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As the Honda Transalp Arrives, Wherefore Are Thou Africa Twin?

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Wherefore art thou, Honda Africa Twin? For years now we have been lamenting Honda’s inclusion of a true middleweight ADV offering in its lineup, to go up against bikes like the BMW F850GS, and newcomers like the Aprilia Tuareg 660 and Yamaha Ténéré 700. Today, that wish has been answered.

On paper, the Honda Transalp fits the bill, though I reserve some judgment until I see US pricing and availability.

My only serious gripe with the spec sheet is the bare-bones suspension pieces, but a cut-throat price tag could help me swallow that pill (along with some nice drop-in cartridges in the aftermarket).

Instead, most of my thoughts on the Transalp actually concern the Africa Twin.

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Rumors

A Honda Africa Twin Based Sport-Tourer Is Coming October 21st

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The 1,084cc parallel-twin engine in the Honda Africa Twin 1100 is a sweetheart of a motor, and so it doesn’t surprise us to see Honda using it on bikes like the Honda Rebel 1100.

Punchy, linear, and smooth, the twin-cylinder power plant is good for a variety of applications, and it looks like Big Red is about to give it one more additional duty.

Teasing a “new touring era” of motorcycles on YouTube today, Honda is most definitely getting us ready for what will be called the NT1100X in the European market.

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Bikes

Honda Africa Twin Gets Updated DCT Settings for 2022

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For the 2022 model year, the Honda Africa Twin 1100 family isn’t getting too many updates, save for one that might turn a few heads – Honda is updating the settings on its dual-clutch transmission.

According to Honda’s release, both the Africa Twin and Africa Twin Adventure Sport with the DCT will see “refined” settings on the ECU, which Big Red says will bring smoother handling in the first two gears when starting and at low speeds.

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Bikes

What Happens When You Make a Cruiser Out of an Africa Twin?

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Close your eyes, and imagine you have a Honda Africa Twin. Now, strip away everything about the bike that makes it one of the most potent adventure-touring models on the market, and start adding back the design elements found in the metric cruiser thing. Open your eyes.

What you just built in your head is the 2021 Honda Rebel 1100, and as you might be able to decipher from its name, the Rebel-styled full-sized cruiser features a parallel-twin engine that shares more than a few chromosomes with the 1,084cc motor found in the CRF1000L.

That might seem like a weird way to build a cruiser, but there is at least a little genius in Honda’s madness.

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Rumors

Is Honda Working on a Midsized Africa Twin?

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It looks like we are resurrecting a rumor from five years ago, as once again there is talk of a midsized adventure bike from Honda in the pipes.

It remains to be seen if this new model will take over the “Transalp” moniker (Honda canceled its Transalp trademark in 2016 for the USA, after reviving it in 2013), but right now the rumors from Europe are suggesting an 850cc twin-cylinder ADV bike is coming from Big Red.

Whether the rumor is true remains to be seen, but there is plenty of ammo to see a so-called Honda CRF850L hitting the market.

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Bikes

The New Honda Africa Twin CRF1100L Finally Debuts for 2020

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The wait is finally over, as Big Red has finally taken the wraps off its revised version of the Honda Africa Twin for the Euro5 emission standard.

The result is a “CRF1100L” motorcycle, which tips the notion that this adventure-tourer has an 86cc displacement increase, as expected. This accounts for a 7% increase in peak power (101hp / 75 kW), along with a 6% increase in peak torque (77 lbs•ft / 105 Nm).

Despite all this, the 2020 Honda Africa Twin gets a modest weight reduction as well, to the tune of an extra 10 lbs (501 lbs at the curb, non-DCT model). But most importantly, the Japanese brand has brought some significant features to the fray, making the Africa Twin not only potent, but sophisticated.

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Rumors

Is Honda Set to Upgrade the Africa Twin for 2020?

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If you believe the latest internet gossip, a new updated Honda Africa Twin is on the way. The news comes from UK site BikeSocial, which says that the potent adventure bike will get a displacement bump for the 2020 model year, among other upgrades.

More specifically, the 2020 Honda Africa Twin is said to target a new displacement of 1,080cc, which should be good for a 5hp increase in peak power, bringing the machine to just shy of 100hp.

Perhaps more importantly though, the new displacement size will help the Africa Twin deal with the power-sapping Euro5 regulations, which will make tailpipe emissions for motorcycles much more stringent going forward.

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Bikes

The New Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Brings More Off-Road Goodness to the ADV Trail

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The Honda Africa Twin gets a sibling for the 2018 model year, as the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports debuted today at Honda’s pre-EICMA launch event.

As expected the Africa Twin Adventure Sports is a more off-road focused version of the Honda Africa Twin, and comes with a robust set of features that make it easier to go globetrotting on the plucky adventure-tourer from Honda.

Like on the now revised 2018 Honda Africa Twin, the Adventure Sports version comes with improvements over the original Africa Twin design.

This includes new foot rests, a new instrument panel, ride-by-wire throttle control with three throttle maps, seven levels of Honda’s traction control system, a new exhaust design, and a lithium-ion battery.

Internally there are some changes as well, like a modified airbox, which improves the mid-range response, as does a lighter balancer shaft. 

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Bikes

Honda Teases More Off-Road Capable Africa Twin Model

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Honda seems set to update the Africa Twin, its plucky ADV model, with a more off-road focused machine. Teasing the new model online, the Honda Africa Twin “Big Tank” – nicknamed for its supposedly larger 22-liter fuel tank – is expected to debut next week at the EICMA show in Milan.

Not too much is known about the machine, but we expect it to borrow heavily from the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept, which debuted at the Osaka Motorcycle Show last year.

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