Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has added another product to be sold via its premium line of dealerships with the launch of the BS6-compliant 2020 Africa Twin Adventure Sports at Rs 15.35 lakh for the manual variant and Rs 16.10 lakh for the DCT variant. The 2020 Africa Twin Adventure Sports is the brand’s first big bike launch for the year, and comes close on the heels of the recent Dakar win for the brand after a span of 31 years. Honda claims the 2020 Africa Twin is new from the ground up with a new frame, bigger engine, new suspension, new electronics and more power and torque.
The 2020 Africa Twin Adventure Sports receives new rally-style bodywork. And it’s got to do more with function than form. The windscreen now is shorter than the previous model, to aid visibility of the trail ahead and though the seat height remains the same, Honda has raised the handlebar 22.5mm higher to ease maneuvering when straddling.
Another update is a slimmer tail section and a narrower seat which will allow riders to move and shift weight more easily. The updates aren’t restricted to just the externals. It now gets a bolt-on aluminum subframe and is inspired by their motocross weapon, CRF450R.
The 2020 Africa Twin Adventure Sports retains the 8-valve SOHC setup but the displacement has gone up from 998cc to 1084cc. It now pushes out 100 ponies instead of the 93, a 12 per cent increase from the previous model, courtesy the improved throttle body and injector spray angle. The torque too has gone up 11 per cent, from 99Nm to 105Nm. With updates like aluminum cylinder sleeves, Honda has managed to shave 2.5kg off the manual powertrain and 2.2kg off the DCT. Next, the frame is now 1.5kg lighter, while the swingarm is 0.5kg lighter, with the added benefit of better off-road ride quality, as well as an overall 10 per cent increase in the power to weight ratio.
The DCT transmission uses two clutches: one for startup, first, third and fifth and the other for second, fourth and sixth, with the main shaft for each clutch located inside the other. The DCT gets three modes – MT (Manual Transmission), D (for city and highway) and S (Sport). However, the rider can manually shift in D or S mode too.
The exhaust now features a variable control valve that opens at high rpm to add raunchiness to the already raspy exhaust note created by the uneven firing interval and the 270-degree phased crankshaft.
In 2018, the Africa Twin received throttle-by-wire, allowing Honda to add their selectable torque control for rear tyre grip. For 2020, the upgraded suite now works in conjunction with the six-axis IMU. Though the seven-level HSTC still exists, it works with the real-time input from the IMU. This system also offers four levels of power and three levels of engine braking. The four modes are Tour, Urban, Gravel and Off-road along with two customisable rider modes.
The Africa Twin Adventure Sports gets a 6.5-inch multicolor TFT touchscreen display, complete with Apple CarPlay. It also gets an adjustable seat which can be lowered 20mm (from the standard 830mm seat height), a 24.8-litre fuel tank, extended wind protection, adjustable screen (which can be raised by 60mm), tubeless tyres, aluminum carrier, accessory socket, cruise control and heated grips as standard. There’s also the three-stage cornering lights which are managed by IMU and automatically adjust the field of illumination depending on the lean angle, and the optional Showa EERA (Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment) forks which has four default modes plus a custom mode.
Bookings for the manual and DCT variants are now open with deliveries set to commence from May 2020. The Honda Africa Twin goes up against the Kawasaki Versys 1000, BMW F 850 GS, Ducati Multistrada 950, as well as the soon-to-be-launched Triumph Tiger 900.