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Honda Africa Twin
Hey guys,
I'm looking to get an overland bike and while I am also looking at the more modern Tenere's, I can't help by being seduced by the old Honda Africa Twins. But I don't know that much about them so I thought I'd ask and see what people on here think Most of the second hand Africa Twins I see have quite a few km's on their counter. Of course the lower the better, but I was wondering whether on a bike like this something like 40k is considered too much to buy second hand. Also how are they for maintenance and practicality as they are of course older technology. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks! |
Have a look in this thread (+ the rest of the Honda tech forum if this one doesn't deal with your questions fully):-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-mileage-65536 |
A friend and me, we did a year long trip through Africa together. And my mate was riding a Honda Africa Twin 750. During the trip the bike went past it's 100000km mark. By that time it was 20 years old.
And what can I say - the AfricaTwin survived the trip and is still going. The only issue the bike had on our trip was the fuel pump which just stopped working and had to be replaced. But that's a well known issue and easily responded to by taking a spare. And there were a couple of minor electric issues (cables rattled loose) which we could remedy ourselves. The AfricaTwin proved to be a really sturdy bike, much more than it looks. I was surprised how well it handled rough roads, off-road and sandy bits. Although there was a lot of swearing over the intercom. Also she's a bugger doing maintenance on. Quite often you need to disassemble half the bike to access things. But hey, you'll have all the time in the world on your trip. If you like the AfricaTwin - definitely get one. Your dream journey should be on your dream bike. If you like going hardcore off road - you'll be doing hardcore workout. But it's all possible. |
The Africa Twin is getting pretty long in the tooth now. Pity because it was such a capable bike (and build quality was pretty good too).
In the UK it's hard to find them in good nick and most are high mileage by now. The goods ones are being kept and loved so they don't often come up on the market. :( Perhaps you should look at alternatives - I'm biased but the legendary YAMAHA XT600E ticks all the boxes if you want a BUDGET RTW bike. It's got a bulletproof engine just like the AT. :thumbup1: |
Thanks guys! Those are some ringing endorsements! Makes me feel a bit more confident about buying a bike with some more miles on it. I'll be away on a (non-bike) trip in the nest few months, but when I'm back I will definitely look into it.
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Bought my AT 7 years ago with 60.000 on the clock. Changed the rectifier (yes for this you have to take the sidecover and the bench off, 2 screws), modified the gas pump (insert a diode for 10 cent), put new front springs, changed the main spring and off we went for another 100.000km. 65.000 during our last trip through NZ, SEA and Australia, riding every day for 22 month.
Maintenance in 2 years sand in AU, mud in Laos, potholes in whole SEA: every 10.000 km a oil change 1 x new chain and sprockets new tires from time to time new breake pads (should change the brake fluid, but didnt) 1 x new brake disks We went 2up, 450kg. Our bike WAS and IS "capeable". :mchappy: In Germany you can find still a lot of them from 200X models (4-5000EUR!) to RD03´s for much less. An RD04, 1990 you can get for less then 2000EUR I guess. If you go for the middle e.g. an RD07, 1993 you can find them around 3000EUR (mine was a 1993 model, with Touratech Zega panniers fitted and a modified bench and I paid 3000EUR). 3000 EUR ready to go around the planet. Fine for me... If you like go and have a look at our Blog... Cheers Ps.: In the end of the day it doesn´t matter which bike you take. We met all kinds of bikes, Scoter through the stans, Push bikes in the middle of newhere, some Teneres, some Beemers, Ducati, Goldwings, 50cc to 1500cc. All made it. The main thing is: "JUST DO IT".... :thumbup1: |
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+1. On long trips, even if you take it slow, the bike works hard and servicing is "not quite as it should be". And having seen Sacha's bike, I can confer his bike is VERY capable :thumbup1: Plenty of AT's with well over 100k and no issues. Mine's getting close to 200k. I've got other bikes, but the AT stays my favorite. :mchappy: |
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