Horses for courses, and riders too.


Me? I prefer lighter bikes. Simpler. Less electronics. I'm 5'10 and 165 lbs. I'd never think of buying a 1200GS, AT or S10. Or an Explorer, Multi 1200 or any of the other techno-barges.


If I can't pick it up, I ain't riding it.

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'Peaches are better than Tanks'

That's not great at all. You should indeed expect better from Honda.

I'm picking up my new AT very soon, and I was quite anxious about how far back the top boxes (from every company) are. I have bought one (Givi), but have no intention of using it whilst travelling off road, just for my commute. Companies are obviously aware there could be an issue, as I went for a Givi extra support bracket for the top box 'frame' that better supports the box. It's designed for better off road support, but I thought it would be useful for on road! To add to the whole situation, all the top boxes seem to have a 10kg weight limit. I've never really paid attention to other manufacturers - perhaps they're all around the same limit?

Anyway, off road I'm putting my roll bag ON the passenger seat!

what is even worse honda puts videos and pictures like that on their websites confusing people what they can do with their bikes:



There is even honda promo video with AT jumping in air with top boxes

Wow, that pic above really tells all. Absurd to hang that box way off the rear like that. No way will it hold up off road. It will break in a day of hard riding. Been there, seen it happen on other bikes.

For Endurodude,

I think the box should be fine for commuting on road. I used similar on my Tri Tiger, though it was hung off the back, it wasn't as radical
as the new Africa Twin is.

Also had a hard box on my former Vstrom. Never took it off road as it was obvious it would break.

Honda could be in for some legal trouble given the ads showing the bikes used
as essentially Dakar race bikes, doing jumps, riding rough, rocky terrain. I see possible big settlements for owners in future.

Honda need to write a disclaimer stating the reality of the poor design and cop to it's unsuitability for off road use.

But other than this glaring fault ... the Africa Twin still seems to be the best of the big ADV bikes, best value.

Me? WR250R in my future. Meantime, my DR650 will do just fine, thanks!

My AT is now one year old and approaching 20kkm. Back in March 2016 I posted a comparison review between it, my old AT and my Varadero after the first few thousand kms. Reviewing what I said, I still concur/agree with most of what I said then, but with a few provisions

The good:

1. The Honda dealership issues seem to have been solved and the availability of spares have greatly improved.
2. After much procrastination and swearing, we rebuild the standard AT shock with a custom spring, revalving and oil. The suspension is now great and I have no more fading issues. Changed the character of the bike completely
3. Although the front mud-guard is still a flimsy piece of crap IMO, there is now a decent high-fender kit available from Camel which includes braided breaklines etc. So if mud-clogging is a potential issue, this would solve it.

The bad:

1. Fuel range is still an issue. My bike seems to have 'settled' on around 18-19km/l for the urban cycle, but I still struggle to get more than 350km/tank. 280-320km seems about the norm with mixed off-road riding, but extended sand riding sees <200km. Camel makes a bolt-on tank that looks really well, but it won't fit all luggage systems and IMO is expensive for what it is. Despite Safari's promises, their tank is still not available (3 months late now). For most the standard range would probably suffice, but for those used to GS-equivalent tanks/range this is a pain. Currently I need to carry a 7.5l Rotopax as well as a fuel bladder for my riding. Hmmmm....
2. Honda accessories for the bike is expensive, and maybe not as good as the aftermarket alternatives. This includes things like the heated grips, the luggage as well as the crash protection. Luckily about every duck and whistle out there are now offering accessories so options seem almost limitless.

So I worked on some of the things that bothered me and what I felt I 'needed' and my list of mods to the standard bike include:

• Knobbie tyres
• Modded front mudguard
• Adjustable/higher screen
• Honda high seat
• PivotPegz
• Honda centrestand
• Teknik modded suspension
• Halogen spotlights (250m reach)
• Holan Pro crashbars (will probably not pick them again if I have to redo)
• Honda Heated grips
• Honda auxiliary power socket, as well as aftermarket
• Barkbuster handguards
• Home made pannier rack and hard luggage system
• RR topplate (carrier extension)
• KTM folding mirrors
• Rotopax container carriers
• Force bashplate (had to be modded to work with the centrestand)
• Other little home made guards (e.g. heat guard over the DCT cover where I keep burning my leg when I ride in shorts)
• Givi quick-lock 15l tank bag
• Baggs Connection/RAM Smart phone carrier
• Garmin 60 GPS (RAM)
• Unifilter pre-filter socks
• GPR can (you know- for the bark )

Future mods include (when I can afford it or have time)

• Bigger fuel tank - Either Safari if its finally available and what I like, or a homemade tank to suit my luggage system similar to the Camel system
• Tubeliss tyre conversion - bought the Outex kit and just waiting for new rubber before I fit it
• Allu skid plates for the crashbars (when the bikes falls in sand so the crashbars don't just dig in)
• Steering damper

Some little issues I had to fix over the year:

• Sidestand bent and was replaced under warranty
• Micro-switch on the park brake was damaged in the 1st big'ish' off I had. I simply disconnected it because it only activates a light on the dash and I never use the park brake anyway. I'm actually thinking of using the circuit for another indicator
• Small oil leak on the DCT system. Honda 'fixed' it but its still there
• Some corrosion issues - rust was repaired on the frame under warranty, but things like the exhaust heat guard is badly tarnished
• Had to replace a couple of the small plastic clips that keep all the panels together

So as you can see, I had to spend quite a bit on getting the new AT to where my old AT was (and in some cases its not there yet). But that said, this is by far the easiest big bike I've ridden off-road. So much so that I ended up selling my old AT after almost two decades of traveling over 200kkm on various continents. For those who know me, this was a BIG step and says a lot of my faith in the new AT as a replacement.

