1612 DT final

WHAT THEY SAY:
Clive Strugnell:
What a wonderful bike. It is the most simple and straightforward,
with a very understated electronic rider aid package. What makes
it so good is the inherent superb design. Honda took a clean sheet
of paper, called in their top engineers, and gave them a brief to
design and produce the best all round adventure bike possible. And
they did. Thanks to the Honda genes passed down from literally
hundreds of off road victories against the best other manufacturers
could throw at them, this bike steers, handles, stops and goes
better than any of its’ peers.
With its smallish bore parallel twin engine, it isn’t the most
powerful or the fastest, but in any off road situation even a mediocre
rider can confidently keep up with any of the other bikes over
the length of an off-road ride. What’s more it looks fantastic, and
probably has the best finish of any adventure bike.
Kurt Beine:
For solo touring with lots of gravel, The Honda Africa Twin (95HP)
would be my 2nd choice for similar conditions, but only if the route
was into Africa, where high power is of little consequence.
Donovan Gibbons:
Honda African Twin - very comfortable to ride with a very high feel
to the riding position, bike feels tall. Lacking a little grunt on the
road compared to the other bikes but handles very well. It is by far
the best handling bike on the dirt, feels soft and very at home on the
dirt, has the best standing riding position of the bikes on the dirt.
Heine Engelbrecht:
Just gets better. Don’t get on this bike and get on the tar after you
have been on the Ducati or the Super Adventure as you just don’t
get that adrenaline flow. On the gravel (the worse the better) and
normal safe riding this is a great package.
The most simple and basic to setup. The electronic settings on
the other bikes keep you busy, the Africa Twin is basic simple and
efficient. (Keep it simple, Simon.) The Africa Twin loves gravel and
on the tar it cruises along comfortably at the national speed limits.
Paddy Moore:
Honda Africa Twin. Best all-rounder, enough power, comfort,
suspension, braking and a nice slick gearshift, with Honda’s
unfailing reliability. Good on tar and dirt, not too heavy but stable
where you need it.
Arne:
Honda Africa Twin. Light. Comfortable. I climbed on and felt
confident. Quiet and smooth. Responsive. I looked down at the
speedo, it read, “165”, and it felt like 120, (a new ‘PB’ for me). Feels
and rides high, yet my feet touched the ground !!!! Wow I could get
used to this bike I’d buy: It’s not a matter of closing my eyes, it’s
more about scraping around inside the folds of my lean slim wallet.
Honda Africa Twin.
Rob Davies:
In Heidelberg I jumped onto the Africa twin. First impression
was that it was very comfortable and smooth to ride but definitely
not in the same power class as the KTM. Just never going to get
your pulse racing. That was on tar. Later I got on it again when
we did some off-roading. Now turn off traction control and abs
and the bike is fantastic. It reminded me of my 950 but with more
refinement and better suspension. It felt like a large enduro bike
with how easy it handled sand, rocky paths and puddles. Loved the
88 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2016