The “Africa Twin” moniker is one of the most celebrated names in motorcycling, so naturally, we were excited when Boon Siew Honda called us to pick up the new Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin.
During the heydays of the Paris-Dakar Rally, the HRC-built NXR-750 tore up the Saharan dunes to four victories. It was no small feat. Being in the late-80s means there was no gimmickry of the modern bikes.
The first Honda Africa Twin was the XRV650, produced from 1988 to 1989, but the truly iconic XRV750 Africa Twin made its debut in 1989 for 1990 model year.
It is powered by a 752cc, four-sparkplug V-Twin (hence its name) and had all the trappings of an adventure bike including twin large headlamps, long-travel suspension, engine bash plate, wire spoked wheels, semi-off-road tyres. In short, it looked like it just got off the rally and straight into the dealerships.
Although the Africa Twin had stiff competition from the BMW R 100 GS, Yamaha Super Tenere, Cagiva Elefant, et al, the big Honda was a success. In fact, production carried on until 2003.
Many fans and even motojournalists cheered when Honda announced their plans for a new Africa Twin. Heck, the romantics among us got teary-eyed when they recalled their exploits on the AT in the 90’s.
Designated as the CRF1000L Africa Twin, it’s a dual-sport more oriented towards off-road riding.
The new bike has a slim and tall front profile. Besides that, the front looks like an extended forehead above the tightly arranged headlamps. It’s the “Dakar styling” where a pace note scroller/GPS sits behind screen.
Moving back, the rear part of the bike from the head onwards invokes the profile of the XRV750. This is especially true when you view the back of the fuel tank and seat. Anyhow, we felt that Honda did a great job of amalgamating design elements of the old bike to the new.
First impression? Oh my! This thing’s tall! We’ve tested plenty of tall dual-sport bikes, mind you. Of course, the Africa Twin isn’t as tall as motocrossers or enduros but it’s definitely the tallest among dual-sport bikes. Someone had adjusted the rear shock’s preload all the out to lower the rear end, but I still had to hang one leg in the air when I stopped.
I knew I should’ve worn my platform shoes. Just kidding.
However, traffic lights became my No. 1 enemy (for the moment). That’s because I had to first determine if the road was slanting to the left or right, before shifting my buttock and leg out while coming to a stop. The slim profile helped a lot, but the badly adjusted chassis meant that the handlebar was sitting too high up, making the bike feel like it’s carrying bricks on its fuel tank.
We decided to ride it to Kuantan together with the Honda X-Adv.
The engine’s torque was impressive, keeping the engine rolling at low revs at highway speeds. The 998cc parallel-Twin uses a 270oto mimic the firing order of a 90oV-Twin, so a smooth character was expected. It produces 94 bhp and 98 Nm of torque.
The AT picks up speed quick to the sound of a rumbling engine. Small pops accompanied the DCT upshifts.
But we wished the front end has a little more high-speed stability and the handlebar moved around at higher speeds. We could expect this of dual-sport bikes with high handlebars but the AT’s moved the most. Then again, this bike is biased towards off-roading.
As such, it didn’t like being slammed into corners. You need to brake and release early, coast a bit to let the chassis settle down before turning in. Similarly, you need to be super smooth with the gas during the lean to straight up transition. Being throttle happy will send the handlebar waggling back and forth.
These handling traits disappear when the road turns to no road. There’s a large button marked with a “G” (for gravel) right next to the instrument panel. Pressing that switches into gravel ride mode and the corresponding levels of electronic intervention.
The softly sprung suspension absorbed the bumps easily and the bike seemed to float. Again, the bike’s slim waist was advantageous as it lets you move around while standing up.
However, it still felt top heavy for me. It possibly has to do with my height. At 167cm, I’m probably too small for the bike. A person from 180cm and up ought to reap the benefits of its ergonomics.
Oh yes, the test unit was fitted with Honda’s proprietary DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission). It’s actually a semi-automatic/semi-manual gearbox. The rider could select D (Drive), S (Sport) or M (Manual). N (Neutral) position needs to be selected manually.
Shifting is via toggles on top and below the left switch cluster.
In D, the bike drives like a giant scooter. The transmission takes care of the upshifts and downshifts automatically. The rider can intervene at any time, but it upshifts early for smooth power and fuel savings
In S, shifting is still automatic but it will hold on to a gear until peak torque before shifting up. The gearbox will downshift when a certain limit is reached, and it will blip the throttle automatically. The rider can also intervene at any time.
In M, the rider is in charge of gear selection. The engine will also auto-blip the throttle when downshifting.
Just like the VFR1200, the Africa Twin with DCT doesn’t feature a clutch lever and gear lever. This is when you have re-learn how to ride a motorcycle.
Using the fully automatic “D” feature was convenient but bear in mind that it shifts when you least expected it to. Like upshifting in the middle of a corner or downshift when you’re rolling to a stop. We found out the hard way.
I was riding with my wife as the pillion. The transmission was in D-mode, 2ndgear as I filtered past two rows of cars. It suddenly kicked down to 1stgear without warning. But since there was no clutch lever, it felt like the engine had cut out, followed by that sickening feeling of a bike toppling over.
There was a BMW 3-Series on our left, but thankfully my reflex kicked in and I pushed out my left elbow which landed on the car’s driver side window. It held the bike up from falling onto his car!
So, lesson learned. I tried S-mode for a while then decided to just use M-mode anytime I ride.
Nearing my house, I shifted into 1st(you can’t shift into N when the bike’s moving) and stopped to let a car pass. I reapplied a little bit of throttle to drive the bike up to my gate.
BUT! The engine “caught” like what happens when you release the clutch lever with no engine RPM. It put out a “CLACK!” Again, no clutch lever. My reflex tried to reopen the throttle but it didn’t catch. The bike went over on the right side like a poor tree while blasts of profanities violated my neighbours’ ears. And I swear I didn’t touch the brakes!