And the bike sure puts a smile on my face every time I ride it.

Someone wrote the new AT is the Glock of the motorcycle world. Cheap to buy and ticks most boxes. But, what you save on the purchase price, you are likely to lose on the spares and accessories. If you are a budget traveler (no offense meant) - stick to the old AT. But if you are looking for more horsepower, are tired of the 19" front wheel brigade, want something more reliable than a KTM and have the money to spend - the new AT might just be what you need

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Squily

and here what I have most problems with new AT. IMO it's not that cheap at all
for what you have to spend to make it usable and even then it will never be as durable and crashable as old AT. Honda cut corners in too many places.

Gonna wade in here even though I'm not an offroad rider... when I bought my VFR800, it had a Givi rack on the back. Added a Givi top box. After a multiday tour, saw that it had cracked. Went online, found out that it's very common. Got a replacement rack from Kappa (for those who don't know - same company, interchangeable, but cheaper and no marketing), and it came with reinforcements already welded on, plus brackets to attach it to the pillion grab-rail mounts. (Did tens of thousands of KM after that, including at high speed, no issues.)

I'd been annoyed that the Givi rack for the VFR was cantilevered that far, but now I'm thinking it might be a good idea - have the rack as the sacrificial point. Cheaper to replace and easier to weld back together than the subframe.

And for on-road riding at least, I like to practice the principle that the topbox is not for packing - it's for leaving my helmet, gloves and tankbag while I'm walking around off the bike.

It is now 2017 and the choices are so wide with more coming that the Africa Twin is dead in my humble opinion. Its weight and price with the items needed to make a trip puts it in the BMW GS, KTM 1190 ans 1290 Adv, Yamaha Tenere etc class. Good for easy offroad, but far too heavy and pricey to be useful for narly stuff offroad.

The BMW 800 GS, Triumph 800 and KTM 1090R and KTM 790R and Yamaha and Honda Rally bikes, which is coming, is all better, lighter, also has 20 inch front and is so much more exiting to ride.

I wonder how Honda could get it so wrong. Everybody was telling them to make a 150-170 road bike with 100 HP They made a bike which gives 80 HP at the back wheel and weighs 220 kg or more.

It is a good thing we can pick for ourselves.

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B2R
Born to Ride

It is indeed. Speaking personally, I think the new AT is more of a half way house between the F800 et al and the 1200GS / various large KTMs from a cc/bhp point of view. Admittedly, weight's nearer 1200GS. I also agree that 'narly' off road's probably not really in the design brief for this bike, at least not when loaded up. Off road, yes, but not what others here would refer to as more 'hard-core' (not my favourite phrase!).

Having said this, I pick mine up next week. I've lost interest in BMW fir a variety of reasons. I wouldn't go for a 1200 due to size and fuel economy. I was also happy to get rid of my F800GS. I really enjoyed that bike, right up until I got fed up of paying between £1k and £1.5k a year in both servicing costs coupled with fixing issues. It only had 44k miles on it, so issues were only going to get worse and more expensive. I'm going to be paying £21 a month for servicing and, being a Honda, hopefully £0 fixing issues.

I really enjoyed test riding the AT. That, coupled with the above costing issues, means I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the AT. That, for me, is the point of the AT.

As has been said, it's a good thing we can pick for ourselves. Long live freedom of choice!

Congrats on the new Africa Twin.

Comparison tests suggest the Africa Twin is a better handler than both F800GS and Tiger 800.

The AT is about the same weight as the R1200GS, but reports say it rides MUCH lighter, is more secure and more confidence inspiring off road. The rougher it gets the further the Honda pulls away from the BMW GS. The GS R12 may be the better road bike (I loved it on road!) but like you, will not pay BMW service prices ever again.

I do believer the Africa Twin will be a bike where the owner can self service many things on the bike. On the electronics heavy GS?

I'll put my money behind the Honda for long term reliability and low cost servicing. WIN WIN for Honda.

The Honda is also less money to buy than ANY of the Euro bikes of similar size ... and less than the 1200 Tenere' as well, IIRC.

Good luck with new bike ... safe riding!

out of these two (tiger 800 and f800gs) I agree, honda wins hand down in reliably and off-road capability. Easy servicing? not really. You cannot even access battery easily on AT, same air filer just to name a few.

EXACTLY what I though when I first saw this image :-)


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So what is going to happen with a pillion riding on rough 'off-TARMAC' roads? This is WORRYING.


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Maybe the answer is to use proper pannier side frames and then add a brace from below the rear carrier to the back of the pannier frame. This would give a VERY strong triangulated frame and keep the top box rigid.


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no, the answer is not to use top box off-road. (or pillion for that matter)