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Selepas aksi di Mugello, Jorge Lorenzo telah terbang ke ibu pejabat Honda di Jepun bagi mencari jalan terbaik untuk mencapai keserasian dengan jentera RC213V.

Bagaimanapun, dia kemudiannya terlepas empat aksi perlumbaan susulan kemalangan di Assen.

Aksi terumbang-ambing bersama Honda musim ini mula menimbulkan desas-desus bahawa Lorenzo telah menghubungi Ducati dan Petronas Yamaha dalam percubaan untuk meninggalkan pasukannya.

Namun, segala khabar angin itu terkubur apabila dia membuat keputusan untuk menghormati kontrak dua tahun bersama Honda sekaligus akan kekal sehingga musim 2020.

Tatkala rakan sepasukan, Marc Marquez, menampilkan aksi mantap di setiap litar, Lorenzo gagal menamatkan saingan di kedudukan lebih baik daripada tempat ke-14 dalam tiga perlumbaan berturut-turut.

Meskipun terbukti Honda menghasilkan jentera lebih berkuasa musim ini menerusi dominasi Marquez, Lorenzo pula menyatakan bahawa penambahbaikan yang dilakukan terhadap bahagian enjin membuatkan jentera musim ini lebih teruk.

Bagaimanapun, dia mengharapkan Honda akan ‘memperbaiki’ aspek tersebut menjelang musim 2020.

“Saya sendiri telah bercakap dengan Pengarah Teknikal, Takeo Yokoyama dan amat jelas disebabkan mengejar kuasa yang lebih tinggi telah memberi kesan terhadap prestasi jentera ketika melalui selekoh.

“Tetapi Marc (Marquez) berjaya menggunakan kelebihan ini sehingga senario di selekoh tidak memberi kesan terhadap prestasinya.

“Ketika saya menguji jentera ini di Jerez, saya dapat mengesan sesuatu ketika melalui selekoh tetapi ketika itu sudah lambat untuk membuat perubahan drastik.

“Kita semua tahu Marc ada gaya tunggangan yang cukup agresif jadi prestasi jentera sedia ada ketika ini amat sesuai dengan gayanya,” jelas Lorenzo.

Aksi MotoGP akan kembali bersambung di GP Thailand, 6 Oktober ini.

(SUMBER: Motorsport.com)

Honda Malaysia meraikan sambutan pencapaian penjualan 900,000 unit dengan acara besar-besaran yang diadakan di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil hari ini sehingga esok.

Tumpuan utama acara terarah kepada penyerahan model Honda – Jazz, City, BR-V, HR-V, City Hybrid, HR-V Hybrid, Civic, CR-V dan Accord – kepada sembilan pemenang bertuah.

Dua pemenang pertama telah pun diumumkan sebelum ini dan mereka membawa pulang Honda Civic dan HR-V.

Baki tujuh pemenang lagi telah diumumkan hari ini.

Berikut senarai penuh pemenang:

  • Mohamad Adib Fida’iy bin Mohamad Hanapi – Civic
  • Lim Hong Ngee – HR-V
  • Nik Siti Nurhidayah Juhan – HR-V Hybrid
  • Yasmoon binti Osman – City
  • Fong Yee Wern – City Hybrid
  • Ee Shi Lin – Jazz
  • Chester Lim – CR-V
  • Lim Hock Kuang  – BR-V
  • Muhamad Abdul Hadi Junus – Accord

Sementara itu, Pengarah Urusan dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Honda Malaysia, Toichi Ishiyama berbesar hati dengan sokongan diberikan terhadap jenama itu.

“Kami amat berbesar hati dengan sokongan yang diterima daripada pelanggan untuk menjadikan Honda sebagai jenama dipercayai di Malaysia.

“Kami amat gembira kerana berjaya mencatat angka penjualan 900,000 unit sejak ditubuhkan pada 2002.

“Kempen kali ini lebih istimewa kerana julung kalinya Honda Malaysia berganding bahu bersama jenama popular, Astro Radio, Tealive dan Unifi untuk menyerahkan sembilan kereta kepada para pemenang.

“Untuk kmpen ini sahaja kami menerima lebih 122,000 peserta dalam tempoh dua bulan!” jelasnya.

