Nothing against fuel injection.....It's very reliable these days. Solid state electronics. And Honda don't use crappy cheap pumps and controllers like our Bavarian friends.

But I don't want a bike run by electronic control units which dependent on hundreds of sensors and electricirypokery which can go wrong everywhere and anywhere and can't be diagnosed without a £20,000 computer. I can't see this bike not having a full fly by wire system, ABS, electronic suspension etc. All the stuff that just goes wrong all the time...

And just looking at the arty pictures and knowing it has a 1000cc engine, I can't see this thing weighing less than 250kg...

For me, that's when you know it's aimed at the GS market. And for me, that ain't no adventure bike.... But I don't blame Honda because they're a business and that's where the money is.

For me, If it can't be fixed without a computer and a specialist workshop, then I wan't nothing to do with it...

I'm a dealer trained BMW Technician. I've pretty much stripped, rebuilt, repaired and serviced every part of BMW's bikes made in the last 15 years.

And I say with no shame that If I was to break down on one, after a few simple checks, the first thing I'd do is call a recovery truck because there is almost bugger all you can fix yourself on a modern high tech 'Adventure bike'

As always though, that's just my opinion which is worth it's weight in fresh air

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

The 4th video references the original Fireblade, which was considerably lighter than it's rivals at the time. I'm hoping that this bodes well when we do find out details in the (near?) future. For me, the crux of the matter will rest on overall weight, mpg and whether the suspension's any good.

As predicted by someone over on the ABR forum - 200bhp and the price of a small house ... and the weight of a small house as well

Supposedly from patent images.
More food for conjecture.
Honda’s Africa Twin Revealed In Full! | Australian Motorcycle News

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Japan touring information

It just needs some cast wheels to go with those tyres and it may be a worthy successor to the Yam TDM 900 of about 10 years ago.


Incidentally, of course it will come to the European market fitted with ABS.

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Dave

Well I give Kudos to Honda ... at least they've not gone with Shaft Drive!

I was shocked Yamaha went that direction. Adds at least 10 kgs. to the weight, robs power and adds another thing that "may" fail.

The bike shown above ... to me ... looks fairly neat and tidy. I rather doubt the production version will be that clean and unencumbered. But full benefit of the doubt to Honda until will see an actual production version.

There again, it could be a parts-bin product with the fairing taken from the current version of the CBF1000 and the hunch-backed fuel tank of a VFR1200 married with the bored out 750 NC engine.
The exhaust from ??

At least it does not have the ugly, cheap, pressed steel box section swinging arm that Honda have fitted to many of their products in the past.

Once it is released BMW will come back, pretty quickly, with a 1000cc chain driven competitor methinks - a revised F800GS?

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Dave

Yeah, but none of that stuff seems to actually stop a bike that ain't a BMW... good luck fixing even a CDI problem in the bush.... or a crank position sensor etc and bikes without points have both of them....my point is that plenty of people have done plenty of travel on bikes that are not really more complex than this without trouble; electronic suspension might go wrong but it don't stop you; most ecu's have a fail safe mode; fuel pumps can be replaced with any old unit from any old car these days; modern 'adventure bikes' that aren't German are generally pretty solid....

So, a question for those more knowledgeable than I:

I'm working on the assumption that the new AT will have quite a bit of electronic jiggery pockery (conjecture, admittedly). Am I also correct in assuming that good quality, non-electronically adjustable suspension is better than ESA or the like? Suspension is, to me, a bit of a dark art, so I'd be interested to know

Define better? In terms of adjustability, if you don't know how to make appropriate adjustments to your suspension then you'd just as well have non adjustable. Ive come across plenty of people who have fiddled with their multi adjustable top of the range suspension and single handedly made their bikes almost unrideable! Ironically the Japanese suspension manufacturers cottoned on to this quite early on, i remember when Suzuki launched the gsxr range with multi-adjustable suspension and everyone thought 'wow thats like race track stuff, awesome'. Except it later transpired that the 21 settings available made little or no difference to the ride. You could argue that it was quite cynical on their part but i would say it was inspired pragmatism. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
ps. Never assume! M

ESA is notoriously unreliable and just an expensive gimmick.

Last year ALL BMW R1200RT's with ESA's were recalled because their shocks could jam on hard with no warning.

Electro-mechanical servo motors and a multitude of sensors are not things I want in my suspension.

They go wrong all the time too. And the ESA costs £2000 to replace. And not many people want to touch them to repair. You need a specialist. BMW themselves will just change a faulty one and offer no repair service.

Being able to change your suspension from hard to soft via a button IS a nice gimmick and I did enjoy it but after a while you forget the button is there and just get on with your riding.

This is another pet hate of mine with all these gimmicks. You spend you the time scrolling through options and settings when you should be looking at the bloody road. Yes, I know they say don't do that but EVERYONE does or you'd be stopping every 30 seconds !

Non ESA shocks have been serving the world well for over 100 years. They work VERY well and can be set up to meet 90% of your realistic riding requirements and most are fully adjustable by hand anyway.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Non electronic suspension it is then! I do adjust my rear shock but, to be honest, have pretty much left the front alone!

Why not wait & see; the electro-gadgets may be an option or not even offered on the new AT; some are fine and I prefer to have them - FI, ABS and some don't bother me - ride-by-wire throttle. I wouldn't buy electronic suspension mind, not because it is unreliable, but because I think it is a crock of sh1t gimmick that does nothing for my ride.

It is probably unfair to compare Honda equipment to BMW stuff, though; Japanese bikes are generally very reliable.

BTW, Ted, is it just me that finds it ironic that you end up working as a BMW tech given your disdain for the bikes? Not sure what your new business is but if it's anything to do with BMW bikes you might want to start talking them up rather than down....

It's true new riders really can screw up suspension. Many bikes come standard with NON adjustable suspension ... and most work well! But serious, experienced riders have their suspension Up graded, replacing shock or adding suspension kits. It takes experience to set it up right. I learned at track days where pro road racer instructor gave me a hand, discussed basic principles. After years of blindly fiddling, finally began to crack the code and make progress. It gets easier the more you do.

All this chitchat about the CRF1000 reminds me how lucky I am to own a XRV750. 20 years old and 55 thousand miles and still the dogs goolies, imvho.




Isle of Skye, Easter 2015




Just north of Applecross, Easter 2015

I am very biased though... (Maybe my bike has had 1 or 2 mods.... )

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