The new and updated Honda Africa Twin is likely to be revealed officially in the next couple of months, and it will be called the Honda CRF1100L, according to a report by Cycle World. And the report states that the publication has access to specifications as well as the code name for the new model, which has been named internally as SD09. The current 2018-2019 Honda Africa Twin is the SD06, while the 2015-2017 model was the SD04. The big change is of course the engine displacement, which will now be a 1,084 cc mill, compared to the 998 cc engine of the current Africa Twin.
The new Africa Twin will not get a significant power hike, with performance on the new 1,084 cc engine to be around 101 bhp (up from 94 bhp on the current model). The increased engine size means that the new Africa Twin will meet the Euro 5 emission regulations, and the 2020 CRF 1100L Africa Twin will be quieter as well, with new catalytic converters. With just over 100 bhp on tap, it's clear that Honda isn't keen to make the new Africa Twin any more powerful to compete with the likes of the 158 bhp Ducati Multistrada 1260 or the 134 bhp BMW R 1250 GS. Where the Africa Twin will compete is with the middleweight ADVs, like the Triumph Tiger 800, and even the KTM 790 Adventure.
Also Read: Rumours Suggest 1100 cc In 2020 Honda Africa Twin
The 2018 Honda Africa Twin is only available in the DCT version in India
The new Africa Twin will be launched in four variants - with two variants with a manual gearbox, the CRF1100L A2 and A4, with the A4 being the mode off-road focussed Adventure Sports spec. The automatic gearbox DCT variants will be the CRF1100L D2 and D4, with the D4 being the Adventure Sports version with the automatic gearbox. The leaked information also mentions that all versions of the new Africa Twin will come with 24-litre fuel tanks. On the current generation Africa Twin, only the Adventure Sports version received the bigger fuel tank.
Also Read: New Honda Africa Twin May Get Bigger Engine
The latest information however doesn't yet come with any images of the upcoming Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin, so we have no way of known for sure yet, what design changes, if any, will be incorporated in the new model. But most estimates point that the chassis is likely to remain the same, and Honda may not make any drastic changes in the overall design of the new Africa Twin. What is possible is that the new model may be unveiled sooner than one of the European motorcycle shows (Intermot and EICMA) towards the later part of the year. In India, Honda only offers the DCT version of the current Africa Twin. It remains to be seen if Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) will introduce both the manual and automatic versions of the new CRF1100L when it is finally introduced commercially.