Sejak Honda Malaysia memperkenalkan versi CKD menerusi CR-V pada 2003, model CKD merekodkan penjualan tertinggi dengan 95 peratus penjualan berbanding CBU hanya 5 peratus.

Ketika ini, Malaysia mempunyai lebih 98 pengedar sah Honda di seluruh negara.

Saban tahun, EICMA menjadi medan pilihan bagi pengeluar motosikal untuk mempamerkan jentera konsep atau model baharu tetapi kebelakangan ini, Tokyo Motor Show semakin menjadi pilihan utama bagi pengeluar motosikal Jepun.

Bagi edisi 2019, Honda bakal memperkenalkan CT125 – sebuah motosikal konsep yang berlandaskan Honda C125 namun telah disuntik dengan ciri scrambler.

Honda sebelum ini pernah menghasilkan motosikal jenis ‘trail cub’ pada 1964 ,beberapa tahun selepas Honda Cub dilancarkan. Tahun lalu, pengeluar motosikal Jepun itu melancarkan Honda Super Cub – versi yang telah dinaik taraf.

Difahamkan, CT125 bakal ditayangkan bersama-sama pelancaran Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin.

Menariknya, rekaan keseluruhan CT125 tampak lebih garang dengan bahagian enjin kini terdedah sementara bahagian ekzos menampilkan rekaan yang terdapat pada Honda Monkey 125.

Bahagian depan juga didatangkan dengan sistem penyerap hentakan yang tampak lebih agresif sementara bahagian belakang dilengkapi dengan rak besi.

(SUMBER: Ride Apart)

  • The 2019 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP is all about rider confidence and usability.

  • Honda probably set out to produce an everyday superbike.

  • It’s wonderfully balanced and not slow at all.

I’ve to admit that my love for superbikes declined over the years. They’ve grown to be much faster, more focused and less compromising over the last decade. There’s nothing wrong with that; superbikes are meant to chase lap times, after all. Yes, my love for superbikes was reignited after attending California Superbike School Malaysia but superbikes are still superbikes. Those were the thoughts playing in my mind when I picked up the 2019 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.

Introduction to the 2019 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

The bike was beautiful and looked better than when it was launched indoors. The silver-coloured massive frame and swingarm, offset by the gold rims, topped off by red, white and blue HRC livery shone in the sunlight. Some may say that those headlights look like the Ducati Panigale’s but no, they really look distinctively CBR on this bike as it blended in with the overall design.

Climbing on, I was surprised to fit right in. Muscle memory had tried to push my arms lower down the front, but it turned out that the clip-ons were higher than other superbikes. When viewed from the side of the bike, the handlebars rise about 2.5cm higher than the seat line.

The footpegs were lower and set further front than all others. Another surprise was my foot finding the ground immediately instead of paddling around to check out the seat height. The seat was low for a superbike.

The sharp and narrow front profile necessitated a small TFT screen. But unlike some bikes we’ve tested, the screen has characters that were large enough to read for old eyes like mine. Even I could make out the smallest fonts that concern mileage and fuel consumption data.

One glance and I knew what RPM, which gear position and speed. The Honda Torque Control data sits on the bottom left side, displaying the MODE (there were three manufacturer presets and two user presets) and the levels of each parameter.

Changing the parameters was done through the MODE and selector buttons. It took only a couple of minutes to figure out, despite the lack of the user’s manual.

MODE 1 is akin to race mode. From left to right, power, traction control, wheelie control, engine braking and electronic suspension control are at their most performance-oriented settings. MODE 2 is like sport or road mode: The throttle engine is less punchy which higher levels of electronic assistance. MODE 3 is more like rain mode i.e. softer throttle response, highest level of traction control and softest suspension setting.

Changing any parameter will have the system revert to USER settings immediately, so you can easily customize any setting without getting lost.

That brings us to the electronic suspension. There were three levels of present damping A1, A2 and A3, plus one M for manual settings. A1 is the stiffest, A3 the softest.

Riding the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP

As with all inline-Four superbikes, the engine fired up with a roar as if you held the throttle open slightly. The exhaust wasn’t too loud nor too soft and had this distinctive warble when I blipped the throttle.

Clutch out and the bike rolled smoothly ahead even without throttle input.

