EICMA 2017: Honda Africa Twin Adventure Breaks Cover

The Honda Africa Twin was launched a few months ago in India. As expected, the popular adventure bike got a good reception in India and the first batch of 50 motorcycles was sold out in less time than it takes to tell about it! Okay, that might be exaggeration, but the point being that the angry-looking Africa Twin is surely popular in India. Globally, more serious riders had complained that the Africa Twin lacked range and power to go long distance touring. And Honda heard them loud the first time.

(2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure)

The Japanese company has unveiled the Africa Twin Adventure at the ongoing EICMA Show in Milan, Italy. For starters, the Twin now gets a fuel tank with an increase of 5.4 litres to take the total tank capacity to 24.2 litres. This translates into a range of almost 480 kilometres. And to make the long rid comfortable for the rider, the Africa Twin Adventure will get a slightly flatter seat, giving a more upright position. The other extra features include heated grips, power socket and a taller windscreen. The Africa Twin Adventure gets a retro tricolour paint scheme which is homage of sorts to the original Africa Twin, the XVR650, from 1988.

(2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure)

The engine remains the same, which is a 998 cc parallel-twin that makes 94 bhp at 7,500 rpm. But there are a few changes such as a bigger airbox and a new exhaust system that, Honda says, offers more grunt in the mid-range. The ride-by-wire has been updated too and the bike gets three riding modes along with a 7-step traction control. One can also opt for a quick-shifter if needed.

The bike also gets an extra 22 mm of suspension travel, a bigger guard for the sump and wider footpegs which make life easier when one needs to stand up and ride. The bike has a rather tall seat height of 900 mm and weighs 243 kg (manual)/253 kg (DCT). We are hoping that HMSI gets the Africa Twin Adventure to India.