Thinking of a new Honda African Twin

Ok, I love my XR650L but must admit it isn't the most comfortable thing to ride on the longer road sections between the dirt roads.

Been looking at the new Honda Africa Twin that just came out. Was able to sit on one for a few minutes at Woods the other day before a guy busted in and said I will buy it and started writing a check on the spot. That was the end of my looking.

Does anybody have insights on this bike? I was very impressed how nimble it felt and the seat height was much lower than my XRL.

The youtube videos all seem to report similar stories, that it is has more of a dual sport bike feel that rides the road very well. Since I am coming from the dirt bike side of things it seems this might be a great fit and a way into more road riding.

Thanks for any "useful" comments LOL

No I am not getting rid of the XRL

I have one. I'm happy so far but am still equipping it so I haven't taken any long trips. I'm deffinately keeping my xr650l though as it is more enjoyable on the gnarly stuff and it's not too bad on the highway. The AT feels good on dirt roads as well as the highway. It has decent power, but by no means is a sport bike. Mine has the manual gearbox, and I'm happy with it. Let me know what specific questions you have and I will provide my perspective.

Tailwind, that's great you actually have one and its funny you also have the xr650l too, small world.

I was thinking I would stay with the manual, I enjoy the slow technical stuff and just can't see giving up on a clutch just yet. I was very impressed and the super light clutch pull.

So overall you like the AT. Don't really have specific questions since I am still re-entering riding again after about 15 years away. My background is all off-road racing and riding, we had street bikes as kids in high school, otherwise some early dual-sport stuff on XR400's back in early 2000's is about all the street I have done. This may be why I am gravitating towards the AT, the reviews all seem to say it feels more like a dual-sport running down the road than a road bike trying to go in the dirt.

I am learning in TX we spend a lot of time on the road and my XR is happy at speed, my butt and legs get sore and cramped. Also I really want to share some of the back country with my wife but she doesn't really ride (other than her 1968 Honda CT 90). The XR650L is not great with two people so I am hoping the AT could do a much better job with this as well.

I don't expect to be doing two wheel drifts into blind corners on the AT, but I am hoping it is stable and comfortable on the great dirt back roads that many of this sites members have hunted down and documented so well.

Would love to know what you are adding on, I was thinking (if I can even find one) that I would get the light bar for sure, seems like it would add a lot of protection. What else are you adding...

Are you running the stock road tires? A lot of the youtube videos show people riding a nice knobby type tire, would love to know if there is a more dirt friendly tire working well on the AT.

Thanks, look forward to hearing more about your new toy. Oh what color did you get?

Woods is trying to find me a red/white/black one. The one I sat on was silver, it was nice too.

Our missions are similar. I plan on riding 2-up with my wife and will take some long excursions on it. I outfitted it with Honda's panniers which go on and off the bike in seconds. Actually, I will probably do more highway miles than dirt, but wanted a bike that would be capable off-road for the times I use it that way. tires are stock and I will wear them out before upgrading to a 70/30 type tire. The seat night, even when set on the high position is a lot lower than the xr. Engine runs very smooth with little vibrations. I have ridden it two-up a couple of times and it has decent power. Although I have not ridden one, I suspect the Yamaha XT1200 Tenere would be a better 2 person bike for long trips due to its larger displacement and overall larger size of bike. Im 6'3 and 190 lbs without gear. I am glad I bought it with no remorse. The AT does feel nimble for a 500 lb bike. My background is off-road and mx
I have had the bike about a month now. Here it is when I brought it home from the dealer

Not a good picture, but here it is with the Honda luggage system:

She looks great, thanks for sharing them. Ok, now I really hope they can even find one, they are in super short supply right now.

Hope to meet up with you and your wife some day, do some riding. My wife is thinking of getter a Yamaha XT250, but I don't see her doing any long or fast rides, so having something she is more comfortable on will be very nice!

kubotamiketx said:

Thanks for any "useful" comments LOL

No I am not getting rid of the XRL

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Though NOT a USEFUL comment, I'm glad you're keeping the xrl.

That said, there is an "in the crate" 2016 AT for sale in San Antonio.