But the throttle… Oh my. It was so direct it’s as if your right hand is working the throttle bodies, fuel pump and electronics at one go. There’s no slack in take up but then it didn’t snap the bike forward like the MT-09. Twist it a little more and the bike responds with more forward thrust; roll off and the bike slows down accordingly.

Then there’s that riding position. Seated correctly (please check out our video on the correct riding position here), there’s no pressure on the lower back at all. There wasn’t pressure on the wrists, either. But there has to be some part of the body taking the weight, right? Yes, the inner thighs but I found that I didn’t need to squeeze the fuel tank hard at all. The reason for this was due to the tank which was tapered toward the back. The front was wide and made clamping the knees on it much easier.

As we rode down Jalan Ipoh, I gritted my teeth in anticipation of getting kicked around on bumps. I started out in MODE 1 hence the A1 suspension mode. I was surprised that it was super compliant. Sure, there are other bikes that use the Ohlins NIX forks and Ohlins TTX shock, but there must be a different algorithm besides suspension internals for the CBR. It was almost as comfortable as an adventure bike with stiffer settings! I kid you not!

Sport riding

It was so much fun to ride around in MODE 1 that I left there. The powerband was superbly linear with no steps along the way and the smooth throttle action helped. The only indication that you’re about to go faster was the change in the exhaust note, from a droning vroom to warble mixed with a howl starting from 4,500 RPM. The bike punched through 160km/h, 200km/h, 250km/h and beyond easily without any white-knuckled moment. It was exceptionally stable in a straight line despite the short wheelbase.

Out on Karak Highway, the bike flowed through each corner. Although I was riding faster than before, it didn’t take much effort to lean the bike over. Its limits were so high that the bike stayed well off kneedown angles. Remember, less lean angle is safer.

Up Genting Highlands, I decided to get a bit more aggressive. Again, the bike didn’t protest and flicked left and right without the need to over commit.

The SP was fitted with ultra-sticky Bridgestone RS10 tyres. Bridgestones are stiffer in construction so I switched to USER 1 and adjusted the damping rate to A2. There’s was still plenty of feedback from either end and I always knew what the tyres were up to.

I had so much fun I rode up and down Genting four times in five days. I haven’t had this much fun since a long time ago… back in 2017 on a Triumph Street Triple RS.

Just like the RS, the SP will do anything you ask of it. Additionally, that super stable chassis mixed with a smooth throttle and linear powerband built immediate confidence for you to push harder and deeper into corners.

The quickshifter deserved its own praise. While everyone harps about a certain other sportbike’s, the SP’s quickshifter was so smooth it should be used as the model in moisturizer ads. Why pay those models when you have the CBR1000RR SP? On other bikes, using the quickshifter in the lower gears in low revs would usually have the system kicking hard and feeling as if the gearbox is going to split open, but not on the SP. Nope, uh uh.

Daily riding

Almost no one commutes daily on a superbike anymore, do they? Why? It’s like what I said in the beginning: Superbikes have gotten so focused that they are less comfortable and less compromising.

I fretted the thought of doing so on the SP initially, but it turned out to be unfounded.

The light steering, easy flickability and powerful brakes had me riding it like it was a 250cc bike. The bike’s very compact and there were other bikers who thought it was a 250 to 400cc bike.

Even my fear of U-turns was taken care of. On a superbike. I could hardly believe it either.

Touring

If the daily commute is difficult for sportbike riders, what more touring. Right?

Nope. I was so impressed with its comfort that I rode it all the way to Penang and back with a Harley-Davidson group and I didn’t feel like I had wrestled with a grizzly bear.

Conclusion

I felt that it’s a shame people are looking at superbikes by account of higher horsepower ratings on the spec sheet. In my opinion, power isn’t everything – it certainly isn’t everything if you aren’t enjoying the ride.

The CBR1000RR may have been updated but it retains the kind of controllability that endeared itself to “Rabbit” fans in the country and world over. It’s the manifest of Honda’s total rider control concept and it got me thinking about how much resources the manufacturer put into developing this one bike.

The 2019 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP certainly surprised me, despite having tested all the current 1000cc superbikes except for the 2019 BMW S 1000 RR. Heck, it even surprised all of our peers. Seriously.

Yes, again it has the lowest horsepower among the 1000cc superbikes. But what if you could only afford one 1000cc superbike? Which means you have to live with it for your daily commute, weekend Karak blasting, occasional track days and go touring?

