Great video, dude!! I've just finished viewing all 3 episodes of your testing this great motorbike and I really like the way you evaluate it from the rider's perspective. Now, about the DCT system: Honda is a huge manufacturer and after having sold millions of scooters around the world, it prepares its clientele on the next step motorbike for them to buy, I believe. For all of us who haven't touched a bike without a clutch lever, this system seems to be useless, complicated and fragile. On the other hand, I am aquired with riders using clutch-free bikes all their lives, and this is the kind of riders to use a system like this. Finally, I'd like you to refer how the bike responds under full load (with loaded panniers and tankbag etc) on your next video. Has its comfortability been affected? These sort of remarks would be much helpful, on my opinion. Again, very nice video-series and keep up with your very good work! Drive safe and always be happy, mate!!
Thanks for your comments! I'm just planning a two-week riding trip, so it will be a good test to see how long the bike remains comfortable when fully loaded. And the DCT system: Honda has just revealed that the X-ADV adventure bike/scooter will go to production with DCT transmission (www.morebikes.co.uk/honda-unveils-new-x-adv-machine/). Looks like it's the future (or at least a big part of it).
www.dropbox.com/s/st09fxmfx7lwdx0/Honda%20DCT%20pedal%20eng.pdf?dl=0 in case anyone is looking for more. I never would have thought of DCT, but a recent Ecuador adv trip full days on mountain wet dirt roads the DCT would have been a delight.
Hi, I have had my new Africa Twin since the end of April 2016 and have now done 11500 miles, no commuting, all social /touring. I have the red manual version. I have done tours of Wales, Ireland, Bavaria, French Alps, Pyrenees and the Picos Mountains in Northern Spain. Like the Morebikes test I really love the bike. It has a great riding position and I find it has enough power. I totally agree with the comments about the stock Dunlop Trail max tyres, not good at all! First 2000 miles they were okay (in the dry) but then 'went off' very quickly. In Bavaria I experienced the first period of prolonged wet weather and the tyres were useless! The rear end constantly lost grip even with traction control on max, I lost all confidence in them and as soon as I returned I replaced them with Conti Trail Attacks, wow! Brilliant, they are still on now having done around 8000 miles, I reckon they have another 1000 in them still which is good as the bike has been ridden quite hard on these trips. I have replaced the stock tubed wheels with tubeless spoked wheels from Kineo in Italy - not cheap but what a difference, quicker turn in, lighter feel and the ability to plug the tyre!. (They also look really good). I work in a bike dealer and opted not to fit alot of the Honda extra's. My bike has SW Motech engine bars, Denali spot lamps, GIVI Trekker Aluminium top box, datatool heated grips, Winding Roads waterproof USB sockets (saves a lot of money!) and a Healtech Q Easy quick shifter. I have just ordered a REMUS can with removable baffle. Overall I love the bike, I will probably put another 12000 miles on it in the next year and I am confident it will perform well and be reliable. I have not had to add any oil or coolant between service intervals. I use the fully synthetic oil as recommended for the Fireblades.
Thanks for the great review Mikko. I really like what you did to the bike. The windscreen is really cool. Brilliant move on adjusting stock suspension to get it dialed in to your liking.
Great review (like always)! (Y) I rode few times (long trip) new Africa, it is really good bike. On Honda nc750x I have more than 40k... What is different between these 2 bikes? Africa have: much better suspensions, TC, slippery clutch, double the price than NC, off-road biased, better front brakes.. Advantages of NC: lower Center of gravity, road orientated bike (I believe that 90% of riders are much more "on road"), tubeless tires with much more confidence ON the road, storage compartment, lower fuel consumption, less vibration.. Twice cheaper! I discovered that both bikes behaving the same cruising speed (on highway) 140-150kph. Exactly the same!!! And the same 270 degree crank.
Thanks. Interesting points about the NC750X. Haven't ridden that one but had a go on the CB500X a few days ago, which was a really positive surprise. It's great for a 'small' capacity bike, super-easy to ride, handles well and has enough poke to keep up with other traffic. We will be testing a Honda Crossrunner soon, so will be interesting to see how that compares.
