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New Africa Twin debut?

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focus frenzy said:
in Europe, around mid October. that much I have been able to piece together.

in USA some time in 2016, is as firm as I can scrounge up.
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Early 2016 for the US. The dealership where I have my deposit said they will call once they can begin to order the bikes. At this point I will make my option/color choices and start the count down.

TTR

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
focus frenzy said:
in Europe, around mid October. that much I have been able to piece together.

in USA some time in 2016, is as firm as I can scrounge up.
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Wow I had no idea! I thought model year 2016 meaning they would be out this year. So possibly another year for us to rehash and speculate over that single specification table?

Okay then plenty of time for more intermission then. Lets continue jqueen's big bike riding discussion and I'll give a recent African Twin tie in as well.

Besides what jqueen stated, also much more important when riding a big bike versus small to know your riding skill limitations and your bikes capabilities. Don't be afraid to turn around and look for alternate routes, don't be afraid to admit when you've had enough pounding and never ride alone on technical terrain. No way you're going to get a 600 lb loaded bike off of you with both legs under it (yes that can happen and does). No way you are going to get same bike upright after a drop in some situations.

Week before last our small group of TWT'ers after riding the COBDR for 5 days had our last meal in Leadville, CO. After lunch, two where riding back to Texas from there, one staying overnight for a slower solo ride home the next day and I needed to ride to Denver. I Googled routes to Denver on my phone, wanting to ride a scenic route looked like 285 was my best choice. From Leadville though I had to either detour north then south to Fairplay/285 or ride south and then north to Fairplay/285. One route showed 72 mi, 79 min the other 62 mi, 81 min to Fairplay. Then I spotted another "not recommended" straight shot across Mosquito Pass 22 mi, 71 mins. Perfect I thought this is what adventure bikes are for correct? The time and miles told me it wasn't an easy route though. The table next to us another biker had sat down to eat. Our table chatted with him for a minute or so and then after finding this new route possibility I asked him if he was riding to Denver and he was and then asked him if he wanted to join me riding across the Pass and he did. Well what do you know his bike was an old 750cc African Twin in beautiful condition. I had never seen one before so looked it over some. Not an adventure bike by today's standards by any means, it looks like a big dual sport. So we take off together and after only 3 miles of dirt the road turns to rock. Not rocky but 100% rocks, no dirt whatsoever and baby head size or larger spanning the entire road. The mountain went straight up on the left and a shear drop on the right so no go around possible. Well this beat the crap out of the Tenere but I figured it would relent and it did after about 1/4 mile. Then it was 50/50 rock dirt trail for awhile and I was happy until it started to rain and then the 100% baby heads and larger returned and the the trail starting climbing up for as far as I could see. Well the rain made the rocks slippery than snot and only took about 100 ft more up the slope before my Tenere got its first drop ever in 17K miles. Remember the rule never ride alone, yes I kept to my rule and my new African Twin friend saved the day (or at least 5 lbs of my sweat energy) by helping me get the bike upright again. I quickly spoke up that I was not continuing on this trail and needed to go back. African Twin agreed and offered an alternate Forestry Service road that connected to 285 with only a 20 mile detour south so that is what we took instead. It turned out to be a nice varied dirt road great for big bikes. Road went over 11,900 ft. Weston Pass so still had great elevation change and scenery. If he had not joined me I'm not sure if I would have started on the tough trail or not. If I had started it solo I'm not sure if I would have stopped and turned around soon enough either. But now after the incident I am very sure of both and glad to have reset my limitations before I got in over my head.

_
 
Have you guys seen Ivan Tedesco on the Big Red Pig on U-Tube. The funny part is when he comes up behind a slower rider & starts honking his horn, its funny as all get out. :rofl: I have a BRP , a TW-200 & a 625SMC, If I get another bike it will be the new Africa Twin :thumb: Drinking the Suicide Kool-Aid.
 
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Mossrider said:
Have you guys seen Ivan Tedesco on the Big Red Pig on U-Tube. The funny part is when he comes up behind a slower rider & starts honking his horn, its funny as all get out. :rofl: I have a BRP , a TW-200 & a 625SMC, If I get another bike it will be the new Africa Twin :thumb: Drinking the Suicide Kool-Aid.
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Africa twin = big red water buffalo BRWB!
 
Mossrider said:
Have you guys seen Ivan Tedesco on the Big Red Pig on U-Tube. The funny part is when he comes up behind a slower rider & starts honking his horn, its funny as all get out. :rofl: I have a BRP , a TW-200 & a 625SMC, If I get another bike it will be the new Africa Twin :thumb: Drinking the Suicide Kool-Aid.
Click to expand...

You'll have 4 motorcycles each darn near in a class by its self. You'll definitely not be one of the dead fish that goes with the flow. You'll be one of the live ones that jumps out of the net.
 
woodsguy said:
I don't consider this or my 1190R to be a "dirtbike"
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Well the Honda videos they've put out make it seem like this IS a dirt bike with the type of riding shown. So I'm guessing based on the videos folks believe this is a dirt bike.

As for the NM4 mentioned by Dave a while back, yeah, Honda makes some strange things both on the motorcycle and car sides. All those strange vehicles that don't sell mark up the price of every other vehicle they do sell.

Honda is proud to be bipolar and consumers pay for their medication.

Hey, if this thing had cruise control I'd consider it over a Tiger XCx. After all it's not a dirt bike and ADV/road bikes are coming standard with cruise nowadays. The final price would probably push me to Triumph.
 