Pick this one.

 

PHOTO GALLERY

Sumber: Gear Patrol

Selepas mendengar keluhan peminat motosikal adventure, Honda memperkenalkan Africa Twin 2020 yang kini tampil lebih berkuasa dan ringan.

Honda telah mengikut jejak BMW untuk menghasilkan sebuah motosikal adventure yang lebih besar dan berkuasa dengan enjin 1084cc parallel twin.

Menurut laporan Gear Patrol, model baharu ini turut dilengkapi dengan pelbagai kemas kini bersifat teknikal antaranya, kepala silinder yang telah direka semula, lengan silinder aluminium dan tetap ECU serba baharu.

Sumber: Gear Patrol

Model baharu ini juga dilengkapi dengan enam mod tunggangan – Tour, Urban, Gravel dan Off-Road.

Sistem ekzos yang terdapat pada model ini turut dilengkapi dengan kawalan injap ekzos yang membantu jentera menghasilkan 107hp.

Saksikan trailer Honda Africa Twin 2020 di bawah:

Ketika BMW memperkenalkan R1250 GS dan R1250 GS Adventure, berat kedua-dua jentera ini adalah sekitar 270 kilogram namun Honda berjaya menghasilkan Africa Twin 2020 dengan berat yang lebih ringan – sekitar 226kg sahaja bagi model standard.

Bagi memudahkan tunggangan, ketinggian tempat duduk Africa Twin 2020 ini juga boleh ditetapkan mengikut keselesaan – serendah 33.4 inci dan setinggi 35.2 inci.

Tidak ketinggalan, Africa Twin 2020 ini turut dilengkapi dengan sistem cruise control serta sistem penghubungan Android Auto dan Apple Car Play.

Di Amerika Syarikat, Africa Twin 2020 dijual dengan harga dari USD 14,399 (RM60,166).

(SUMBER: Gear Patrol)

  • 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

Sumber: Jorge Lorenzo @ Twitter

Jorge Lorenzo menafikan dia bakal meninggalkan pasukan MotoGP Honda sepertimana yang dilakukan Johann Zarco terhadap KTM.

Meskipun mengakui tidak gembira di Honda namun Lorenzo enggan membuat keputusan drastik seperti Zarco yang menamatkan kontrak dua tahun bersama KTM bulan lalu.

Zarco turut kehilangan tempatnya untuk baki saingan musim ini apabila digantikan dengan Mika Kallio.

Lorenzo turut mengalami nasib sama sejak menyertai Honda dengan tiga kali juara dunia itu gagal menamatkan kedudukan di kelompok 10 terbaik tahun ini tatkala bergelut dengan jentera RC213V.

Senario tersebut turut menimbulkan khabar angin bahawa dia bakal kembali ke Ducati bersama Pramac sebelum mengesahkan akan menghormati kontrak dua tahunnya bersama Honda.

Ketika aksi kelayakan GP Aragon semalam, Lorenzo sekadar menduduki tempat ke-20.

Sumber: Jorge Lorenzo @ Twitter

Menurut Autosport, Lorenzo berkata,”Hakikatnya saya tidak gembira dengan masa saya di sini berbanding ketika saya menjuarai perlumbaan bersama Yamaha atau tahun lalu ketika bersama Ducati.

“Tetapi ketika ini, saya tidak akan berputus asa.

“Saya ada kontrak dua tahun bersama Honda, buat masa ini saya akan cuba penuhi komitmen itu dan perbaiki aksi perlumbaan.”

Dalam perkembangan sama, Lorenzo menyifatkan Zarco membuat keputusan yang berani namun percaya tindakan itu mungkin akan memakan dirinya.

“Dia telah membuat keputusan yang berani, dan kita perlu menghormati keputusan itu. Tetapi sama ada tindakan itu bijak atau tidak. Saya tidak tahu,” tambah Lorenzo.

Perlumbaan GP Aragon akan berlangsung hari ini.

Pelancaran pasukan Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing semalam turut menampilkan kehadiran jentera Honda CBR250RR.

Jentera tersebut merupakan jentera yang akan diguna pakai Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing dalam kelas Asian Production 250cc di ARRC, hujung minggu ini.

