Here’s A First Look And Listen To The New 2020 Honda Africa Twin

While we, North Americans, are patiently waiting for the all-new Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin to land on our continent some time in 2020, the lucky Europeans already have a chance to put their hands on the new bike. Some of them have kindly decided to share the experience with us so while we wait for winter to do its thing, we get to have a first proper walk around of the bike, complete with a first look at the upgraded engine. 

African Adventures:

Say Hello To The New 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin

The guys at DriveMag Riders are back in action. They delighted us with their silly BMW R 1250 GS versus Honda Monkey comparison video a while back. Now, the team is back in action and this time, it offers us a closer look at the new Africa Twin Aventure Sports ES. 

The presenter—whom I believe is DriveMag Rider’s editor-in-chief Cristian Predoi according to the name on the related article—introduces us to one of the most hyped bikes of 2019. Having to deal with winter and cold like most of us do, Cristian takes us on a tour of the new Africa from inside their garage. “Unfortunately it's too cold for a ride, so for the moment, we're just getting to know each other,” the video description says. We sympathize, Cristian, we really do. 

That doesn’t mean that he can’t give us a thorough analysis of everything that’s going on with the new model-year, including the upsized 1,084cc twin-engine, the new frame, new riding modes, the trim's electronic suspension, and more. 

The cherry on top is when at around the 2:30 mark, he starts the engine to give us a glimpse of what the bike sounds like. The new mill has a delightfully purring note. There seem to be a few hiccups when he blips the throttle. That's probably due to the dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) which is likely responsible for the lag. From my experience with the automatic Africa Twin, the automatic transmission's behavior is comparable to an automatic transmission in a car which means it isn't as quick as what we're used to with a manual gearbox. 

Until we get to have a look at the bike ourselves, this is the next best thing to keep us waiting. Now I’m just more excited about it—though I think I'll take mine with a manual gearbox. 

Source: DriveMag Riders