2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Review | First Ride

How does Honda’s new flagship ADV stack up against its base-model brother?

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Old-time motorcyclists like to wax poetic about the days when you had one motorcycle to do everything. Whatever the machine, it was your dirt bike, your streetbike, your racebike, and your date bike. Walk into a dealership today, however, and you're presented with so many models with so many slight differences that understanding the purpose or need for each motorcycle can be quite challenging. Enter the 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports: Not a replacement for the already dirt-capable Africa Twin, the Adventure Sports is being marketed by Honda as a premium trim level that encourages you to "go farther." But what does that mean when the base model is already pretty premium and already pretty capable of going far?

I rode this new Adventure Sports (a.k.a the CRF1000L2) machine at the domestic press launch in Prescott, Arizona, and I can confirm that it's a fantastic motorcycle. Regular readers will remember that we published a first-ride review of the bike from the European launch back in February, but we also wanted to ride the bike on our own turf to better understand the differences between the Adventure Sports and the standard Africa Twin. For whom are these bikes intended? And what actually separates them as far as options, pricing, and performance?

Standard Equipment On A 2018 Africa Twin vs. 2018 Adventure Sports
The confusing thing about the 2018 Adventure Sports is that it has been released almost simultaneously with an updated base-model 2018 Africa Twin. That base model, due to hit dealers shortly after the Adventure Sports, will come standard with the following equipment:

New instrument panel
Throttle by wire
Three riding modes (Tour, Urban, Gravel)
Minor intake and exhaust changes
Lighter balancer shafts
Lithium-ion battery
Seven levels of HSTC (traction control)
Wider footpegs with steel brackets
Redesigned passenger pegs
Redesigned LED turn signals

That’s quite a list of upgrades. Before Honda educated me, however, I thought a lot of those changes were exclusive to the Adventure Sports model. So where does that leave the Adventure Sports, which is due to be released later this month? Well it gets everything listed above in addition to the following:

Fuel capacity increased to 6.37 gallons (extra 1.4 gallons)
Fork travel increased to 8.9 inches (extra 0.9 inch)
Shock travel increased to 9.4 inches (extra 0.8 inch)
Ground clearance increased to 10.6 inches (extra 0.8 inch)
Seat height increased to 35.4 inches (extra 1.2 inches)
Redesigned flat seat
Handlebar height increased (extra 1.3 inches)
New windscreen (80mm taller)
Larger skid plate
Standard crash bars
Redesigned steel luggage rack
Standard heated grips
Standard 12-volt accessory socket
Rear storage pocket
30th anniversary paint scheme

What's The Price Difference?
You get more on the Adventure Sports. No surprise. But do you get more for your money? The Adventure Sports package will cost $1,500 extra, whether it’s on the DCT or manual model. But Honda is adjusting prices for all Africa Twin models for 2018, so this is how it all stacks up:

CRF1000L Africa Twin Manual: $13,499
CRF1000L Africa Twin DCT: $14,199
CRF1000L2 Africa Twin Adventure Sports Manual: $14,999
CRF1000L2 Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT: $15,699

For more information on the Africa Twin Adventure Sports, check out the first ride review:
www.cycleworld.com/2018-honda-africa-twin-vs-2018-honda-africa-twin-adventure-sports

Riding Gear:
SCHUBERTH – E1 in the Radiant White graphic
Jacket: Held Carese II in the Blue/Grey
Pants: Held Torno II in Black
Gloves: Held Airstream II

SPECS:

PRICE: $14,999 (manual); $15,699 (DCT)
ENGINE: 998cc, liquid-cooled parallel twin
TRANSMISSION/FINAL DRIVE: 6-speed/chain
CLAIMED HORSEPOWER: 94 @ 7500 rpm
CLAIMED TORQUE: 73 lb.–ft. @ 6000 rpm
FRAME: Steel semi-double cradle
FRONT SUSPENSION: Showa 45mm fork adjustable for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping; 8.8-in. travel
REAR SUSPENSION: Single shocks, adjustable for spring preload, plus compression and rebound damping; 9.4-in. travel
FRONT BRAKE: Two dual-piston Nissin calipers w/ 310mm discs; ABS
REAR BRAKE: Single-piston caliper, 256mm disc w/ ABS
RAKE/TRAIL: 27.5°/4.4 in.
WHEELBASE: 62.2 in.
SEAT HEIGHT: 35.4/36.2 in.
FUEL CAPACITY: 6.4 gal.
CLAIMED WEIGHT: 533 lb. (556 lb. DCT)
AVAILABLE: June 2018
CONTACT: powersports.honda.com

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