Rata-rata peminat dua roda di Malaysia mahu melihat Honda CBR250RR dipasarkan di Malaysia namun ketika ini jentera terbabit hanya boleh didapati di pasaran Thailand, Indonesia dan Jepun.

Tidak seperti jentera 250 lain, Honda CBR250RR menampilkan kaliper brek Nissin 4 pot, lampu depan dan belakang LED dan juga SHOW upside down fork.

Rupa keseluruhan jentera ini juga langsung tidak menampakkan identiti sebuah motosikal 250cc malah tampak seperti abangnya CBR1000RR Fireblade!

Difahamkan, jentera ini berharga sekitar RM30,000 hingga RM38,000 – seangkatan dengan harga sebuah jentera 650cc – seandainya dipasarkan di Malaysia.

Angka ini juga antara sebab mengapa sukar untuk menyaksikan Honda CBR250RR dijual di Malaysia apatah lagi terdapat beberapa faktor yang tidak akan lulus piawaian Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) seperti lampu isyarat kiri dan kanan yang diletakkan dibahagian atas lampu depan dan bukannya tertonjol keluar seperti jentera lain.

Apa pun, diharapkan rakyat Malaysia akan diberi peluang untuk memiliki jentera ini seandainya Honda membuat keputusan untuk membawa motosikal ini ke Malaysia, kelak.

Mungkin juga ada sebab disebalik tindakan Boon Siew Honda menayangkan jentera tersebut?

  • Many enthusiasts have been crying out for the Honda CBR250RR.

  • We had the opportunity to see one during an event yesterday.

  • The bike is chockful of high-end parts.

Many Honda fans and enthusiasts have been crying out, “Where’s the Honda CBR250RR?” However, it’s available only in Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.

Truth be told, we’ve only seen the bike in pictures thus far. But even then, we could deduce that the bike is full of great features for a 250cc sportbike, besides looking great, of course.

But thanks to Boon Siew Honda, we were able to get up close to one during the Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing AP250 team rollout yesterday.

 

The CBR250RR definitely looks like the most advanced and high-quality 250cc sportbike out there, typical of Honda.

 

Check out the Showa upside-down forks; Nissin four-piston front caliper; ABS; those distinctive LED headlamps. That bodywork wouldn’t be out of place on a 1000cc sportbike, either.

Moving backwards, look at the quality of the front and rear footpeg brackets. Or that heatshield on the dual exhaust silencers. The seat unit looks like it came from the CBR1000RR Fireblade.

But take an even closer look and you’ll see that the aluminium alloy swingarm is cast in one piece, rather than welded together from different pieces of metal.

However, a Boon Siew Honda representative pointed our attention toward the various stickers in Bahasa Indonesia. This meant that the bike is for the Indonesian market. Besides that, the front signal lamps are integrated into the top part of the front fairing. This arrangement will not pass JPJ homologation unless Honda attach signals on the sides of the fairings or into the mirror nacelles.

Seeing its quality opened our eyes to the large expense it takes to build the bike. It’s said that the CBR250RR would cost in the regions of RM34,000 to RM38,000 should it be sold here.

Unfortunately, that’s why the bike will not enter our market where there’s an overriding sentiment of price vs. capacity. Buyers will be tempted to get a 600/650cc machine for that price.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped hoping (and pestering) for it to enter the Malaysian market. At a competitive price, of course.

PHOTO GALLERY

  • Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing rolled out their AP250 team for the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) today.

  • The team is slated to join the series full time next year.

  • The early entry will provide them with experience and data.

Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing rolled out their AP250 team for the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) today.

The team is slated to join the Asia Production 250 (AP250) category fully next year. Therefore, the launch today is to “test the waters” in the series with a factory backed team and wildcard riders. The sixth round of the 2019 ARRC season is currently being held at the Sepang International Circuit.

Without a doubt, the experience and data gained this year will be priceless in their participation in 2020.

“The Asia Production 250cc class was added to the Asia Road Racing Championship roster in 2015. To date, the class had been dominated by Thai and Indonesian riders. However, we know that, given the calibre of Malaysian riders, they should be challenging for the title in every single season. After all, the Malaysian riders are dominant in every other category of the ARRC (ASB1000, SuperSports 600cc, and Underbone 150cc), except the 250cc class. By establishing our own factory outfit in the class, we take on the mission of changing the balance of power in this popular category,” said Mr. Keiichi Yasuda, MD and CEO of Boon Siew Honda Sdn. Bhd.

