Here’s Why The Honda Africa Twin Redefines Versatility

Say ‘adventure bike’ and an image springs to mind. One of the massive bikes that looks like a Hulk version of a dual sport, and is loaded up with luggage. The continent-crossers are rarely motorcycles that leave something behind, so they’re big, heavy, and therefore thirsty and require powerful engines that aren’t frugal, and that heat up a lot in traffic. Well, at least that is the image of a full-size adventure bike.

That’s not always the case, however; sometimes a manufacturer seriously considers producing a one-bike garage, and an adventure touring bike makes for a very good candidate. It can deal with long rides, that is its primary brief, but it can also go off-road to a certain extent, and if done right, it can offer you a great time on the commute. While being a good Jack of all trades might sound difficult, there is one brand that has the knowledge, experience, and R&D to make it happen, and that is the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world. Here is its adventure bike, which redefines versatility.

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Is The Adventure Bike That Redefines Versatility

Price: $18,399

Honda

The Africa Twin is a known quantity at this point; it has been around since 2016, and in its current form, since 2020. The Adventure Sports version is the touring version, so it gets a smaller 19-inch front rim. It also gets a taller windscreen for better wind protection, a large fuel tank for great range, the automatic gearbox is an option, and Showa EERA electronic suspension is standard.

With the combination of ease of use, road-biased tweaks, the automatic gearbox, and the electronic suspension, the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT is the adventure bike that redefines versatility.

Why We Picked The Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT

• Comfortable enough for all-day rides
• Feels narrow enough to ride around in traffic easily
• Automatic gearbox means a rested left hand in the city
• Electronic suspension adjusts to every situation
• Great feature set

100 Horses And 82 Pound-Feet Of Torque At Your Disposal

Enough Power, Amazing Reliability, Automatic Gearbox

Honda

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports has a 1,084 cc, 270-degree parallel twin engine. You’re thinking, it being a full-size ADV, that it will make an appreciable amount of power, but it makes just 100 horsepower – less than a lot of midsize adventure bikes. The reason is torque and reliability; Honda prefers to give it a great torque spread to make it more usable rather than a high power figure to grab headlines. As a result, this engine is unstressed, efficient, and the gearbox is the same.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Engine Specifications

It has been around since the model’s launch. A recent addition has been the addition of a ‘G Switch’ that allows more clutch slip at walking pace so you can deal with technical terrain better. You can always toggle it to normal mode and have it kick the tail out on dirt for you. There is nothing wrong with the manual gearbox; you’ll save $800 if you pick it over the automatic, and a two-way quickshifter is standard. But if you’re talking about versatility, then the automatic gearbox is where it is at. A six-axis IMU is standard across the Africa Twin range, so you get all the safety features with it: cornering traction control, wheelie control, ride modes, and power modes.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES Chassis

Electronic Suspension Is Standard

Honda

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports has a semi-double cradle frame, so you know it can deal with the rough stuff if you really need it to. A steel subframe and aluminum swingarm complete the hard parts. The Adventure Sports version is available only with the Showa electronic suspension in the US market; globally, both versions of the Africa Twin are available with both kinds of suspension, but the US market distinguishes between the two, with the Africa Twin getting only the regular suspension and the Adventure Sports, the electronic. This suspension allows you to set the rear preload electronically, which is useful. It has an ‘automatic’ mode which we suspect will be the most used of them all.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES Chassis Specs And Dimensions

The Nissin brakes consist of 310 twin discs at the front and a 256 mm disc at the rear. They are petal discs, and the fronts are grabbed by radially mounted four-piston calipers. The cornering ABS can be switched off at the rear. The 19-inch front rim gives it better handling both at speed on tarmac, and makes it more maneuverable in the city. It also lowers the front a little and shifts the bike’s weight a little more to the front: all things you want from something that is expected to run on tarmac.

A Very Versatile Feature List To Show For

Honda

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports doesn’t hold back on the feature set. It starts with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display that runs both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly. Below that is the small LCD screen that gives you basic information like speed, gear indicator, and the warning lamps. It’s strange to have the information duplicated, but if the TFT ever fails, at least you’ll still get home without a speeding fine!

The Adventure Sports also gets a taller windscreen for better highway comfort. This windscreen is manually adjustable. Oh, and the humongous 6.6-gallon fuel tank coupled with the engine and gearbox’s natural tendency to conserve fuel means that you can get some gnarly fill-up to fill-up distances – and there’s no need to carry jerry cans along on a road trip for the most part. The headlamps have a cornering function as well.

The options list has some useful items on it, like a lower seat for a more accessible seat height, an engine skid plate, a center stand (that should be standard on an adventure bike, really), heated grips, hard luggage, and you can choose to upgrade to enduro-style footpegs or comfort ones.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES Notable Features

• 6.5 TFT touchscreen display with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Cornering headlamp
• Manually adjustable windscreen
• 6.6-gallon fuel tank
• Practical options list

There Is No Dearth Of Competition

Guy Pickrell

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT is the only adventure bike to offer a combination of electronic suspension and automatic gearbox at this price. It is, in this sense, the most versatile product here simply because of how much value it delivers. But if you are looking for alternatives, the BMW F 900 GS Adventure is a strong contender. It makes more power than the Honda, has a large fuel tank, and a lot of tech. However, speccing it up to what you’d want from a premium ADV will drive the price high in a hurry.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES vs. Rivals

It is a similar case with the Ducati Multistrada V2 S, which does offer Excel rims as an option if you want to match the Honda’s electronic suspension/wire spoke rim combination, but that drives its price to well over $20,000. This is also the case with the Harley-Davidson Pan America Special: the electronic suspension and the spoke rims are optional extras. However, if you’re willing to spend the extra dough, you’ll be satisfied with what they have to offer – but they won’t have the versatility of the Honda.