The Honda Africa Twin DCT is here for ₹12.9 lac
Boom! Here I was bemoaning the lack of enthusiasm from the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, and Honda has provided a fitting, resounding reply. The much-awaited Honda Africa Twin is here, and it’s yours for the taking at ₹12.9 lac, ex-showroom, Delhi. Even more impressive, they
The Honda Africa Twin DCT is here for ₹12.9 lac
Available across India, but only 50 on offer
Boom! Here I was bemoaning the lack of enthusiasm from the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, and Honda has provided a fitting, resounding reply. The much-awaited Honda Africa Twin is here, and it’s yours for the taking at ₹12.9 lac, ex-showroom, Delhi. Even more impressive, they’re assembling it here in India! For whatever reason, only 50 are available right now, and only in the dual-clutch transmission variant, so you’d better get to the dealership ASAP.
The Africa Twin made a legendary name for itself in the famous Dakar rally, but this modern interpretation is a bit different. Based on a relatively relaxed 1000cc parallel-twin motor, the 2017 model makes 87hp and 92Nm of torque. Not huge numbers, but Honda is relying on their image of continent-crossing reliability. They aren’t messing about with the off-road abilities either. The fully adjustable shocks get 230mm of travel and the bike has 250mm of ground clearance. The rear shock also has a dial-style preload adjuster and rebound damping adjustment.
Braking is via dual-310mm wavy front discs and a 256mm disc out back. The front wheel is a proper off-road friendly 21" 90/90 while a 150/70 18" tyre does duty at the rear. Fairly standard tyre sizes for off-road machines, so your next sets should be relatively easy to find. We say relatively, because pretty much anything outside the 17" street/sport category is a tough ask in India. Wheels are spoked, and use aluminium rims.
Honda is bringing a bit of new-fangled (for the off-road world) tech to this motorcycle, with it’s DCT — dual clutch transmission. Essentially an automatic with a manual shift option, it allows the bike to adopt a shift pattern suitable to the type of terrain beneath — tarmac, dirt and such. Of course, there’s switchable ABS and something Honda is calling “Selectable Torque Control”. The LED headlights are twin units, like the original Africa Twin.
The kerb weight of 242kg combined with an 18.8 litre fuel tank is going to make this a top-heavy bike when laden, but we suspect the target audience isn’t going to care — this is for those who want a bit more capability than your average adventure-tourer.
The Africa Twin DCT is available across 22 ‘Wing World’ dealerships in India today. You can have it in any colour you like, as long as it’s red.
Discussion
No comments yet