The snowbanks have drifted away. (For good, we hope.) The icy patches have melted. (Ditto.) The worst of winter, we pray, is a memory. So let’s turn our attention to spring and summer fun, mud, dirt, maybe some sand, and miles of twisty, paved roads.
Each of those surfaces is no problem for Honda’s Africa Twin, a motorcycle built for global touring and the ultra-competitive adventure category. One thing you can count on: The Africa Twin is dependable, and it’s the closest thing you can get to a Swiss Army knife on two wheels.
Odd then, that we tested it not on the dunes of Senegal or the peaks of Nepal, but rather the pristine surface of Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum. PittRace officials were kind enough to provide some free track time on the same venue that will host MotoAmerica in August, when Superbikes go nearly 180 mph down the front straight.
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The CRF1100L Africa Twin looked a bit out of place at PittRace, but it’s versatile, capable and able to overcome a wide range of surfaces and conditions. Its biggest strength? The motorcycle was born with the soul of a Honda CRF dirt bike, but it rides with the refinement and comfort of the company’s Gold Wing line.
At first glance, the Africa Twin looks like it was designed solely for off-roading. Its tall front forks — with 9.1 inches of travel — and 21-inch front wheel with a stock set of deep-grooved and tubeless Metzler Karoo tires beg for excursions beyond asphalt and concrete. But add on the aluminum side panniers and tail cargo box, cruise control, dial in the electric suspension settings for touring, settle into the adjustable seat, fill up the 6.5-gallon tank and you have a motorcycle built to ride ... all ... day ... long.
The Africa Twin is powered by a liquid-cooled, 1084cc parallel-twin engine, which produces about 100 horsepower and more than 75-foot pounds of torque. Several pre-set riding modes allow for different riding styles and conditions, and control everything from throttle response to suspension dampening and rebound to engine braking. The modes include Touring, Urban, Off-Road and Gravel. For those who love to customize their riding experience, the bike also offers individualized user modes that allow every aspect to be customized for a specific rider. That also includes traction control and ABS.
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The devil is in the details. Here’s a closer look at the Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT:
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Our test version sported Honda’s dual-clutch transmission. Essentially, the bike is a six-speed automatic, but the rider can use shift buttons — one on the left index finger for upshifts and one on the left thumb for downshifts — to override the onboard computer. There also are three additional drive settings, which allow for even more fine-tuning of the power delivery.
Like all twins, the bike is torquey and muscular down low in the rev range. For more aggressive riding, we kept it in Urban mode with the highest sport-level throttle setting. Touring mode cuts the power delivery — we bogged the engine a few times coming out of tight twisties in upstate New York’s Adirondack Mountains — with more bias toward smoothness and fuel efficiency, especially at highway speeds. If you are anticipating your travels to be more off- than on-road, you’ll want to play around with the Off-Road mode and switch to a knobbier set of tires. You may also want to swap out the footpegs for something with more bite.
Since our test bike was the top-of-the-line Adventure Sports ES DCT model — which will cost you around $18,000 — it included a large skid plate, fly-by-wire throttle, cruise control, a 6.5-gallon gas tank (a half-gallon larger than on the standard model), an adjustable windscreen, 12-volt outlet, USB port, heated grips and aluminum grab rails/luggage rack. The bike is Bluetooth-enabled and also is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for your mobile device. To handle the cargo, our version had both side panniers and a top box, although we decided to go without the side panniers for our test ride.
Because our Africa Twin was equipped with the dual-clutch, or DCT, transmission, there’s no clutch lever or shifter. What looks like a clutch lever is actually the parking brake, which you need to pull and lock to engage. We recommend using it every time you turn the engine off, as the bike is never in gear when parked.
The windscreen offers several height settings, which riders will find useful for times when the road necessitates stand-up riding. While riding conventionally, there were times when we found the screen a bit distracting. At its lowest height, the top is right at the rider’s eyeline. At its highest, it reflects the gold handlebars and silver gas cap. It’s a nit-picky complaint, but if you also find that problematic, Honda assured us that the bike could be equipped with an even smaller screen.
Honestly, it was difficult finding faults with the Africa Twin, a bike built to measure distance not by miles traveled but by continents traversed. As motorcycles go, the AT is lumped into the utlra-competitive adventure category, where it must go head to head with the likes of BMW’s R-1250GS, KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure, Yamaha’s Tenere and Triumph’s Tiger. And while its DNA is more suited to the famous Dakar Rally, we were struck by how much at peace it was leaning into turns at PittRace, where we used the extra space above the circuit to test fly the Post-Gazette’s new first-person drone, the DJI FPV.
At PittRace, a 2.78-mile circuit with 19 corners, the AT was right at home. Since there was no ambulance service, we were asked to keep the speeds low, but we were still able to experience the AT’s crisp throttle response and flickability.
Plenty of low-end grunt made exiting corners a joy, and light steering inputs were all that was needed to handle the quick changes of direction. The track also showcased another great attribute of the Africa Twin: its brakes. Up front, two four-piston Nissin calipers mounted to dual 310mm discs helped bring everything to a halt.
Since the Honda is also designed for off-road riding, the chain-driven bike sits higher up to allow for extra ground clearance. Despite the extra height, the 550-pound motorcycle never felt top-heavy, even at lower speeds. And the seat offers some adjustability, allowing the rider to choose between 33.5 inches and the standard 34.3-inch ride height. Smoothing out the ride, especially at the front wheel, is Showa’s active suspension, which adjusts to the terrain and your riding style.
Overall, the package is excellent. And while it was designed to stretch its legs over wide swaths of terrain, it would be right at home in nearly every rider’s garage.
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What’s the Dakar Rally? One of the most grueling races on the planet, featuring some of the world’s most gorgeous scenery but unforgiving terrain. Here are highlights from this year’s motorcycle category:
First Published: February 24, 2022, 11:00 a.m.