It’s been over three decades since the Honda XRV650 Africa Twin first rolled into Europe. The 1988 XRV650 was launched to celebrate Honda’s achievements at the Paris-Dakar Rally, which they won four times in a row from 1986, and marked the Japanese manufacturer’s first major step into the market of adventure motorcycles. Its go-anywhere ability, rugged durability, easy-handling, agility and all-day comfort made it the perfect partner to go exploring on two wheels. And it helped to define a motorcycling segment that has now grown into one of the most popular in the world.
The head of Honda’s design team at the time used the Paris-Dakar winning NXR750 bike as the basis of the Africa Twin, and was built to perform in a way that was true to its rallying heritage. Its engine was a 647cc water-cooled four-stroke V-Twin, shared with Honda’s NTV650, with a single overhead camshaft and three valves per cylinder. It was de-tuned by comparison with the race bike because Honda wanted to keep the hard-earned reputation of their bikes having bulletproof reliability, something the 52-degree V-twin motors would go on to be renowned for.
XRV750
Then in 1990, the Africa Twin gained an extra 95cc with a new 742cc engine. The updated Africa Twin XRV750 was initially a big hit and, other than the Yamaha XTZ750 Super Tenere, there wasn’t too much in the way of direct competition. The Africa Twin looked excellent, there was lots of rally-inspired bodywork and the twin round headlamps gave it a distinctive look. But the bike was more than just a looker, it continued where its predecessor left off in terms of performance. These bikes were very popular in mainland Europe, although adventure bikes – or dual sports as they were known back then – remained something of an oddity to sports bike obsessed British riders.
The bigger capacity engine was a bored and stroked version of the 650 and the additional torque made it more capable off road. In terms of other updates, in 1992, the bike was upgraded with a digital trip computer called the “Tripmaster”. The “Tripmaster” was essentially a series of digital clocks made to look like a Paris-Dakar Road Book to again nod towards its rallying legacy. The XRV750 received further updates in 1993 and again in 1996, with the model living on until 2003.
CRF1000L
After over a decade on the shelf, the Africa Twin name was reintroduced in 2016 with the CRF1000L. Cashing in on the global demand for adventure motorcycles, it remained true to all the attributes and abilities of the XRV650 and its successor the XRV750, while adding the benefits of everything Honda had learnt on and off-road over the last decade, including from Team HRC’s return to the Dakar Rally in 2013.
It struck the balance between power and weight that was at the heart of the original bike’s appeal. With its unmistakable and athletic-looking appearance, an enjoyable, usable engine and capable, comfortable chassis, the CRF1000L Africa Twin proved itself a true modern-day all-rounder which has been hugely popular with round-the-world adventurers, around-town commuters and weekend tourers alike.
By 2018 the Africa Twin, in both the manual transmission and the Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) forms, received some innovative updates to make the bike even more capable on and off road. ‘Throttle By Wire’ control was added, as well as three new riding modes, upgraded traction control and intake and exhaust development for improved engine response and sound. On top of this, a physically bigger Adventure Sports model was launched too, which featured improved wind protection, greater tank range and longer-travel suspension, allowing riders to go even further off road if they wanted to…
2020 CRF1100L
Building on global demand for both the standard and Adventure Sports models, with over 87,000 sold worldwide since its relaunch, 2020 will be another landmark year for the Africa Twin. According to Honda, the new 2020 CRF1100L Africa Twin has an even sharper focus on off-road ability that brings with it the look and feel of a true rally machine.
So, how is the CRF1100L different to the old model? It’s upgrades allow it to perform better off road thanks to a lighter chassis, slim rally-style bodywork and revised riding position. Weight has also been reduced by 5kg, while the engine capacity has increased by 100cc, boosting power and torque.
The brains of the bike comes in the form of a six-axis inertial measurement unit which manages riding modes as well as three additional systems – cornering ABS, wheelie Control, ‘Rear Lift Control,’ plus new cornering detection functionality on the dual clutch DCT version. All of that has been added to help riders make the most from the Africa Twin regardless of the surface beneath them.
An icon
The Africa Twin’s “icon” status isn’t in any doubt, and the sales figures back that up. When you break down the numbers behind the 87,000 plus Africa Twins sold since its reintroduction in 2016, that means around 63 leaving showrooms every day, which equates to over two bikes every hour.
Since its reintroduction, the Africa Twin’s natural competition has come from BMW’s parallel-twin F850GS and Triumph’s three cylinder Tiger 800. But now, with more competition in the adventure market from the likes of Yamaha’s Tenere 700 at the cheaper end and BMW’s revamped R1250GS at the rather more expensive end, will the new 2020 Africa Twin stand the test of time?
Time will tell, but it would be no surprise to see the Africa Twin name around in another three decades.