To achieve this, Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing will field two wildcard riders. 18-year-old Muhammad Syarifuddin Azman and 15-year-old Muhammad Idlan Haqimi Raduan will ride the CBR250RR.

Muhammad Syarifuddin was the Yamaha PETRONAS Super Series champion in 2016, and also captured the 2018 Wira category title with Idemitsu Kozi Yam Honda Racing.

Muhammad Syarifuddin (left) and Muhammad Idlan (right)

Meanwhile, Muhammad Idlan was the 2018 Honda One Make Challenge champion.

Idemitsu and Boon Siew Honda also hopes that these riders will be developed into world-class riders of the future.

  • Picture of the 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin have emerged.

  • They were part of submissions for certification in Australia.

  • The regular and Adventure versions have slightly different looks.

Here’s how the 2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin looks like.

The grayscale photos were part of the file submitted for vehicle certification documents in Australia and shared by Motorcyclist.com.

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure

The details also confirmed the speculation that the engine will be enlarged to gain more power in face of stifling Euro 5 regulations. It’s learned that displacement goes up to 1084cc from 998cc, bringing power output to 101 hp at 7,500 RPM. Motorcyclist didn’t disclose the torque figure.

Honda is offering the bike with their proprietary dual clutch transmission (DCT) and manual gearbox.

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure – rear view

Perhaps more importantly, the low-resolution photos show that the manufacturer has reworked the bike’s styling. The dual headlights and distinctive radiator flanks are retained but updated.

The Adventure version retains the “google headlamps” and has a taller windscreen and aluminium panels as on its fuel tanks’ flanks. The side panels are also different but there is a large passenger grab bar and luggage rack at the back.

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin

The regular, non-Adventure model, on the other hand, looks to be more streamlined and the headlamps are made more angular than the current model. There’s noticeably fewer details than its Adventure counterpart.

2020 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin – rear view

The new Africa Twin may be launched at the Tokyo Motor Show in October or EICMA in November 2019.

Source: Motorcyclist.com

  • Honda promised to unveil a “secret model” at the AIMExpo 2019.

  • They are secretive about it so we could only speculate.

  • There are a number of segments that we could look at.

Honda promised to unveil a “secret model” at the AIMExpo 2019.

While the AIMExpo takes place in the United States, no one is sure whether the new bike will be meant for specifically for the US or worldwide market.

The intrigue is due to Honda missing in number of segments, which their rivals have been running away with for some time. Additionally, the models that do occupy those core segments are due for upgrades.

Here are to name a few:

Lightweight sport

There were rumours suggesting that Honda will upsize the CBR250RR to 300cc and selling it worldwide. The current 250 is being sold only in Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.

Middleweight adventure/dual-sport bike

Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin render – Photo credit MCN

This is a huge gap that Honda has yet to fill. They’ve the CRF250L and CRF250 Rally on the lightweight end and the CRF1000L Africa Twin on the heavyweight side, but nothing in between. The manufacturer has acknowledged this, lending to rumours that they will work on an 800cc Africa Twin. No, the CB500X is not a true-blood dual-purpose bike.

Middleweight sport-tourer

This segment is currently filled by the VFR800F. The bike still has a wonderful V-Four soundtrack but it’s kinda long in the tooth and doesn’t show up in buyers’ radars.

Heavyweight sport-tourer

The VFR1200F currently occupies this range. It’s the first Honda bike equipped with their proprietary Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). But like the VFR800F, it should be due for a replacement.

Superbike

Ah, the CBR1000RR Fireblade. The Fireblade used to be the most popular superbike on the planet. That was until BMW unleashed their S 1000 RR. While the current CBR1000RR is arguably the best handling 1000cc sportbike, it’s outgunned in terms of outright power (at least on the spec sheets). In the face of 200+ hp rivals, its 189 hp has pushed it into the background. Will the next-gen Fireblade be a V-Four? Or an inline-Four with more power and active aerodynamics?

X-Adv

The super scooter could make its debut in the US market. This would be great news for Americans but a kind of letdown for the rest of the world since the model is already available elsewhere.

The AIMExpo begins on 26thSeptember and we’re eager to find out, too!

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