they must have known it was going to be a winner, but there is no way they could have known just what an impact it would have. The directors of Honda in Japan should have a picture of the men who conceived that bike and at the door when they come to work every day, and they should doff their corporate hats and thank them every morning. And thank them again when they go home. Then there was the original Africa Twin. First produced in 1988 as a 650 V twin “Adventure Bike” the Africa Twin used the basic looks and configuration to tackle a market that was beginning to emerge, mainly in Europe, for a nimble touring bike that could tackle unpaved back roads as well as the paved highways and byways. We can only guess, but the Honda engineers and marketing men probably thought that the very successful XR/XL range was a good starting point for a bike capable of some long distance touring, and based the bike roughly on that range. The original Africa Twin had spoke wheels, 21” in front, 18’ in the back, long travel suspension and a fairing copied from the Honda Dakar racers of the time. The Dakar race was a big thing already, and Honda used the image of a cross continental racer to market their new baby. It was an immediate success, and by 1989 had grown to a 750, still with the V twin motor. For the next 14 years the Honda Africa Twin was a strong seller around the world, and successfully pounded its’ way along dirt, sand and paved roads across every continent. It was also just as successful being used as a commuter in cities everywhere. Then Honda seemed to get sidetracked. They stopped production in 2003, and concentrated on their new adventure bike offering, the 1000cc Varadero, no doubt seeing it as the successor to the now ageing Africa Twin and in line with the more modern offerings like the V Strom from Suzuki and the BMW line up. The Varadero however, was quite a lot different to the Africa Twin, and was discontinued in 2013. In the meantime the reputation of the Africa Twin soared, and even 15 years after the last one rolled off the production line used examples change hands for much more than they sold for when new! The motorcycling World has also moved on, and over the past ten years the biggest sector in motorcycle sales has become the Adventure Bike market. For many reasons, not the least being that the baby-boomer generation that drove the sales of race replica superbikes like the Fireblade to the top of the charts were now getting bored with Superbike culture, not to mention that their older bones no longer fit into racer-style riding positions. They happily embraced the Adventure bike culture and all the opportunities for a more relaxed and widespread riding experience it offers. Honda-men around the world obviously spent many long hours trying to figure out how one of the most innovative motorcycle companies in the world could become a bigger part of this fast growing market. Somewhere a light flashed and the answer was obvious. ALL-TERRAIN PERFORMANCE With 98Nm of torque, the Africa Twin is built to take you all the way from tarmac touring to off-road rally. The roaring dual exhaust pipes run from underneath the bike to the rear. The new Africa Twin packs an all-new 4-stroke 1000cc parallel twin engine. It has the muscle to take on extreme off-road environments, offers smooth comfort for long distance touring, and sprightly agility for the everyday commute. Up and down the gears The standard manual version of the Africa Twin has a lightweight six-speed manual gearbox that uses the same shift-cam design found on the trusty CRF250R/450R – and is equipped with an assist slipper clutch. Coupled with a large 18.8 litre fuel tank and top fuel efficiency, it has a range of up to 400km. Enough to get where you wanted (or weren’t expecting) to go. 44 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016 <strong>1601</strong> <strong>DT</strong> Africa Twin.indd 44 2015/12/16 9:41 AM 275x Zamb
Book yours now! ZAMBEZI HONDA Tel: 012 523 9500 Cnr Visvanger Road & Sefako Makgatho Drive, PTA www.bbzambezihonda.co.za 275x210-5mmB-20mmT.indd 1 2015/11/19 9:16 AM Zambezi <strong>1601</strong> <strong>DT</strong> Honda Africa Twin.indd Jan16 <strong>DT</strong>.indd 45 1 2015/12/15 2015/12/16 8:05 9:41 PM AM
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