Look at this..

Nearly £5000 for an Africa Twin. Clean with low miles but WTF !!!!

It's worth half that...

Honda XRV 750 AFRICA TWIN | eBay

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

People pay 18.000 for a BMW that breaks after only 44.000 km see translation here

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ke-do-52163-17

so a AfricaTwin that lasts for 400.000 km is worth £70.000 and you can be happy to get one for less but dont tell anyone, otherwise the price will go up

I can think of 50 bikes that can be picked up for £1000 which can match an AT on reliability and longativity...

And I love AT's... I'm sure they will be back to £1500 once the fashion wears off and realisation sets in. And then I'll have another. Maybe..

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

We've seen some similar "fashion trends" here regards classic ADV Travel bikes. A hot one for a while now are old R80GS's. Guys are sinking THOUSANDS into restoring these old GS's ... most rarely get past Starbuck's.

Some just do it as a reminder of their youth and the way things were ... I'm OK with that ... just don't tell me that BMW "invented" Adventure travel ... whatever that is! ... BMW just did the best marketing sales job to label and define it.

I did meet a real traveler riding a R80GS years ago, one of the HU meetings. His R80GS had really gone through an amazing transformation, tip to tail. Lots of smart mods. He really WAS on the road ... for all I know, he may still be out there. Best one I've ever seen for LD travel. Grant did a Video on the guy ... so it's out there somewhere I guess. Really really nice bike.

I got a ride on another well set up R80GS. Long time acquaintance Kari Prager was well known in BMW circles in the San Francisco Bay area. BMW dealer forever, one of the most successful in USA. Kari passed a few years ago ... we all miss him. I learned a lot about BMW's internal workings from Kari who was in the business 30 years Plus.

Anyway, Kari let me ride his R80 GS off road. Nothing terribly technical, a bit rocky, two track with ruts. His R80GS was perfectly set up, Ohlins all round and trick everything, but very minimalist. Rode light and stable. I could have ridden that bike 100,000 miles. Geared too low for highway and sucked a lot of fuel, other than that, it was very good ... for a BMW! But next to the KTM 640 I was riding that day,(test bike) it felt a bit ridiculous going off road.

But if you saw the prices now for old R80GS's in beat up condition ... you'd choke.

That's the thing with good bikes, they keep their valu year after year after year after year...

Hey Ted, an RD04 for BP1500?

RD04 for sale

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Squily

Great responses from all view points.

For what I've done on mine and as a guy who has ridden many of the newer and older bikes of this class I can honestly say the pros and cons weigh in the Africa Twins favour (or I'd have used another bike). It's great off road but just a bit lacking in power sometimes. It's more than capeable and very, very tough.

Some mods have been needed to bring the stock AT out of its shell. I've always run a newer rear monoshock with stiffer spring and progressive fork springs in the front. The fuel pumps last a lot longer than 40K if you maintain the contacts but I have changed mine for a facet. Also the only other non stock part is the mosfet regulator, not that my original failed. Choke plungers work fine if maintained. There's not a single bike on the market you can buy and forget about and all need tinkering with to avoid problems, and nearly all can be avoided if attentive.

It's true the Africa Twin does seem expensive at times but when your in the middle of nowhere with a broken motorcycle, awkward to repair, packed with electronics, with time not on your side, you'll wish you had a solid, simpler, more basic, easy to repair bike with a wealth of information surrounding it.

I'm not just waving the flag for the Africa twin because
if it's got two wheels I love it. But, when I go long haul I also need a bike I trust and know.

Rob
www.hondaafricatwin.com

That's more like it

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

hi , i have a AT 650 and am getting crappy mpg and i dont know if its normal or there is a problem..

i have a like to my Thread for more info here..
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-650-mpg-81829

any info would be great thanks

I've checked your web site out and its brilliant, thanks for taking the time, i spend a lot of time in thailand and road trip when i can, quite a lot really and there are some amazing places to see, lots of places to stop its quite a bikers pradise really, Honda CB500X is my ride here, but planning to road trip europe in july ish next year, on a AT which I've just brought, the one from AFTH

I wonder if the new AT going out soon will be up to old one standards...