I agree. Very tricky that nc750x and new Africa behaving the same on highway (speed 150kph). Actually, nc has much less vibration and cant go over 180kph (with Africa I reached 195kph by gps). With factory screen of Africa I did not feel buffeting (I am 6 2). As well I did not felt with nc, but I installed touring screen. The weakest part of nc is suspension. For road use is ok, but off road doesnt work well. On speed 150kph nc has fuel consumption below 5 litres (around 4.8), Africa more than 6. I wouldnt say that NC is better bike. I just mentioned facts based on my experience. Anyhow I love new Africa. Really fantastic bike. Will keep my nc at least 30,000km more, then I will buy new bike. (with nc, 40,000km on odo, still problem zero! Cleaning, servicing thats it) cb500x is also good bike. Never tried. People doubt to his quality because origin country is Thailand. 2014. I had gs1200r. This bike is much powerfull than Africa. But new Africa have more than enough power and torque, looks easier to run and maintanace, as well cheaper... and much better suspension than GS! I sold gs after 4 months (5200km on odometer) because I dont like them clutch, and always was problem with upshifting (from 2 to 3rd gear and from 3rd to 4th gear). gs is fantastic with pillion, no difference (this segment I can not compare with new Africa, because I rode alone). Cheers guys
Thanks for your comments! Sounds like we need to get our hands on the NC750X, it sounds great :-) Regarding the buffeting issue, I'm 6ft tall, so maybe that's why I had more problems with the screen. Also seems to better with some helmets than others.
I'd love seeing your opinion comparing the Africa Twin to the NC750X. Go to a Honda dealer and do a test ride at least! They're very different bikes but to someone planning to ride on paved roads with a DCT bike, both seem like good candidates!
That touratech screen seems to make a lot of sense - short screen is probably much less likely to break and looks awesome too! Regarding the exhaust - I'd prefer the looks of the matte black REMUS. The Austrian "1000ps" guys have one on their AT, looks amazing (imho). Regarding the DCT - i wonder if switching the gears with buttons can really be as satisfying as true manual shifting with a clutch lever? I never enjoyed that "manual" option in cars with automatic gearbox either..
The short screen has been great so far. Might have to get something a bit bigger for the winter though... Interesting about the Remus exhaust, will have to check it out! Thanks for the tip!
Got to agree on the low screen option. Tried three different screens on my F800GS. All the tall ones just cause buffeting and I've gone back to the OEM low one, which looks about the same height as your Touratech low one.
My Africa twin in 6 thou mile. Has been through 3 sets of left hand switches. Spokes rusty Heated grips have no heat. And now has intermittent starting when cold
Wow! Sounds like a nightmare! I''ve heard a few people say that about the spokes but they're still fine in our bike (not as shiny as they were, but not rusty). You're right, the heated grips are not very powerful. I haven't really had use for them over the summer, but will be interesting to see how they fare when the weather starts to get colder.
You made six adjustments to the suspension and tested in an hour - that's good going! Any insight as to how much adjustment you made and where? The rear preload alone has 35 clicks (standard being 7 from the bottom). I weigh 105kg and notice no difference at all by adjusting rear pre-load. Managed to dial out excessive fork dive under braking though
I'm glad you mentioned the fork dive, that was really bugging me with standard settings, so much nicer now. I weigh 85kg, so you might want a fraction more, but it depends on what you feel comfortable with. I only made small changes, a couple of clicks/turns for each bit, just to make the suspension a little more firm overall. I'm really happy with it now. And yeah, it might have taken slightly longer than hour, I wasn't timing, and time flies when you're working on a bike, right... :-)
Nice update but you forgot to turn on the bike to hear the new exaust. Have you already tried the G mode? On you daily drive you use wich mode? D, S 1, 2 or 3 and why? Or do you feel that the Dct model feels better when you use manual/paddle shifter? Consumption? That were the things i was expecting to hear. Maybe in the next video. I will wait...that's why i suscrieb.
I seem to go through phases of using different drive modes. At the moment I'm loving the manual, which gives me most control - and sometimes D in towns when I'm feeling lazy :) Consumption has been consistently around 51-52mpg.
I'm thinking of getting a new or used bike next year. Not sure what I want yet but your review and comment section has been very helpful. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm from the Chicago area, don't do much off road but I'm way west of the city and have no desire to head east into Chicago!! I have been riding on the street and dirt for over 35 years. Trying to decide just what kind of bike to get next. Last bike was a 1997 Valkyre. I really miss that bike but I don't think I want to go with something so big and heavy. Although it was comfy for me and my wife (who enjoys riding) on a day long trips. The other bike I have thought about is the VFR 1200. Since I ride mostly on asphalt lm also afraid I'll miss the power the Valkyre gave us that's why I question if I would start to regret buying the Africa Twin. I am a bit of a speed demon even at my older age of mid 50's. LOL!!! Don't know what I want yet, but I have all winter to think about it.
