From the perspective of the old Twin, mine is great everywhere except motorways. Above 65-70mph it becomes hard work and really doesn't like being pushed that hard.
I've done loads of miles on it, but planned routes to avoid using much motorways.
But as you've say, this limits you on time. If you've only got 2 or 3 weeks to travel, you can only cover so much distance.
With this in mind, I've bought a Tiger 800. Great bike to ride and suits me more as I come from a sports bike background.
I've kitted it up as I need it and have already had some great trips out on it.

I sat on the new twin at the NEC, but you really can't get the feel of a bike when it's fastened down. I will go and look at my dealer when they have them in, maybe get a test ride if they have a demo.
It does look interesting, but I don't know if I would want to drop any bike a currently own for one. It felt very similar ergonomically to my 2001 Twin to sit on, and with at least 40hp more should be very capable and not have the short fall I found on the original.

Like I said before though, it depends what you want and where your going to ride, as well as being honest to yourself with your abilities.
I did a lot of Europe on a ZZR, it was perfect for what I wanted at the time. I don't really do off road, but do appreciate the ergonomics of the twin and tiger. That and the carrying capacity.

Hope you find what your looking for.


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At last nail hit on the head..... Ergonomics. The only people who can afford new bikes are us old chaps, we are not five foot six tall weighing ten stone
It seems the Jap s use that as a Base model for anything sporty so don't go there. This leaves us with large overweight upright at bikes, the perfect thing for us fifty plus guys who like bacon sandwiches and .

I completely second the above. I like my XRV for its simplicity and durability but highways are no fun and that is keeping me from blasting long hauls for short breaks. Also the weight is a thing although I can pick up the bike by myself, even fully loaded but manoeurving / walking it, even wihout luggage is a thing. When I tilt it more than some15 degrees I have to lay it down Not so the new AT It feels so incredibly light compared to the XRV that it is almost spooky! It feels lighter than an XT660Z! Tilting it to 30/40 degrees (towards me while standing) was no problem at all! On top of that it is suposed to be great on highways. One journalist wrote that 160kph is a good cruising speed for the CRF Well, that did it for me. I have ordered one!

Cheers and Happy Holidays
Noel

That's impressive! I just hope Honda is not up to the tricks Triumph used to do at bike shows (and other OEM's as well).

Triumph (I know this for a FACT) used "dummy" engines for show bikes.
No internals ... No crank, rods, pistons, cams, valve gear. Nothing inside!

The bikes were positively featherweights to push around or lay over. Triumph admitted to the trick later but I'm thinking a lot of average show attendees never knew, bought a new Tiger or something and found it was just a plain old heavy Pig in reality.

This was back in around 2002 or '03. Triumph claimed it was a "cost" thing since they could not ever sell the show bikes, so why put all the "guts" in them? These bikes traveled all over the world to shows.

They also said it made the demo fleet cheaper and easier to move, load and unload. Once this came out in the press ... they never did it again. But word is several other OEM's have done this in the past ... or may be currently doing it now??

I've leaned 520 lbs. bike over several times to test weight ... not light!
(BMWGS, Vstrom 1000, Capo Nord, all round 520 lbs. wet )

The AT I am talking about was not a dummy bike but a dealer riding demo!

Given its legacy, would anyone actually recommend taking the new AT on a ADV ride through Africa?

assuming you won't drop it yes
but not without the winch...

Agree. I may do Africa on an AT but it will certainly limit your options. For me due to riding skills! With respect to getting it into the hotel lobby, I dont think taking the AT into a lobby through the front door will be much more difficult than say a DRZ400( ). It is not a GS1200 Adventure rinoceros sized bike. Size wize (width) the AT looks a lot like the XT660Z.

I get a kick out of people pretending that a 650 bike loaded down is somehow easy to get out of a mudhole or another bad predicament, it is not.

Your absolute best recourse is to avoid most of the pitfalls I see ADV riders falling into, regardless of bike.

Ride AROUND mud holes, if it requires getting off your bike and doing a little walking, do it. Same goes for soft sand and most other obstacles. I rarely see photographs of stuck bikes that cannot be avoided.


In the end, ride what you got, I wonder how many trips are ruined by people obsessing on finding the perfect ADV bike?

I think the greatest example of riding the last bike I would ever dream of riding RTW is Peter and Kay Forwood on their bagger Hog. Yet they traversed every single country on the planet on that behemoth.

Sjaak Luccassan has circumvented the world twice on sport bikes.

Of course the Legendary Sanders and his RTW on R1 Sportbikes how many times?

Ol Ray Git and his wife circumvented the world on a Tenere.

The KLR was mine, I had pulled off the road, put my foot down and the bank gave way, that was an absolute bear to get back up. Keep in mind I was raised on a ranch and can lift some crazy weight, it was everything I could do in that position to get it up without unloading it (the smart thing to do).

The bottom is Peter and Kay

with Sjaak and his R1

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I must have done about 100 miles of gravel on this beast on my last trip. Can't say it was fun, but we both survived.

I feel like the Africa Twin will handle gravel roads better though!

OK so got to play with the new At at my local dealer today. This is a cracking looking bike in white, Def a head turner.
The dash is easy to read and navigate something triumph and ducati could learn from. The switches are easy to reach with your thumbs and unlike triumph and ducati well made and robust.
It will be a sod to keep clean though. It will need some sort of locking nut device for the tool kit as this is on the side of the bike being accessed by an Allen key.
The build quality looks good close up, if they get the reliability right then I can see it selling like hot cakes. Went next door and then had a close look at a ktm 1050, sorry no contest
Obviously a test ride is needed but this bike is Def a possible replacement for my fjr in a couple of years.

Yeah, it maybe a community but there's always the one you don't want as a neighbour.


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I bought one and it's bloody brilliant

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Probably the best big bore adventure bike of the moment. Simple design. Reliable. Huge Honda dealers network around the world. Runs on regular fuel. Ultra efficient engine. Runs cool. Rims use tubes. Superb handling. Easy to ride.

The original Africa Twin set a standard in 1988. 28 years later, the new Africa Twin sets a new standard.

Hi
I'm currently riding my AT DCT through Mexico having risen from New York.I am heading into south america. The bike is great and the weight and balance of the machine is good. My previous bike was the Honda Crosstourer - now that was heavy and totally unsuited to any mucky stuff.
I think I will be in a place to confirm its advantages once i hit the serious stuff in the jungles of Costa Rica and South America.
It does travel well on the road and offload the DCT is a great help - one less thing to think about if you are inexperienced like me!