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Honda Africa Twin in test (Baujahr 2018)

The almost perfect travel enduro comes from Honda

07.04.2019

Honda's Africa Twin has a long history. The first model XRV 650 was launched in 1988, followed by the XRV 750, which was built between 1990 and 2003. Then nothing came for a long time and since 2016 there is a new Africa Twin: the CRF 1000 L, which we have tested in detail and want to appreciate here accordingly. The test bike in black was loaned to us by Motofun in Kaltenkirchen, where you can drive three different Africa Twins rehearsal.

Introduction

She proudly stands in front of us, the new Africa Twin. The most beautiful we actually find is the blue-and-white version, but also our test machine in black is a real beauty. "Looks like Batman from the front" is one of the comments on our YouTube test video - we think she looks mostly honest and down-to-earth. Spoke wheels, gold painted rims and gold anodized fork signal: You can drive me on the road, but I would much rather board with you over stick and stone into the terrain.

The CRF 1000 L is a large bike: the wheelbase is 1.57m and the seat height is 870mm, but can also be set to 850 mm. Nevertheless, there is a surprise during the seat rehearsal. bequeme Sitzbank

Our 1.80m editor Volker comes on the floor well with his feet, but has to concentrate when sitting up, because the two-part bench rises quite high at the back and the leg has to be balanced accordingly. By the way, the seat is very comfortable, especially the passenger is happy about a lot of space. This will also allow us to survive longer journeys without complaint.

This is what she should be able to do

Spring travel of 230 mm in front and 220 mm at the rear, the Africa Twin can actually iron casually through the terrain. Showa's 45 mm USD fork and mono-spring leg are fully adjustable. A seven-fold adjustable traction control system ensures complete pleasure in the forest and hallway. What seems a little exaggerated for the road suddenly makes sense in the terrain: We always find a suitable setting, so that enough power comes to the forest floor without having to be afraid to lie down. The traction control can also be issued by long pressure on the separate switch. This also applies to the ABS on the rear wheel, which can be deactivated via a button to the right of the cockpit.

This means that we are already in the operating elements and the cockpit of the Africa Twin. At the right end of the handlebars there is only the motor on/off switch, on the left there are many switches for light, blinkers, horns, warning indicators as well as two buttons for the menu control and said switch for traction control. The LC display is large and shows many (very many!) Information in white on black. Unfortunately, the display glass reflects abundantly, the readability therefore also depends on the ambient light. The operation is a bit fiddly, but after a short period of acclimatization everyone should get on with it.

This is how she drives herself

Sit up, engine on and off. We select the driving mode "User", set full motor power and select the traction control. Let's see what the liquid-cooled series twin with its 95 hp and 98 Nm torque does in practice. Result: The Twin does a lot! It accelerates very nicely from below and develops a really nice sound thanks to 270 degree lifting pin offset. He roars and bangs that one wonders whether the strict Euro 4 volume rules are really being adhered to here. It's really fun to turn on the tap and throw the machine forward. In 3.8 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h are a real announcement for a travel enduro with at least 233 kg (fully fuelled).

If you drive fast (VMax 201 km/h), you must also be able to come to a standstill quickly. The Nissin brake system with 310 mm double disc and radially screwed double piston fixed calipers at the front and 256 disc rear delay the CRF 1000 L according to the standards. Thanks to Ride by Wire, different driving modes are also possible with the Africa Twin. There are the presets "Urban", "Gravel" and "Tour", each setting the gas acceptance, the traction control and the moto towing moment differently. In the fourth mode "User" you can configure your own program. Small thing on the side: The Africa Twin has self-resetting indicators and a warning function for full braking on the rear light. Speaking of luminaires: LED technology is used at the front and rear, even in the form of a double headlamp at the front. The windshield installed as standard is not adjustable in height, but does a good job. Together with the front panel, the windshield ensures little air pressure on the upper body.

Reihen-Twin der Honda Africa Twin CRF 1000 L

Our test machine was equipped with a quickshifter that works in both directions. We think such automatic switchgear is unnecessary, but it works really well with the Honda. Relatively smooth, the gears can be thrown in without coupling, without having to turn extra at the highest speeds. The tank capacity of 18.8 liters allows a range of 409 kilometers under normal driving. Appropriate for a travel enduro, but not necessarily record-breaking. If you want to drive longer through the desert, you are more likely to use the "Adventure Sports" model with a 24.2 litre tank and a range of approx. 525 km. Adventure Sports has other changes to the standard model, but we will discuss them later in a separate test.

Conclusion - what gets stuck

The Africa Twin vintage 2018 is a modern and above all very balanced motorcycle. Everything she does makes her extremely good. As a driver, you feel not only comfortable, but downright safe. The machine conveys safety and confidence, especially in the chassis including the brakes. It is well motorized and makes acoustically neat Radau. Thanks to wide handlebars and long spring paths, one does not shy away from unpaved paths - on the contrary: every dirt road is gratefully smooth ironed by the Africa Twin. And so every trip with this machine becomes pure joy, be it the short trip to the bagger lake, the 6-month trip to the North Cape or even the short trip to the bun. In any case, we had a lot of fun with the CRF 1000 L and didn't want to go down at all.

Vergleiche die
Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin
mit anderen Motorrädern

Price/Availability/Colours/Years of Construction

Price: €13,465
Used (3 years old): 9,000€
Years built: 2016-2019
Colors: Red, Blue, Black

The test machine was kindly loaned to us by Motofun in Kaltenkirchen. Motofun is a Honda dealer and has plenty of guides who are just waiting to be driven by you to the test. Nico von Motofun also has three Africa Twins (incl. Adventure Sports), which can be used as a guide - good ride!

>>> www.motofun.de

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