Check the Craigslist thread for the link

Actually, here it is-----

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/mcd/5637446378.html

Hey, is this Aaron, its Mike the other XR guy that did the splits next to you in the water crossing a few weeks ago...

That is perfect. The guy at Woods Fun Center has been searching today, so I sent him the link. He has been working hard, maybe he can work a trade with them.

Guess I should just reach out on my own and say I will take it ASAP !!!

Thanks, this made my entire day (unless it gets snaked from under me)

Tailwind said:

Our missions are similar. I plan on riding 2-up with my wife and will take some long excursions on it. I outfitted it with Honda's panniers which go on and off the bike in seconds. Actually, I will probably do more highway miles than dirt, but wanted a bike that would be capable off-road for the times I use it that way. tires are stock and I will wear them out before upgrading to a 70/30 type tire. The seat night, even when set on the high position is a lot lower than the xr. Engine runs very smooth with little vibrations. I have ridden it two-up a couple of times and it has decent power. Although I have not ridden one, I suspect the Yamaha XT1200 Tenere would be a better 2 person bike for long trips due to its larger displacement and overall larger size of bike. Im 6'3 and 190 lbs without gear. I am glad I bought it with no remorse. The AT does feel nimble for a 500 lb bike. My background is off-road and mx
I have had the bike about a month now. Here it is when I brought it home from the dealer

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So how does the suspension handle the weight of a passenger with bags? Bike often come under suspended for the loads most riders will be putting on them. Can you add in enough rear preload and damping control to keep things reasonable?

You mentioned the Tenere 1200. I am wondering if the suspension on it might be better suited to carrying the additional weight of a passenger and luggage? I know the 1200 GS suspension is good for it, but they are MUCH more expensive than the Honda and even the T1200... I suspect it would still be cheaper to get the Honda even if you ended up having to upgrade the suspension to handle the extra weight.

For general Hill Country riding, a dirt focused bike is not really needed. Any of the big ADV bikes will do. There are only a very few roads where the big bikes might be a handful, and that even only for relatively short sections. The vast bulk of the roads are simply county roads on which you can drive most any car/truck unless the water is up for some of the crossings.

Check the Craigslist Thread. Somebody posted a dealer offer today.

kubotamiketx said:

Hey, is this Aaron, its Mike the other XR guy that did the splits next to you in the water crossing a few weeks ago...

That is perfect. The guy at Woods Fun Center has been searching today, so I sent him the link. He has been working hard, maybe he can work a trade with them.

Guess I should just reach out on my own and say I will take it ASAP !!!

Thanks, this made my entire day (unless it gets snaked from under me)

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Lol. I remember who you are. That slide was way classier than mine.

Maybe my post wasn't entirely useless after all. Hope it works out.

If it were me, ID call them myself.

Tourmeister said:

So how does the suspension handle the weight of a passenger with bags? Bike often come under suspended for the loads most riders will be putting on them. Can you add in enough rear preload and damping control to keep things reasonable?

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Short answer is that I do not know...yet. I do anticipate it would probably need a new shock spring for heavy 2-up riding (and possibly fork springs). I have put about 300 miles on it riding "light" two-up without any problems. Shock preload is very ease to adjust, and I did not need to increase its setting to its maximum stop. Forks feel good too when "light". I should know in a few weeks as we are headed to Puerto Vallarta, "loaded up". That is a trip we will be doing regularly so if I need to re-spring, that will happen.

The bike feels very good when riding solo, both on pavement and gravel/dirt roads.

Personally, I don't put the bike in the same category as a Tenere or GS. I think those two can probably eat up the road miles much better. I think in the hands of a good rider, the AT would probably do better than each of those bikes while off-road.

Tailwind said:

Personally, I don't put the bike in the same category as a Tenere or GS. I think those two can probably eat up the road miles much better. I think in the hands of a good rider, the AT would probably do better than each of those bikes while off-road.

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Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It is more dirt focused, which usually means riding solo. That is what made me wonder how the suspension might handle the extra weight. I am sure there will be plenty of after market suspension options, just as there are for most of the bikes.

My comments about the T1200 and GS were more about just riding the Texas Hill Country, which is what Mike is most likely going to be doing. For most of those roads, ANY big ADV bike will do because very few of them are even remotely technical, even riding two up. So any of these bikes would do what he wants to do. However, if he were to decide to go on a road trip without his wife and ride in places with a bit more technical terrain, the Honda would be a good choice.

