Tricolor Is Best Color, As These Honda Africa Twin Graphics Show

Tricolor all the things. Seriously.

Photo by: Honda

Janaki Jitchotvisut

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Aug 19, 2024 at 10:10am ET

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The Quickshift

Honda Europe announced the returning 2025 CRF1100L Africa Twin
Paint and graphics change for 2025, but everything else stays the same as in 2024
Honda tricolor is best color, y/y?

Honda Red is a perfectly fine color. It's not too orange, it's not too blue; it's nicely balanced.

This is absolutely a personal and completely subjective opinion, as most thoughts on aesthetic appeal are. But in my opinion, even the nicest shade of red (or anything else, for that matter) can be too much if it's not broken up by something else that catches your eye.

That 'something else' could be graphics, or alternate colors, or even graphics in alternate colors. But unrelieved seas of a single color, even if it's your favorite color in the whole world, can be kind of boring.

At the same time, finding balance isn't always easy. And yet, very often over the years, Honda has struck a perfect multicolor balance when it's refreshed its tricolor and slapped it on various bikes. Take, for example, Honda Europe's announcement of its returning 2025 CRF1100L Africa Twin lineup.

2025 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Lineup - Europe

Maybe it's just me, but there's something comforting about the Honda tricolor. Or maybe it's just OEM tricolor schemes in general; BMW's M tricolor is also usually a winning design on most bikes they put it on, as well. And who's ever found reason to yell when Ducati puts an Italian flag tricolore on any of its bikes? No one, that's who.

Under the bodywork, there's nothing new on the 2025 CRF1100L Africa Twin lineup in Europe. Considering all the updates it received for 2024, that's not particularly surprising. Riders can still choose DCT or traditional manual transmissions, as well as a fully adjustable Showa suspension or the Showa Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment (EERA) suspension first introduced for the 2024 model year.

What do you think?

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And while yes, Honda has certainly offered several variations on tricolor designs on the Africa Twin over the years, the 2025 version offers a nice sense of movement, suggestive of mountain peaks, and/or exploring new map routes.

Will it look dated in a few years? That's unclear at this point, but hopefully it'll come back around and eventually look as classic as the RD03. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!