For the 2021 model year, Honda has given its CRF 1000L Africa Twin a major shake-up.
2018 Honda Africa Twin
The redesign was so thorough that the new version has almost nothing in common with the previous one. The engine has been redesigned both in terms of hardware and electronic systems. The changes did not bypass the gearbox: both manual and automatic with dual clutch. In addition, the level of security has been increased. To achieve this, the motorcycle was equipped with a variety of systems, including, for example, an emergency stop signal. It flashes when braking hard. There is a lot more interesting here, so let's look at everything in detail.
Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin Adventure Sports (2018): first impressions
The moment has come when you can feel the new Honda Africa Twin in the Adventure Sports modification with your own hands! It's been 30 years since Honda launched the series: the first Adventure debuted in 1988...an idea that's faithfully carried over into the 2021 model.
MOTOGONKI.RU, April 2, 2021 — The 1988 Honda XRV650 RD03, according to its owners, who continue to ride these motorcycles to this day, remains one of the best SUVs and they don’t want to change it for anything else! Presumably, the owners of the first Adventure Sports are already under fifty, but they participate in various amateur rallies and do not experience any problems.
30 years of Honda Adventure Sports - 1988-2018
The RD03 was and remains one of the examples of the ideal balance of weight, power and reliability, as well as handling in tough off-road conditions. On asphalt, the classic XRV is an anachronism by today's standards.
The new CRF1000L Adventure Sports is the embodiment of ideas from 30 years ago, plus taking into account the realities of today: a motorcycle designed to cover long distances in a short time.
There are three differences from the base CRF1000L that are immediately noticeable.
First: updated chassis.
Although Honda claims an increase of only 20 mm, in reality the bike is significantly taller.
Showa rally suspension on Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: compression adjustment from the bottom of the stay
Adventure Sports have different, long-travel and stiffer Showa suspensions. A rally-type cartridge fork with a diameter of 45 mm with a full range of adjustments and a gas-filled monoshock absorber with an external compensator provide chassis travel in the vertical plane of up to 225 mm (front wheel travel - 250, rear - 240 mm), which should help when overcoming solid logs with a diameter of up to 30 cm and large boulders.
Showa rally suspension on Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: preload adjustment
The ground clearance has increased to 270 mm, but the seat height has reached 920 mm: the new seat has become thicker and higher, so that, sitting upright, it is impossible to reach the ground with your feet - five or six centimeters are missing (with a height of 176 cm)!
Second: a large tank and a different landing.
Honda reshaped the seat based on owner feedback in 2016-17, making it "slightly more comfortable."
The seat itself has added 50 mm in thickness for better shock absorption and overall integrity with the “body” of the motorcycle. Obviously, the motorcycle is more aimed at long day runs with a reserve. For long hauls, you will still need an additional gel pad to prevent your buttocks from becoming numb after just a couple of hours of driving. But a 24-liter gas tank will provide a range of up to 450 km on asphalt - which is 3-3.5 hours on the road at a pace of 130-150 km/h - and more than 500 km on off-road.
Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: larger and more massive than just the Africa Twin, and heavier, but it also allows you to do more!
500 km away from highways, you can drive all day without encountering a single gas station. I have already been convinced that the 95-horsepower 998 cc engine of the CRF1000L can, if desired, be powered by the holy spirit and do 25 km on a liter of gasoline. The Adventure Sports has the exact same engine. Now, in general, everything depends only on the desire and cold calculation of the rider!
The hard and wide seat, installed flush with the passenger, forms a single platform without any step, which allows you to push back as much as you want (or need). You can change your position and relax one muscle group, switching efforts to another, for example. The seat material is as firm and grippy as the Africa Twin, providing excellent knee support when riding standing on the pegs. By the way, the footpegs themselves have become more massive, and the corrugation on them is even more aggressive. If you remove the rubber pads, the enduring motorcycle boots will have the same grip as on a sports motorcycle.
