why i travel on Africa twin ?

[omar mansour]

Hi all as i was lazy member here please forgive me and will start to be more active
here is why i love AT
its my own thoughts so hope you like it
also here is a link to my page on face book about my travel trying to go all around the world
please support me and give it a biiiiiig like and spread it to all of your friends ,yes pretty lady rider and if you have any contacts with media people ,as i hope to have sponsors to fund my trips to keep travelling

https://www.facebook.com/egyptianvoyager


As I live in Egypt not in London, it’s not easy to find spares, do a good service on the bike
And in the past 5 years im travelling to Africa, where it is hard to find a clean water to drink so imagine parts or to fix your bike!!!
What I like in the Africa twin, it is very simple bike ,
It was preceded by the eponymous XRV650 Africa Twin which was a lighter, higher specification version made in 1988 and 1989 by Honda racing corporation with a 650 cc engine producing 42 kW (56 hp). The much earlier Honda XLV750R was a shaft driven motorcycle.
Built in homage to the giant desert racers of the Paris-Dakar Rally, the Africa Twin is a large, dual sport bike, powered by a softly tuned V twin Engine. It has twin headlights, a windscreen, and a long dual seat which stretches back from the tank to an aluminium grabrail and plastic coated luggage rack. An aluminium bashplate protects the bottom of the engine from flying rocks and impacts.
In December 1989 the original Honda XRV750 Africa Twin was launched, which became known as the 1990 model. In 1992 the Tripmaster computer was added. In 1993 the motorcycle had a major redesign including new frame, body work plastics, fuel tank, engine modifications and a lower seat. Nevertheless it gained weight slightly. In 1996 the XRV gained an improved seat and clutch, larger silencer, modified upper fairing and luggage rack. However, the rear shock absorber lost some of its adjustability. In 2003 the Honda XRV750 Africa Twin ceased production. Nowadays good second hand examples are very much sought after among aficionados. Several aftermarket products exist with which to equip the bike such as crash bars to protect the vehicle's plastics and tank from damage in a low speed fall.
The engine is a 742 cc, 6-valve, four spark plug, liquid-cooled V- twin .The long-travel suspension insulates the rider from uneven surfaces. The brakes are twin discs at the front and single disc at the rear.
The later XRV's instruments feature a large trip computer LCD display mounted above the conventional speedometer and tachometer, styled like Dakar racers' navigational displays, and incorporates a range of extra electronic timers and trip meters.




Specifications for the different models

XRV750 Africa Twin

L to N models
(1990 to 1992)
P to S models
(1993 to 1995)
T models onwards
(1996 on)
Overall length
2315 to 2380 mm
Overall width
895 mm
905 mm
Overall height
1,420 mm
1430 mm
Wheelbase
1,565 mm
Seat height
880 mm
860 mm
870 mm
Weight (dry)
185 kg
205 kg
Fuel tank capacity (including reserve)
25 litres
23 litres
Wheels
Front 21-inch spoke, aluminium rim
Rear 17-inch spoke, aluminium rim
Tyres
Front 90/90-21 54S
Rear 130/90-17 65S
Front 90/90-21 54S
Rear 140/80-R17 69H





Weak points in the Africa twin

- Heavy for real off road
- Fuel consumption is high high on a full tank (23 liter ) I do around 300 to 330 km
Fuel pump can stop any time ( I didn’t faced that so far ) and i usually change if for aftermarket one ( Facet ) but you have to get the one with the right part number to make sure you have the correct fuel flow.
And that’s it from my experience


Good points in the Africa twin

- A bike will take you anywhere on earth
- You can run it on very dirty bad bad bad fuel and it won’t stop
when I was in Zimbabwe ,the country had shortage of petrol and I had to buy it in jerrycans .
I couldn’t tell it was petrol my bike was running good on it ,I met 3 fellow bikers from South Africa they had to ship their new BMW GS 1200 on truck as it wasn’t working at all cause of the bad fuel (it’s one of those moments you feel so proud of your very old Africa twin )
You can tour very loaded on 140 km per hour all day long
The bike comparing to other big giants machine is incredibly stable and more off road ability .that said you can go off road easy on it depend on your off-road skills
Many new big adventure bikes like KTM or BMW adventure they always get in troubles with the rear suspension, the Africa you won’t be bothered at all the original suspension is super good and will do the job unless you want to fit an aftermarket one


