2020 Honda Africa Twin Archives

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Breaks Cover

The 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin has broken cover.
The bike was unveiled in Europe ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show.
Changes centre on the engine, ergonomics and electronics.

Just as we were waiting for the 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin to be officially launched at the Tokyo Motor Show next month, the bike has broken cover in Europe.

The styling looks just like the photos leaked most recently. The new bike retains its predecessor’s silhouette but with a number of differences. The “goggle” headlights have been restyled to look more aggressive, the “nose” carrying the headlights is higher, the handlebars are taller, and the seat is slightly lower.

Speaking of seat height, height can be adjusted to a lower position and there will also be a low seat option. Honda will also offer a higher seat for taller riders.

The main subject is the new engine, of course, which sees displacement bumped to 1,084cc. the bigger capacity brings a 7hp increase to 101hp from 94hp. Torque is rated at 104.4 Nm. The increase in capacity is necessary in order to produce higher power while expelling lower emissions.

Other updates to the engine include direct fuel injection with twin-spark plug combustion chambers; aluminium cylinder sleeves; redesigned cylinder heads; new ECU settings; revised valve timing; split radiators.

Honda claims that the new bike is lighter than the outgoing model: The manual gearbox version weighs 226kg while the DCT-equipped version tips the scales at 236kg.

In terms of electronics, the 2020 Africa Twin includes six riding modes: Tour, Urban, Gravel, Off-Road and two user settings. There is a new 6.5-inch TFT screen (set horizontally now) with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, wheelie control and Bluetooth connectivity. Honda has also added cruise control (yippee!).

The manual gearbox version retails for USD14,399 in the USA.

PHOTO GALLERY

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Specs Leaked

Specifications of the 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin have been leaked.
The new bike promises more performance.
But will be heavier than their predecessors.

Rumour of a bigger 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin has been circulating for some time now. But now, some of its specs have been leaked early ahead of its unveiling.

It’s no secret that Honda has to update the Africa Twin. Although at 998cc, the engine produces “only” 94hp, on par with middleweight adventure bikes such as the Triumph Tiger 800 XR/XC line-up, BMW F 850 GS/GS Adventure, and KTM 790 Adventure.

The upgrades are also to prepare the Africa Twin to meet the upcoming Euro5 regulations.

First up, the engine capacity is bumped to 1084cc through an increase in piston stroke. Consequently, power is hiked from 101 hp from 94 hp, and torque from 99 Nm to 107 Nm. These figures far off those of the new BMW R 1250 GS/GS Adventure and especially of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure series, but Honda has always insisted on building bikes that are easy to ride through fewer horsepower.

The new Africa Twin may be offered in four models. They are the standard version with manual transmission; standard with Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT); Adventure Sports manual; and Adventure Sports with DCT.

The Adventure Sport models will have longer travel suspension. But most notably, they will have bigger fuel tanks compared to the standard models, the standard models utilize 19-liter tanks, while their Adventure Sport brethren will sport 24-litre fun juice capacity.

However, the 2020 model will be heavier than its predecessor. It was reported that the standard version with manual gearbox will weigh 238 kg, while the Adventure Sport manual tips the scales at 240 kg.

Adding DCT to the bike adds another 10 kg.

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