It's always so much fun looking for a new bike, and there are so many great options now. The engine on the VFR1200 is amazing, plenty of speed and power there, but if you fancy a bit more relaxed riding position, it's worth test riding the VFR1200 X. That might give you the best of both worlds (on asphalt anyway...)
The buffeting with this kind of helmet will not come from the windscreen but from behind the steering gap. You can test it to put your arm in front of the steering... for me this works...same helmet. Large honda screen. Look for Air Dam. I will order one soon...
czondag I have the 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports. I bought an airdam from RuggedRoads and it made no difference. I’ve spent almost £300 trying to cure the wind buffeting issue - OEM screen at 50 mph feels like someone is drumming on my ears. OEM screen at 60 mph and my vision becomes blurred. I fitted Honda OEM wind deflectors, but they haven’t made a difference to wind buffeting. I fitted a Puig aerofoil which only made a difference when it was fully extended, but was annoyingly in my line of sight. I’ve completely changed the screen for a Givi Airflow AF1144 but that didn’t cure the wind buffeting either. I even removed the top part of the Givi Airflow screen to leave a smaller screen and that has helped, but it’s still noisy as hell and my vision becomes blurred at higher speeds. I’ve contacted Honda to find a solution and hopefully they’ll give me feedback as I really like the bike save for the awful wind buffeting. I’m 5’9” and wear an Arai Quantum ST helmet. My mate, who is a couple inches taller than me, wears a Shark helmet and he too experienced the blurred vision when riding my bike.
@@Paulie44 im sorry to hear that mate... i'm not sattisfied too at the moment... did you try to testdrive without the whole screen? Because i see many AT with a really short or cutted screen... my next try will be the honda large screen with a SW-motech spoiler, that one i can bend all over the place, maybe this will help i have the Arai rx4 with spoiler...
czondag I’ve just spoken on the phone with Honda U.K. and they’ve stated that the wind turbulence is a characteristic of this particular motorcycle. I told them it’s not a characteristic, but that the bike aerodynamics weren’t designed correctly. Honda U.K. offered me £100 voucher to spend at any Honda dealership but I turned it down. I’m going to raise this issue further and send a letter to Honda because it’s safety related if my vision becomes blurred at normal riding speeds and I have an accident because of it. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve ridden with half of the Givi Airflow screen and it is better, but doesn’t completely cure the problem. A shorter screen produces less noise than the taller screens.
@@Paulie44 i have the oem tall screen on my normal AT and until 80kmh no wind and buffeting at all but after that the storm begins... so for me i think i must be higher in my case. I Also have the normal screen, no buffeting at all but a lot of noise... testing testing... keep me posted
@@Paulie44 today i just mounted the Givi Spoiler on top of the large oem Honda screen. For me the perfect combination, no wind buffeting and no crazy noise... i'm sattisfied.
Good review, but it got me wondering why you didn't go for Honda's VFR1200X. You appear to be using the AT solely as a road bike but it is one of the more off-road orientated dual sports available. Having ridden both bikes, I would say that the VFR is easily the better roadie and it is still capable of being punted up a dirt road. Not having a dig, just curious why you chose the AT as your new road bike.
Funny you should mention that, I've just been trail-riding the Africa Twin in Spain - video coming soon. I have ridden the VFR800X, which is another great bike (love the top end power!), but the Africa Twin just has the edge with the amount of torque that it delivers. Might have to give the 1200-version a go too to see what it's like...
Great review ! I also like the helmet. The colourschema matches nicely with the bike. Would you be willing to share the specifications of the helmet ? Tnx in advance.
amazing looking bike that for me nearly ticks all the boxes. however i have a bmw650 dakar with a 21" front wheel im not a fan of 21" front wheels bloody horrible feel on the road just a shame they dont have a 19" front wheel option
Hi Mikko, loved your review ! A question regarding the new tyres, pirellis mt90: You obviously love them in the dry, but how is the edge grip on dry tarmac. Close to more road biased tyres or still a quit a bit off ? I'm trying to decide between scorpion 2 and the mt90. Initially I'd like the mt90 but not sure on dry grip and keeping up with my mates on gs-ses with road sticky rubber Thx Marco
I originally wanted to go for the Scorpion Trail II tyres as they look more road biased, but the stockist only had the MT90s, so I settled for them. Even though they were the second choice I've had no problems with them on dry tarmac. I even did a track day and managed to keep up with a couple of CBR600s. Having said all that, I'm on the lookout for new rubber again (the odo is now showing 11k miles) and the Scorpion and Continental are at the top of the list. Let me know what you go for and how you find them.
