SOLD 2017 Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L DCT, Houston

[gixxerjasen]

Don't rev it in first thinking you're in neutral!

We'll have to get @OldTLSDoug to tell you the story of him blipping the throttle on my auto clutch FJR while waiting for traffic to clear an intersection. It almost got interesting really quickly and when Doug looked at me, there was definite surprise in his eyes.

 

[Boulder Ed]

Unexpected bumps used to bite me occasionally. Collar bone breaks if I remember correctly. Tree roots back home in CO were often a culprit. This is going to be a camp off the bike on dirt roads type of ride. Just a bit more capability than my RT. No assumption of any harder-core off road, my dirt bike days are over. All the guys I know who used to be fast are crashing mildly yet still getting banged up these days. Something about the aging process and knowing your limits I suspect.

 

[Boulder Ed]

Its official! Home after a 7 hour round trip to southern TX. Its so hot outside that I begged permission of the wifey to move it into the kitchen in my studio. You know, so I can start the detailing and fluid changes on a 2038 mile bike. I'm not seeing those cylinder heads that are supposed to be sticking out of the side of the case. Something is missing here. Gonna take a while to adapt to this change. Hope to learn from all of you who have these bikes. All tips are welcome.

 

[Tigerkf]

Ed,
The key to the DCT is rear brake, rear brake, rear brake! Be sure you are on the rear brake when doing slow speed maneuvers to control the speed since there is no clutch to feather. As someone stated above when you are in close quarters be very careful with the throttle as the clutch will disengage at a certain RPM and will stay disengaged until the RPMs drop back down. It WILL NOT re-engage just because you let off the throttle because it will take a bit for the RPMs to drop. If the space is tight, pushing is a good idea.

The are a few differences for off-road. The ones that come to mind are:

1. If you are crossing an obstacle, you can not "drop" the clutch to lift the front tire over the obstacle. You have to load the suspension more for assistance in lifting the front.
2. If you are riding up a steep incline and lose momentum you can't simply let go of the clutch to stop the bike from rolling backward, you'll have to make sure you use the rear brake or down the hill you will go.
3. If you're trying to get out of sand, you can't shift into second and drop the clutch to get the wheel speed up to get up on top of the sand. I'm not sure what the solution is for the DCT.
4. You cant drop the clutch for an elephant turn (if you're the kind of rider good enough to do one of these).

 

[Boulder Ed]

Thanks for the tips guys. Did 100 miles this a.m. to go buy filters and fluids for my initial service effort. Its a fun motorcycle and no pain in the left hand from shifting

 

[misterk]

Thanks for the tips guys. Did 100 miles this a.m. to go buy filters and fluids for my initial service effort. Its a fun motorcycle and no pain in the left hand from shifting

If you would have said you had pain in left hand from shifting on your new dct twin I would have told you were doing it wrong

 

[gixxerjasen]

Just wait till you get caught in some traffic. You'll LOVE that DCT.

 

[MississippiTexan]

If you like to stand while riding country dirt roads, you will love the low center of gravity on this bike. To me, it was one of the best features. Enjoy!