Honda Africa Twin

[BBJ]

18 hours ago, papa al said:

So:

1. won't matter one bit,

or

2. will benefit.

Which?

 

papa finds 21" rolls thru pot-holes much better than 17".

That's what I am saying.  In reference to a poster asking if it warrants a 21" wheel if not going off-road.  

 

Hope that's clear enough for you!

 

I guess it's as confusing as drawing a comparison with a 17!

[jackdd]

It always surprises me how little info the Honda shops get.

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports has arrived in Bangkok, but the shop in Udon can't say for sure yet at which day they will be in Udon. Maybe depends on how many times the truck breaks down on the way to Udon?

[Hummin]

49 minutes ago, jackdd said:

It always surprises me how little info the Honda shops get.

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports has arrived in Bangkok, but the shop in Udon can't say for sure yet at which day they will be in Udon. Maybe depends on how many times the truck breaks down on the way to Udon?

It is one month delivery time in BKK at the moment as far I know

[jackdd]

14 minutes ago, Hummin said:

It is one month delivery time in BKK at the moment as far I know 

Honda Big Wing Rama 5 posted on Facebook today in the morning that they still have bikes for sale in stock, no need for a booking, so for somebody who wants to buy one in Bangkok it's probably possible to drive it home tomorrow.

[jackdd]

Looks like Honda Thailand <deleted> it up.

They only sell the model which is called "Africa Twin Adventure Sports Type LD" in Japan here in Thailand. This model has 9cm lower suspension (and thus the total height is lower) than the european model and 6cm lower suspension as the regular Adventure Sports in Japan and also has about 6cm lower suspension than the old 16/17 Africa Twin. The 2018 "standard" Africa Twin is now as low as the Adventure Sports version (so it's lower than the 16/17 model).

So the Africa Twins which are sold in Thailand have now a suspension similar to adventure bikes which are made clearly for the street.

Not only that it cuts off the possibilities, it also just looks ugly.

[eisfeld]

... lol? I mean, the point of the Adventure Sports is to have better off-roading capabilities, hence the longer suspension. If you take this away then what you get is a bit bigger fuel tank, different belly guard and crashbars. Meh?

 

I know a guy who had the 2016 Africa Twin and sold it to get the new Adventure Sports. He is pretty tall and wants a tall bike. I bet noone told him that his new bike will be 6cm *lower* than his old bike when he wanted a taller one. That's going to be a fun surprise for him!

 

Honda Thailand (AP Honda) keeps on doing this stuff without telling people, without giving any option to opt-out of it and get the model that one really wants. The new CB1000R will also probably come without the plus version which means you can't get the one with quickshifter. Why Honda, why?

It could be sooo easy for them to just let people choose which model they want and then order that. But no.

[jackdd]

4 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

I know a guy who had the 2016 Africa Twin and sold it to get the new Adventure Sports. He is pretty tall and wants a tall bike. I bet noone told him that his new bike will be 6cm *lower* than his old bike when he wanted a taller one. That's going to be a fun surprise for him! 

The seat on the Adventure Sports is 2-3cm higher than on the standard model, so from what i've heard now the Adventure Sports should effectively be about 3cm lower than the 16/17 standard version and have 6cm less suspension. But these are just my estimations. When the bikes arrive in Udon i will go there with a measuring tape ?

 

Here a picture somebody posted on Facebook, he said the person is 166cm and the seat is in the high position

[thaiguzzi]

55 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Why Honda, why?

Because they are Honda. The Big Corporate H. The Big Red.

The most popular (sales) m/c company in history, but the most unpopular m/c company in history (gaffes, soul less transport, boring designs, attitude towards markets and competitors, profit before innovating ideas, etc etc never ending etc).

 Have i come across as a person who does'nt like Honda motorcycles and what they stand for?

Give me the lesser of the Japanese 3 anyday.

[eisfeld]

thaiguzzi: Heh yea, probably filled a bit too much with MBAs ? They need to get someone with passion at the top.

 

jackdd: ah didn't know the seat was higher. But if it's still 3cm lower than even the old one then it's still meh. I guess it's great for many Asians who couldn't ride the bike before but they should definitely keep the old standard height model as well. Doesn't even cost them anything...

[jackdd]

From what i've seen on Facebook now and saw in the specs of the different Honda sites it seems that there are several different options being sold worldwide and my first assumption was not completely correct

I'm still not 100% sure about this because i saw a picture where the forks of the European version looks like they have longer travel than the one on the Japanese model, but according to the specs it should be like this for the Adventure Sports:

A - 920mm seat height, 270mm ground clearance, "standard" model in Europe / America

B - 890mm seat height, 270mm ground clearance, "standard" model in Japan (has a low seat)

C - 860mm seat height, 210mm ground clearance, the model sold in Thailand (has the European seat, but a 60mm reduced suspension)

D - 830mm seat height, 210mm ground clearance, "LD" model in Japan (60mm reduced suspension + low seat)

 

So compared to the 16/17 Africa Twin, the Adventure Sports now sold in Thailand has a 10mm lower seat, and 40mm less ground clearance / suspension (the 16/17 Africa twin has 250mm ground clearance)

 

Now a good question is of course if they just put shorter springs in the forks and the shocks, if that's the case it's not a too big deal to change them to the longer ones to get a proper adventure bike. But who knows what else they changed

[jackdd]

[eisfeld]

That indeed looks kinda funny. A side-by-side comparison would be nice.

