Honda shows Us Why The Africa Twin Is Worth The Hype

I don’t know about anyone else, but there is no other motorcycle I've been so eagerly awaiting other than Honda’s new Africa Twin.

I was never an off-road, dirt bike, adventure motorcyclist. I grew up riding on the street and that was the lot of my motorcycling experience. My first true off road endeavor came three years ago when I was invited by Jim Hyde to participate in a two day course at RawHyde Adventures. The bike I would ride was a 2014 BMW 1200 GS.

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Yeah, that’s right. One of the biggest, baddest, most proven adventure motorcycles on the planet. This was to be my introduction to the world of adventure motorcycling.

The two days of basic training was followed by a two day, 380 mile expedition into the Mojave desert to practically apply the skills I learned in the real world.

You know what? As it stands, these four days count as one of the top ten best and most rewarding experiences of my life. Since then I have not frowned when encountering terrain that is not pavement. I have taken to middleweight bikes like the Triumph Tiger 800XC and BMW F800 off-road with confidence. I'm not even going to get started on the ridiculous amounts of fun—and near reckless abandon—I’ve had getting on top of a KTM 500 EXC in the Nevada desert.

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When I heard Honda was entering the ADV game, I nearly lost my mind. I'm almost certain I'm going to lose my mind and need to pick up the marbles when this bike is available to ride.

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Am I going to be stoked with the DCT transmission? I’m going to keep an open mind and give it a shot. At my core, I want the clutch lever and manual input that I'm so accustomed to.  I guess—like everyone else—I will wait with bated breath.

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