Every video where the rider complains about buffeting has an adventure style helmet with an airplane wing attached to the top of it. What do you think is gonna happen. The next time you are in your car, roll down the window and stick your hand out like your visor and see for yourself. It's like going out in the rain with no umbrella then getting mad cause you got wet.
Johnny Not true. czondag I have the 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports. I bought an airdam from RuggedRoads and it made no difference. I’ve spent almost £300 trying to cure the wind buffeting issue - OEM screen at 50 mph feels like someone is drumming on my ears. OEM screen at 60 mph and my vision becomes blurred. I fitted Honda OEM wind deflectors, but they haven’t made a difference to wind buffeting. I fitted a Puig aerofoil which only made a difference when it was fully extended, but was annoyingly in my line of sight. I’ve completely changed the screen for a Givi Airflow AF1144 but that didn’t cure the wind buffeting either. I even removed the top part of the Givi Airflow screen to leave a smaller screen and that has helped, but it’s still noisy as hell and my vision becomes blurred at higher speeds. I’ve contacted Honda to find a solution and hopefully they’ll give me feedback as I really like the bike save for the awful wind buffeting. I’m 5’9” and wear an Arai Quantum ST helmet. My mate, who is a couple inches taller than me, wears a Shark helmet and he too experienced the blurred vision when riding my bike.
I haven't ridden the F800GS, but I have a couple of mates who own them and rate them very highly. On paper the Africa Twin has more power and torque, and a bit more weight (as you'd expect with larger capacity). I have just been riding the Honda VFR800X Crossrunner, and compared to that, the Africa twin has more low and mid-range power, and more off-road capability (although the Crossrunner is fantastic on the black stuff!).
At 4:15 you added a new exhaust and stated it was 675 pounds. Why would you want to add that much weight to your bike? Haha Just joking I am from the U.S.A. and just sounded funny to me.
considering the amount of engineering behind this bike. You would think honda would have a chart or formula for calculating suspension adjustment for any given weighted rider.🤔 hmmm just saying . other than that. You seem about 6foot . I'm 5'9" I think with seat on low setting, I might be able to handle it ,👀 good review👍
Hi Mikko! I'm booked in for a demo ride on a DCT model at the end of the month.I'm wondering if I'd be better taking a non-DCT model for a first time ride?
I'd say the only reason to try the non-DCT first would be to see how close to your normal gear changes the DCT gets (you might find that it shifts gears too early or late for your liking). Otherwise the DCT is dead easy to ride, the only thing you'll notice is that your left foot will keep twitching up and down for a while before you get used to using the paddles in the left cluster or leaving it on full auto. :-)
Thanks! It's a Yamaha Faster Sons t-shirt (shouldn't really wear it when talking about a Honda, whoops!). I think mine is an old one, but they have some cool ones here: www.yamahaclothing.co.uk/faster-sons-111-c.asp
Factory suspension settings? It's the first thing supposed to be changed BEFORE riding... well, maybe second, after handlebar and levers. Subscribe to Dave Moss people.
You've never changed the oil in 7,500 miles!!!!! 😮 That's real bad dude, supposed to change it after the first 500 mile break in period and then every 3,000 miles after that....
I'm glad you mentioned that! I fully agree that oil changes are best done frequently, But Honda recons that you can get from the first service (600 miles) to the second (8000 miles) without one (although I'm sure the small print tells you to use your own judgement), so I wanted to make that part of the test. Seemed to work fine. But yes, you are right that if you really want to look after a bike well it's best to make sure all parts of the bike, including oil, are in the best possible condition all the time.
Just bought the 2017 DCT model. First oil, filter and DCT clutch filter change is at 600 miles. Second one is only oil change at 8000 miles or one year, no filters, third is at 16000 miles oil and filters, etc. This is a new century and new models :) Not necessary to bother at every 3000. Assuming that the designers of the product know what they're talking about. They must have tested it to make the rules and recommendations.