[Rhys]

Still a sweet ride.

 

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

haha

[tryasimight]

Whatever happened to the old school 250 trail bikes?

Seems only KTM make them these days. 

[Bung]

It's disappointing when manufacturers lower their bikes for a certain market and give no option to order one with normal height. I saw a new CRF250L in a dealership and it was also lowered, not sure if you can buy one with normal ride height but it makes taller riders pay a lot to change it. BMW did this with their F800GS. Lower seat and suspension. Luckily Triumph don't do that. 

[taninthai]

That new model certainly does look weird,it’s not just Honda doing this Ducati have also done it with the hypermotard

[jackdd]

I found a picture of the regular 2018 version which came to Thailand

 

It's difficult to see but it seems that they kept the suspension as it was on the 16/17 model. If this is the case i will get this one (about 1cm higher seat and about 4cm more suspension / ground clearance than the Adventure Sports here in Thailand)

[jackdd]

Somebody found a video from Japan where one can see both heights of the Adventure Sports:

 

These are the specs:

 

The version that came to Thailand is the lower version (Type LD) but they mounted a higher seat which is also on the European / American version of the Adventure Sports.

[jackdd]

One more update ?

 

I figured out that this Honda Big Wing shop is actually also the AP Honda Headoffice for big bikes, so they are the source for everything:

99,101 Praditmanutham Road, Lat Phrao, Lat Phrao, Bangkok 10230
Tel. : 02-790-3999

 

They don't have plans to bring the taller version to Thailand. The 2018 regular model of the standard Africa Twin does now have the same suspension as the Adventure Sports, but they kep the old lower seat.

So both have 40mm less suspension than the 16/17 model Africa Twin, the Adventure Sports has a 10mm lower seat height and the regular model a 40mm lower seat height

 

Thanks to let me wait unnecessarily AP Honda.

The Big Wing shop here in Udon Thani told me that they had 6 bookings for the Adventure Sports, 4 have been canceled already, and the bike is not even ready for pickup here in Udon.

 

In my opinion used prices for the old model are too high, because the new model got some nice upgrades. Honda Big Wing here in Udon told me if i buy an old version i get free class one insurance for one year.... 17k THB discount for buying the old model? lol

 

Alternatives to the Africa Twin for me are the BMW F850GS and Triumph Tiger 800 XCA

I called BMW and they told me that the F850 GS will be in Thailand next year, that's too long and when looking at the price of the 800 GS and the prices in Germany, the new 850 GS will probably cost more than 700k here in Thailand.

 

The Triumph looks like a nice bike, and i figured out that when they write "promotion 40k gift voucher" it actually means it's a simple 40k THB discount on the bike itself.

So the Triumph Tiger 800 XCA costs 625k, same as the Adventure Sports DCT.

Of course the main reason for me to want the Africa Twin was DCT... but it seems i have to live without DCT then and with only half the amount of dealers across Thailand if Honda does not want people who are taller than 170cm as customers.

 

 

[jackdd]

Honda said they will bring the taller version to Thailand, will arrive probably next year...

[taninthai]

I’m confused you talk about standard Africa twin and a adventure sports version??

is there two versions of this bike or is the adventure sports just the latest model update which they have released as the lower version.

[Damrongsak]

Seems to be two versions.  Or, as in this page, different "trim".

 

Now there’s a second option, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Honda’s original Africa Twin: the new Africa Twin Adventure Sports. Same great engine, but optimized for riders looking for more range and comfort, on and off road. You get a bigger fuel tank, more suspension travel, a larger skid plate, wider footpegs, a larger windscreen, and more.
 

Click on the "select trim" to see the model choices.

 

https://powersports.honda.com/africatwin.aspx

 

[jackdd]

There is now the regular "Africa Twin" version, which got some nice updates this year (compared to the 16/17 version), and additionally there is now the "Africa Twin Adventure Sports", which has everything that the standard model has, but some other stuff like a bigger fuel tank, a bash plate, crash bars, heated grips and usually also a longer suspension and higher seat than the standard model

But AP Honda decided to put a shorter (compared to the Africa Twin from 16/17) suspension in the standard model for this year and they put the same shortened suspension in the Adventure Sports.

Then they got a shit storm on Facebook so they now announced that they will bring the Adventure Sports with a longer suspension to Thailand as well.

[thaiguzzi]

13 hours ago, jackdd said:

Then they got a shit storm on Facebook

Gotta love the Big Red H........

[Damrongsak]

They can call the short one the African Pygmy.

[taninthai]

Right so have two models and  they are both shortened versions  for this year,got it now?As said Ducati have done this on there supermotard aswell,the guy paid a small fortune to get it changed to EURO spec.

[eisfeld]

I've seen the lowered Adventure Sports model today here in Phuket. The visual difference is striking. When the old, regular model was a tall imposing bike, the new one looks really fat and small. Such a "small" physical difference but the bike looks very very different. I sat on it and it does feel not much different to my normal height model. Probably because of the previously mentioned higher seat which makes up for most of the lack of suspension. Next week, I'll do a test ride and see how it compares handling- and comfort-wise with mine. I'll also be curious how the new ride-by-wire throttle with blipper perform.

[jackdd]

The 2018 model vs the 2016/17 model

 

 

[thaiguzzi]

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

The 2018 model vs the 2016/17 model

Wow!

That is noticeable.

The pic from the front looks like 2 different bikes. Like a Mini and a Maxi...