Interesting...
Honda Africa Twin 'little brother' on the way | MCN
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Honda Africa Twin 'little brother' on the way
Published: Today 13:38
Ke
nji Morita, Large Project Leader for the Africa Twin
The Honda Africa Twin is a well-balanced adventure bike that’s perfect for two-up travelling and the new Adventure Sports model has opened it up to even more hardcore endeavours.
It does have its drawbacks, however: it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s too powerful for riders with A2 licences and it’s also expensive. All of this is off-putting for younger riders and Honda know this, which is why they’re looking at something new.
If you want to ride an on-road/off-road Honda that’s A2-friendly you can choose from the CRF250L (and Rally), CB500X, NC750X, and NC800X but none of them are really an Africa Twin alternative. Honda have spotted this gap and intend to fill it.
“When we speak about pure adventure, we don’t have such a wide line up, says Kenji Morita, Large Project Large for the Africa Twin.
“And yes, we are thinking of putting a half-way model in to attract younger people. We will develop this bike, but it’s not something we are working on right now.”
Interesting, so what could Honda offer? The obvious engine choice for Honda would be the 750cc parallel twin from the NC750X (and X-ADV) as it’s an existing model with the right sort of power and it keeps Honda’s DCT dreams alive. However it’s unlikely Honda will increase the capacity on the standard model, which would place them very close together, so it’s possible Honda will create a new 650cc twin like the very first XRV650 Africa Twin.
A new 750cc adventure bike would put Honda right in the middle of the emerging middleweight adventure bike segment that includes the BMW F850GS and Tiger 800s but will soon include the Yamaha Ténéré 700 as well as the KTM 790 Adventure. Although the smaller Africa Twin will likely be down on power compared to the other four, it will be easier to ride and better suited to people new to the sport. This could be a shrewd move for Honda, as they’ll be keen to move the big bike out of the firing line of the new KTM 790 Adventure, with the CEO of KTM having expressly targeted the Africa Twin.
Although Honda say they’re not working on the smaller-capacity bike right now, we don’t think they’ll want to be left behind once all the new middleweights are out.
The next Tokyo Motor Show (where Japanese brands unveil their important new bikes) is in October 2019. The new Euro5 emissions targets also come into force in 2020, making it prime time for revealing new models, so we think this is as likely a date as any.
Honda Africa Twin 'little brother' on the way | MCN
----
Honda Africa Twin 'little brother' on the way
Published: Today 13:38
Kenji Morita, Large Project Leader for the Africa Twin
The Honda Africa Twin is a well-balanced adventure bike that’s perfect for two-up travelling and the new Adventure Sports model has opened it up to even more hardcore endeavours.
It does have its drawbacks, however: it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s too powerful for riders with A2 licences and it’s also expensive. All of this is off-putting for younger riders and Honda know this, which is why they’re looking at something new.
If you want to ride an on-road/off-road Honda that’s A2-friendly you can choose from the CRF250L (and Rally), CB500X, NC750X, and NC800X but none of them are really an Africa Twin alternative. Honda have spotted this gap and intend to fill it.
“When we speak about pure adventure, we don’t have such a wide line up, says Kenji Morita, Large Project Large for the Africa Twin.
“And yes, we are thinking of putting a half-way model in to attract younger people. We will develop this bike, but it’s not something we are working on right now.”
Interesting, so what could Honda offer? The obvious engine choice for Honda would be the 750cc parallel twin from the NC750X (and X-ADV) as it’s an existing model with the right sort of power and it keeps Honda’s DCT dreams alive. However it’s unlikely Honda will increase the capacity on the standard model, which would place them very close together, so it’s possible Honda will create a new 650cc twin like the very first XRV650 Africa Twin.
A new 750cc adventure bike would put Honda right in the middle of the emerging middleweight adventure bike segment that includes the BMW F850GS and Tiger 800s but will soon include the Yamaha Ténéré 700 as well as the KTM 790 Adventure. Although the smaller Africa Twin will likely be down on power compared to the other four, it will be easier to ride and better suited to people new to the sport. This could be a shrewd move for Honda, as they’ll be keen to move the big bike out of the firing line of the new KTM 790 Adventure, with the CEO of KTM having expressly targeted the Africa Twin.
Although Honda say they’re not working on the smaller-capacity bike right now, we don’t think they’ll want to be left behind once all the new middleweights are out.
The next Tokyo Motor Show (where Japanese brands unveil their important new bikes) is in October 2019. The new Euro5 emissions targets also come into force in 2020, making it prime time for revealing new models, so we think this is as likely a date as any.