What I will add on my Africa twin for long trips in places like Africa

- Rear rack, I use it to have a roll bag with all my camping gear so if I need to camp I will get it off and pitch my tent in less than 5 minutes
- Of course engine guard and I fit to extra 5 liters fuel Jerrycans , its very efficient to keep the center of gravity too
- Bigger foot pigs
- High wind shield
- Good hand guards
- Cigarettes lighter so I can use it for air compressor, charging my cameras and other things
- metal panniers to carry my parts some clothes ,it’s the best if you are doing really long trips so your things will be safe and locked if you go for sightseeing or you are away from your bike (always keep your bike in safe place though )
- Magnetic tank bag and I keep my valuable things in it and when I get of the bike I take it with me


Spares I take with me

- Oil filter, sparks plugs, bearings for nick, rear and front wheels, inner tubes front and rear
- Small air compressor and a hand pump like for bicycles
- Extra fuel pump
- I already fit throttle, clutch cables next to the original ones so I can switch to them if I need with ease
That’s it in my head s far
I hope it is useful information and feed me back with your thoughts please

[Squily]

Depending on distance you want to cover, I'd consider the following as well (I take it anyway)

• Spare front sprocket- maybe a 15 tooth, so you can swap them out when the going gets tough.
• Spare set of rear brake shoes (I ride on the back brake a lot and once had to do almost 3000km without it because I couldn't find brake shoes anywhere. And when in rough, I use it even more/harder)

On the fuel pump (if you haven't replaced it yet)- I found when mine conked, I could get it to take me home, but I had to open it u and clean the contact breakers every few hundred km's



I got about the same fuel consumption as you, but found it has a lot to do with rpm. If I keep the bike around 100km/h on the open (fully loaded) or keep the tacho under 3000rpm and use <1/4 throttle, I get 400km+. Just out of interest, I had an 1100GS and it was more economical to run on-road than the AT, but when going off-road, the GS's fuel consumption would drop to 15km/l, whilst the AT's consumption would get better and I'd easily get close to 20km/l.

Also- I found a 150 rear tyre fits on the AT very well- some of the makes (like Micheline Desert) tends to scrape against the original plastic chain guard a little, but this is not an issue. You get much better mileage out of the 150, but most importantly, the 130's (knobbys) are not rated for the load of a fully loaded AT and you get thread separation due to the carcass overheating at speed on sealed roads. The 150's are much more expensive than 130's, but there is a larger range and they're made for the big beamers, so can handle the AT very easily. I find it very difficult to get 140's, and when I do, it costs the same as the 150, so I've just switched.

[omar mansour]

Squily ,thanks so much for the great info ,
please try to write more about your experience with Africa twin and more hints and good idea so it can help many bikers out there

[Squily]

Originally Posted by omar mansour

please try to write more about your experience with Africa twin and more hints and good idea so it can help many bikers out there

Nah, all been done before by people better than me. And anything I say will just be personal perspective that's not worth 2c.

But I do chatting about AT's. Its a passion some can't understand and others can't shake...

I like what you've done with your bike. One question/comment based on your facebook pictures (which you probably know and have taken into account already): mounting your front jerry cans lower will give you much better weight-distribution/handling.

I originally tried to mount mine on the same height as my panniers (if they clear off-road, so would the panniers) and I made sure they were the same width as the panniers and handlebars.






Added advantage: When the bike fell, it was lying on the jerry and pannier at 45d, making picking up the bike so much easier

[Squily]

Found a pick of Xander's AT. Notice where he hung his jerry cans: much lower and better weight distribution

[omar mansour]

hi Squily

super nice pics
i think i saw your photos a while ago some where !!!
and yes anything I say will just be personal perspective that's not worth 1 c.
hahaha cheaper than yours

regarding the jerrycans i had it lower on my last At but i had a fall i broke my foot in North Kenya (road to hell ) and had to ductape my foot and put my boot on it for 5 days till i reached hospital and from that time i got it bit higher although you are totally right ,but its still OK specially when i add tool box or a tube on the engine plate guard

[jjdavidson]

I really have to add jerrycans to my AT too

[yahuacua]

I live in Bollivia and I couldn't find an AT, so I bought one in Germany and drove it out. If you like to know more see my blog and my email is yahuacua@gmail.com
napichan.wordpress.com