The new Adventure Sports seat is 5cm taller than before, thicker and more comfortable, and there is no step when moving to the passenger seat!
It should be noted that the steering wheel has also been changed. He became three centimeters taller. The upper fairing is noticeably larger than the standard Africa Twin, the windshield is immediately 8 cm higher. If you have ridden a BMW R 1200 GS, you will be familiar with this feeling behind the wheel of an Adventure Sports: it is significantly higher in height than all the motorcycles standing or riding next to it! It’s now more comfortable to sit straight and straight, and even with an Adventure-class helmet (with a visor) you don’t have to lean forward if you’re going very fast.
Honda XRV650 Africa Twin Adventure Sports 1988 meets CRF1000L at Col de la Bonnette in France
But getting on a motorcycle is more difficult. I finally felt the “Adventure Sports style” seen at the Col de la Bonnette in the fall of 2021: in order to climb onto the bike, my new Italian comrade (taller than me) needed to use the kickstand and, standing on it, throw his leg over the seat. The motorcycle does not have a central stand as standard, but the thick side stand is equipped with a wide platform.
Third: powerful protection.
The Adventure Sports has a one-piece, 4mm thick, ribbed, molded aluminum crankcase guard that covers the entire underside of the engine, pipes, frame, oil and cooling system, and also protects the roll bar mounts from direct impacts.
Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: expanded functionality of protective bars - for installing additional lights
The arches are made of powerful pipes and are attached to the frame with steel brackets with a diameter of at least 20 mm. The arcs themselves are even thicker and have a variable diameter. Unlike third-party “add-on equipment” for the Africa Twin, the original Adventure Sports protection looks reliable without any reservations. But the arcs have not lost their functionality either: they are already equipped with seats for additional light.
Mounting roll bars on Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports (2018)
In addition, all attachments that come as standard are pre-certified by the PCT and approved for road use. The arches protect almost the entire top of the motorcycle, so that if you fall on one side, the entire plane from the driver’s footrests to the steering wheel is protected from damage.
Crankcase protection and roll bar on Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports (2018)
But the protection of the levers remains the same, plastic: this is not from hard impacts, but from stones and sand. However, the cost of the shields is minimal and they can be purchased from any dealer in stock or exchanged for hard ones from third-party manufacturers. But Honda believes that losing the plastic protection and breaking off the tip of the lever is easier and cheaper than replacing a steering wheel that was bent in a fall.
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Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: Same 95 PS engine with DCT as standard Africa Twin
A fully loaded Adventure Sports is 13kg heavier than the base 2021 Africa Twin. The Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports with manual transmission weighs 243 kg, 20 kg lighter than the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure. But rolling the version with DCT (253 kg) from place to place is the same “pleasure” as rolling a “goose” with your hands: the high center of gravity has its effect, the weight of the motorcycle is immediately felt. If you're on a flat, hard surface, this isn't a problem. But I don’t even want to think about how to get it out of a deep rut or from deep sand on the beach when you get stuck “with all your money”...
The huge vertically located dashboard screen is protected by a visor
What else would you like to note?
The new motorcycle dashboard is really huge and easy to read! There is more information on the panel; the display is so inclined in relation to the pilot that it is clearly visible from any position - sitting or standing; a large visor covers it on top.
Easy-to-read data on the Adventure Sports dash - and lots of it!
Automatic backlight changes the brightness level of the display: during the day it becomes completely black with contract white numbers and letters; in the dark the background changes to a deep and soft blue color “Navy”. The indicators for the traction control and ABS systems (they can be turned off completely, but ABS is only on the rear wheel) are located on the side panels and are clearly visible even in the brightest light.
Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: 12V cigarette lighter socket as standard
The electrical circuit of the Adventure Sports in the basic version includes 5-level heated driver's grips and a 12V cigarette lighter, which was not included in the Africa Twin base. Thanks guys, these two are incredibly useful things!
Heated steering grips in the Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports base (2018)
Heating can be activated even when the engine is turned off and the handles can be warmed up for the trip in advance.
Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: 5 heat levels - when pressed, the indicator will blink and then turn on permanently
When you press the key (located on the left handle near the remote control), the indicator (on the key) will blink green (the number of times it blinks is the heating level), and then will light up constantly, indicating the warming up process.
Indication of the level of heated grips - on the Adventure Sports control panel
The heating icon and heating level will also appear in the upper left corner of the control panel screen.
Honda CRF1000L Adventure Sports: second caliper? Handbrake!
The photo shows the Adventure Sports version with DCT, so the rear wheel has an unusual appearance: it has a second brake caliper - this is a handbrake. The main 1-cylinder brake caliper is covered with a dirt guard.
The handbrake lever and lock are located on the left side of the handlebar, where a motorcycle with a manual transmission has a clutch. This is an incredibly useful feature; all motorcycles could be equipped with this, not just DCT. It is useful when transporting a motorcycle or when parking and pausing on uneven surfaces when you do not want to turn off the engine.
That week they called from the Honda dealership and offered to take the Africa Adventure Sport with a regular box for a ride. To be honest, I didn’t really want to, but the seller promised a mileage of up to 200 km, free gas and gave me until lunch. The weather got better after several weeks of rain and I let him persuade me, deciding to compare Sport with “civilian” Africa)) The first feeling was “what a big guy.” Ordinary Africa is also not a small thing, but this spendthrift is really even bigger. Firstly, it is awesomely high - the saddle height is 900mm and, accordingly, 920mm (Africa is usually 850 and 870mm). The seat was in the lower position and with my short legs (171 height, 78 to the groin) I simply couldn’t reach the floor. Sold without hesitation, he brought a lowered seat from a regular Africa from the salon and, groaning, we stuck it in the sport. In this position, I began to touch my toes to the floor. Well, that's something.
The motorcycle is heavier (+13kg), even purely subjectively, but you don’t feel it while riding. The tank is full, there is no need to refuel, the controls remain in the same place, everything is as usual - let's go. At the first traffic light I braked sharply and this beast decided to fall on its side when the bike, after compressing the shock absorbers, began to uncurl and lift me up. Jumped on my leg and held it. On a hole or unevenness, it will probably be very difficult to hold it. It handles like a regular Africa easily, I didn’t notice any special differences. The mot is beautiful - the colors are bright, light - I would like one like that))
The 24-liter tank is a great thing, I think. According to your passport, you can drive up to 500 km. The seat is comfortable, the arms are high and comfortable. Tidying is g... but. In general, these electronic tablets infuriate me, but here it’s really a smartphone in a vertical position, overloaded with small icons. It is clear that over time you will get used to them and will immediately look for the information you need, but at first everything is very sad. It still glares in the sun and the image is hard to read during the day.
Mot is loud. No not like this. It's VERY loud! The first half hour is normal, but then this exhaust shooting into the silencer, the constant loud, rich sound of the engine begins to get boring. Stopping in the parking lot, I enjoyed the silence))) In this video (not mine) you can appreciate the original muffler sound:
Dynamics, handling, ergonomics and security of the driver's seat are, in principle, not very different from its non-sports brother. Main differences from the civilian version: Suspension travel 252/240 versus 230/220. Tank 24 liters versus 18 liters. Seat height 900/920mm versus 850/870mm. Weight 243kg versus 230kg. The coloring has been changed, the body kit is plastic, bottom and arch protection are already standard, the price is higher. Of course, this horse should be driven “out into the wild, into the pampas”; there it is quite likely that its enlarged wheelbase and longer-travel suspensions will show themselves to the fullest. But firstly, I don’t have the necessary driving skill in such conditions, secondly, they gave me the car with the condition “return it as is,” and since my plans did not include paying for possible repairs of someone else’s equipment, so I gave this beautiful beast away and went to finish my beer enjoying the World Cup. ;-)
Beaver everyone and good luck on the road!
