today’s video – “Pipe Dream” – by DC Shoes, that might change.
Riding the waves iconic waves of Tahiti (Teahupoo and Papara), Maddison takes his two-stroke KTM where no dirt bike has gone before in French Polynesia.
We are all aware that with enough speed, and motorcycle can hydroplane over small bodies of water, and with some modifications, longer water excursions are possible.
For some reason though, no one ever seemed to think that surfing on a motorcycle could be possible. That is, until now. Seeing is believing, after the jump.
Asphalt & Rubber regulars should be aware by now that Spanish trails/enduro manufacturer Gas Gas is in a bit of financial trouble, and is now up for liquidation. One of the suitors of Gas Gas is of course KTM, as the Austrian company is likely eager to add a robust trials machine to its lineup.
There’s a slight problem with that thought though: the Gas Gas employees are well aware of what happened to Husqvarna and its Italian employees, after KTM purchased the Swedish brand from BMW Motorrad, and moved Husky’s Italian operations to Austria.
We don’t think we need to parse too many words explaining the position of some Gas Gas employees, this video says it quite well enough. Watch it, after the jump.
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).
This looks like the end of the road for motorcycle manufacturer Gas Gas, as the Spanish brand entered into liquidation today, after its bankruptcy proceedings failed to find the €30 million necessary to pay the company’s creditors.
The news is timely, as today interested parties in owning Erik Buell Racing (or parts of it) will be placing their bids on the similarly wayward company.
Back in Spain though, the news is troubling for Gas Gas fans, as the company’s assets will be liquidated, with the hope of raising enough money to pay-off the company’s creditors.
Husqvarna is getting ready to unleash a 690cc supermoto on the world, in case you’ve missed the Swedish brand’s marketing campaign and dedicated website. Unsurprisingly, the bike is based off a comparable KTM model, though that’s not to say the folks at Husky haven’t improved on the KTM 690 Duke for their purposes.
(Re-)Releasing some tech details this week, we again know that the Husqvarna 701 will feature a ride-by-wire throttle (with three engine maps), slipper clutch (because supermoto), premium WP suspension, and what Husqvarna calls “Supermoto ABS” that is really the Bosch 9.1 MP race ABS, which allows one to still lock-up the rear wheel while the front wheel engages the ABS.