Well it is a done deal for better or worse I am the proud new owner of a 2016 AT

It all happened so fast I haven't even started it. It is in the back of the truck while I get some dinner on the way home to Austin.

Aaron I owe you a big beer or three. What a find.

No pics... Never happened

Very nice, you went from thinking, to having one in the back of your truck in 12 hours! Did you get the DCT or MT?


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I'll be ******. You know, I ALMOST didn't click on this thread, but when I saw the title, and that it was YOU who started it.... Well, I was piqued. ADD to the pile ofnreason to check it out, I figured you may be selling your xrl....

I couldn't stand by idly, and let you do that.

It was upon reading your post in its entirety (another rare occasion for me) that I realized you were NOT planning on letting your xrl go... You returned to my good graces.

It also just so happened that I clicked on the Craigslist thread prior to that, which is actually REALLY rare.

Anyways, I'm glad what I thought was a useless post turned out to be the catalyst for another bike for someone.

thrill-billy85 said:

I'll be ******. You know, I ALMOST didn't click on this thread, but when I saw the title, and that it was YOU who started it.... Well, I was piqued. ADD to the pile ofnreason to check it out, I figured you may be selling your xrl....

I couldn't stand by idly, and let you do that.

It was upon reading your post in its entirety (another rare occasion for me) that I realized you were NOT planning on letting your xrl go... You returned to my good graces.

It also just so happened that I clicked on the Craigslist thread prior to that, which is actually REALLY rare.

Anyways, I'm glad what I thought was a useless post turned out to be the catalyst for another bike for someone.

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Synchronicity...

Kubota,

That's awesome! We will have to meet up and do some riding. I beleive we met briefly at Thrillbilly's BBQ on Saturday. My wife and I were on Yamahas...

What a crazy day. I started to really think I might want one, next thing I know Arron finds one on Craigslist in San Antonio. I called the sales rep and said without mixing any words, I will take it what can I do to hold it now. He was very cool and talked to the sales manager they agreed to hold it till I got there late yesterday. Note: It was still in the crate when I called, they assembled it while I was driving there.

I didn't get to the shop until 7:01PM, but they stayed late and did the deal. Was loading up in the back of my truck by 8:00PM.

It was after 10:00PM when I got home but I had to unload real quick and take her for a spin. Wait, where is the fuel valve??? Oh well she started and didn't quit, I will read the manual later.

Holy cow, that is one smooth bike, I have never ridden anything that felt that way, smooth, powerful, great sound, amazing. That was only a 10 min ride but freaking cool!!!

Yes, I would love to connect and try to wear down these girly street tires so I can justify some 50/50 tires.

Needs to adjusting to make her mine, handle bars and swept back too much (maybe even replace with some Renthal's) the levers are too high, I like them pointing down a bit more than most and the shifter needs to get raised up one notch so my boots fit under better.

Wow, can't wait to get a few miles under my belt so I can start to wring her out a bit !!!

Very excited

Will post pics later, darn work needs me today otherwise I would go play !

Tailwind, yes we did meet, I was on my XR and I remember running into you guys on our ride back to the barn too... I don't know if you met my wife Mary or not, she was only there that first night. She is thinking about getting the Yamaha XT250, but is a bit worried it is too big to learn on, but that is another story. At least now I can take her out on some of the great roads we went on last time from Thrillbillys.

kubotamiketx said:

Tailwind, yes we did meet, I was on my XR and I remember running into you guys on our ride back to the barn too... I don't know if you met my wife Mary or not, she was only there that first night. She is thinking about getting the Yamaha XT250, but is a bit worried it is too big to learn on, but that is another story. At least now I can take her out on some of the great roads we went on last time from Thrillbillys.

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My wife (Becky) has a XT250. They are very good bikes. Becky rode it on the Jalpan Rundown trip that TrailBoss organized. 1500 mile trip and it handled it fine...

Congrats. We'll of course want lots & lots of pictures and road reports. And dirt reports.

Fuel injected bikes generally don't have petcocks or fuel shutoff valves. Welcome to the new millennium.