Since Toni Bou joined the Repsol Honda Montesa trials team in 2007, the pair have been unstoppable. From 2007 through 2020, the Spanish rider captured both indoor and outdoor Trial World Championships aboard a Honda Montesa. Bou’s current Montesa 4RT trials bike weighs under 160 pounds, a quality that the 28-time world champion fully exploits.
Whether it's an indoor competition or outdoor obstacle course, Bou wheelies, stoppies, and jumps his Montesa with surgical precision. With the trials season opener scheduled for May 14, 2021, in Japan, Bou continues his training regimen heading into the 2021 season. Apparently, that training includes time in the saddle of an Africa Twin 1100. However, Bou isn’t taking the full-size ADV for a far-flung adventure. He’s doing what he does best: two-wheeled acrobatics.
Unlike the Honda Montesa trials bike, the hefty Africa Twin weighs in at a 501 pounds. Its liquid-cooled, 1,084cc parallel-twin suits those dimensions with 77.4 lb-ft of torque and 100.6 horsepower. That’s a lot of bike to handle—for most people. Bou isn’t most people, and he demonstrates that his uncanny skill isn’t limited to featherweight trials bikes.
Up boulders and over logs, the 28-time title-winner maneuvers the Africa Twin better than most can manage a mountain bike. The feat is particularly impressive given Bou’s stature. At only five feet, eight inches, and 155 pounds, the Spanish rider still muscles the Africa Twin around the full-fledged trials course.
We’ve witnessed hard enduro rider Pol Tarres manhandle a Tenere 700 in the past. Bou sees Tarres’ bet and raises the stakes, by 395cc and 48 pounds to be exact. Yes, Bou and Honda have been unstoppable since 2007, but it looks like that success isn’t restricted to the Trial World Championship.
On Trial:
Sources: Todo Circuito, VisorDown