Not Dave said:
Well the Honda videos they've put out make it seem like this IS a dirt bike with the type of riding shown. So I'm guessing based on the videos folks believe this is a dirt bike.
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In my humble opinion the ad shows the two Hondas riding on a pretty easy unpaved road. Almost any bike could handle this road slowly. A true dirtbike is able to tackle much more difficult terrain... and the terrain makes it likely for an average rider to drop the bike, and that's where the problems start with a heavy bike. Of course, a very experienced dirt bike rider can handle difficult terrain with the AT or any other heavy bike... but that doesn't make the bike appropriate for that terrain (for most riders)
 
attachment.php


typical adventure bike

does not make for good advertisement
 
Jbay said:
typical adventure bike

does not make for good advertisement
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You might be surprised. For some strange reason I see lots of photos of adventure bikes napping off pavement on the forums and the owners posting the pics of them as a weird badge of honor. I just don't get it myself. Even ride reports typically number the amount of drops on a ride as a rating.

I learned adventure bikes suck in bad mud from the V-Strom and to stay away from wet rocks on the Tenere. I will not be repeating either. Deep sand I already know from common sense that is not an option. I'm too old to be breaking bones, they heal back too slow now and too cheap to be replacing bike parts frivolously.

_
 
SilverBullet said:
You might be surprised. For some strange reason I see lots of photos of adventure bikes napping off pavement on the forums and the owners posting the pics of them as a weird badge of honor. I just don't get it myself. Even ride reports typically number the amount of drops on a ride as a rating.

I learned adventure bikes suck in bad mud from the V-Strom and to stay away from wet rocks on the Tenere. I will not be repeating either. Deep sand I already know from common sense that is not an option. I'm too old to be breaking bones, they heal back too slow now and too cheap to be replacing bike parts frivolously.

_
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~370 pounds of 250cc adventure bike sucks on a 70mph limited access highway with new guard rails that double as snow fences keeping headwinds and fast vehicle air disturbances over the lanes, too. Wish I'd have been on a V-Strom or Tenere.
 
KenH said:
~370 pounds of 250cc adventure bike sucks on a 70mph limited access highway with new guard rails that double as snow fences keeping headwinds and fast vehicle air disturbances over the lanes, too. Wish I'd have been on a V-Strom or Tenere.
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Indeed it does suck. Not much there to get you out of trouble if needed.

One of amy reasons I'm upgrading the KLR. No mojo in this situation when it calls for it!

Ride safely!!!

TTR

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
Oh, it's fast enough, but a full featured adventure bike has way too much wind grabbing area to only weigh 370 pounds. Way to easy for a gentle headwind piled on the highway in open terrain by guard rails that also stop drifting snow to double or triple the velocity of gusts, then toss in the air current variables due to cars and trucks passing at 70-80mph while your lane is slowed due to a granny merger. One of the scariest things in the world is to realize your bike is no longer touching the ground that had been smooth and solid and no detectable or predictable reason for flight.
 
I was wondering WHY Honda chose a 1000cc twin engine layout....maybe this article helps explain their decision?
http://blog.caranddriver.com/why-0-5-liter-cylinders-will-soon-dominate-automotive-engine-design/

From the article "this design benefits the combustion process by minimizing the engines internal surface-to-volume ratio as the piston nears TDC.....seeking to optimize power and fuel efficiency while reducing emissions"
I know that the article is about car motors....but these principles are the same for any four-stroke Otto cycle engine. :sun:
 
Gravel Guy said:
I was wondering WHY Honda chose a 1000cc twin engine layout....maybe this article helps explain their decision?
http://blog.caranddriver.com/why-0-5-liter-cylinders-will-soon-dominate-automotive-engine-design/

From the article "this design benefits the combustion process by minimizing the engines internal surface-to-volume ratio as the piston nears TDC.....seeking to optimize power and fuel efficiency while reducing emissions"
I know that the article is about car motors....but these principles are the same for any four-stroke Otto cycle engine. :sun:
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I read two pages of comments. Lots of different opinions on engine size, NA versus turbo, OHV vs OHC, and long stroke vs short stroke. I really liked the comment "you cherry picked your example to prove your point". It was like an oil thread.
 
Zephyr said:
I read two pages of comments. Lots of different opinions on engine size, NA versus turbo, OHV vs OHC, and long stroke vs short stroke. I really liked the comment "you cherry picked your example to prove your point". It was like an oil thread.
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Some of that article sounds like the engineering equivalent of "We need to take it off line before we incentivize a value-added solution to provide an outside the box idea, circling back to shift our business paradigm."
 
bmcdonau said:
Some of that article sounds like the engineering equivalent of "We need to take it off line before we incentivize a value-added solution to provide an outside the box idea, circling back to shift our business paradigm."
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Is that Esperanto?

Them furrin' languages always mess me up ... :doh:
 
bmcdonau said:
Some of that article sounds like the engineering equivalent of "We need to take it off line before we incentivize a value-added solution to provide an outside the box idea, circling back to shift our business paradigm."
Click to expand...

I was just hoping for an engineering type to either validate or refute the claim about that particular piston size and its "benefits"......
I've rebuild motors, and spent some time in a turbo shop.....but I'm not an engineer.........:zen:
 
Gravel Guy said:
I was just hoping for an engineering type to either validate or refute the claim about that particular piston size and its "benefits"......
I've rebuild motors, and spent some time in a turbo shop.....but I'm not an engineer.........:zen:
Click to expand...

I do tend to put a lot of stock in C&D articles for a couple of reasons:
- They get their information from sources much closer to the origin than we mortals do, and
- Nearly all of their writers are degreed automotive engineers.
 
Honda's history is to slot between the other offings and BMW. I predict $15K.
 
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