• New rumours suggest that a new Honda CRF850L Africa Twin is in the works.

• Honda is currently without a middleweight dual-sport model.

• The rumours also say the new bike will debut for 2021.

Honda may be the Japanese manufacturer, but they have no middleweight adventure/dual-sport motorcycle to speak of. However, that may change soon if the rumours of a new Honda CRF850L Africa Twin turn out to be true.

Honda currently has the CRF250L, CRF250 Rally and CRF1000L Africa Twin (to be bumped up to 1100cc next year) in the lineup, currently. The only other bike with a gavel mode apart from the trio is the 750cc X-Adv scooter. There is the NC750X, but it isn’t a full-fledge dual-sport bike. So, that leaves an empty spot for a middleweight dual-sport. Honda knows this and acknowledge that they are missing out on the popularity of that segment.

A CRF850L Africa Twin ought to do well given a lower price tag than the CRF1100L. It would compete head-on against the Yamaha Ténéré700 in the American market. Besides that, the BMW F 850 GS/GS Adventure, Ducati Multistrada 950, KTM 790 Adventure/R, Triumph Tiger 800 XC/XR and new Moto Guzzi V85 TT will be the CRF850L’s rivals, too.

Our guess is that the CRF850L will not be equipped with the Dual Clutch Transmission to cut down on price and weight.

Rumours suggest that the new Honda will debut in late-2020 for the 2021 model year. Honda fans will definitely be looking forward to it.