It meant that you can’t pussyfoot with the throttle.
We know, it sounds like we didn’t enjoy ourselves with the Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin. But we assure you that it was okay 75% of the time. It was too bad that the DCT and height needed too much concentration.
It’s a nice bike to ride if you’re an Africa Twin and Honda fan, not bad if otherwise.
The caveat is you need some time to learn it, especially if you opt for the DCT version. Besides that, the ergonomics really need some getting used to as it’s rather different from other dual-sport bikes we’ve ridden.
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ENGINE |
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| ENGINE TYPE | 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 8-valve, liquid-cooled, parallel-Twin with 270o crankshaft |
| DISPLACEMENT | 998 cc |
| BORE x STROKE | 92.0 mm x 75.1 mm |
| POWER | 93.8 hp @ 7,500 RPM |
| TORQUE | 98 Nm @ 6,000 RPM |
| COMPRESSION RATIO | N/A |
| TRANSMISSION | Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) |
| FUEL SYSTEM | Electronic fuel injection with ride-by-wire throttle |
| CLUTCH | Multiple-plate wet clutch with slipper feature |
| CHASSIS | |
| FRAME | N/A |
| FRONT SUSPENSION | Showa cartridge-type upside down ø 45 mm forks, adjustable for preload, compression damping and rebound damping |
| REAR SUSPENSION | Monoshock with Pro-Link Arm, remote gas reservoir, remote preload adjuster, adjustable for rebound damping |
| SUSPENSION TRAVEL FRONT/REAR | 252 mm / 240 mm |
| FRONT BRAKE | 2x radially-mounted 4-piston monobloc calipers, ø 310 mm floating discs |
| REAR BRAKE | 1X single-piston floating caliper, ø 260 mm brake disc |
| ABS | 2-channel ABS (rear disengable) |
| TIRES FRONT/REAR | 90/90-R21; 150/70 R-18 (both tube type) |
| STEERING HEAD ANGLE | N/A |
| TRAIL | N/A |
| WHEEL BASE | 1,580 mm |
| SEAT HEIGHT | 920 mm standard, 900 low seat position |
| FUEL TANK CAPACITY | 24.2 litres |
| WEIGHT (READY TO RIDE) | 243 kg |
Boon Siew Honda (BSH) telah melancarkan tiga model baharu bagi permulaan tahun 2019. Model-model tawaran terkini dari BSH adalah Honda Super Cub 125, Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP dan Honda CB1100 RS. Pelancaran motor baharu diadakan sempena pengumuman strategi utama BSH dalam menjadi jenama peneraju dalam industri motosika di dalam negara.
Selepas lebih 60 tahun dan jualan unit mencecah 100 juta di seluruh dunia, jelmaan Honda Super Cub C100 kini kembali untuk 2019 dalam bentuk Honda Super Cub C125. Bersedia untuk merempuh pasaran Malaysia, Super Cub generasi terkini merupakan kombinasi reka bentuk klasik bersama ciri-ciri moden seperti enjin 125cc SOHC empat-lejang dengan sistem suntikan bahan api yang mampu menjana 9.1hp @ 7,500rpm dan 9.98Nm tork maksimum pada 5,000rpm.
Super Cub C125 juga dilengkapi dengan ciri-ciri moden yang lain seperti pakej lampu LED, sistem kunci pintar Honda, tempat duduk yang boleh dibuka secara elektronik, tangki minyak 3.7-liter dan banyak lagi.
Terdapat tiga pilihan warna menarik iaitu biru mutiara (Pearl Niltava Blue), merah mutiara (Pearl Nebula Red) dan hitam (Pearl Shinning Black). BSH akan menawarkan model Super Cub C125 pada harga RM13,999 (harga jualan tanpa insurans).
Selepas perkenalan Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade di KLIMS 2018, BSH teruskan momentum superbike mereka dengan melancarkan model Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.
Jentera yang direka khas untuk penggunaan litar memberi gaya tunggangan yang lebih hebat dalam pakej yang lebih ringan (195kg) bersama teknologi canggih menghasilkan pecutan dan kuasa menakjubkan.
Berkonsepkan “Next Stage Total Control”, model Fireblade SP didatangkan dengan enjin 1,000cc empat-silinder berjaya menghasilkan 189hp pada 13,000rpm dan 114Nm tork maksimum pada 11,000rpm. Model ini juga merupakan model Honda pertama yang dipasangkan dengan pakej suspensi elektronik pintar dari Ohlins.
Spesifikasi menarik yang lain adalah:
Model Fireblade SP didatangkan dengan warna HRC Tricolor pada harga RM114,999 (harga jualan tanpa insurans).
Model terakhir dalam barisan motosikal Honda berkuasa tinggi yang memberi kejutan kepada ramai yang hadiri pelancaran sebentar tadi adalah Honda CB1100 RS. Gaya 70an ‘sporty’ memberi sebuah imej yang retro dan juga moden pada model motosikal ini.
Reka bentuk ini diserlahkan lagi dengan tangki minyak unik tanpa kesan pateri, lampu utama bulat dan dua instrumen jenis dial jenis LED. Enjin 1,140cc empat-silinder model ini mampu menjana 88.5hp pasa 7,500rpm dan 91Nm tork maksimum 5,500rpm.
Rekaan casis unik memberi sebuah imej motosikal yang lebih agresif dan ditambahbaikkan lagi dengan pakej suspensi hadapan Showa Dual Bending Valve (SDBV) dan suspensi belakang Showa berkembar dengan remote reservoir.
BSH akan menawarkan model CB1100 Rs dalam warna hitam metalik (Darkness Black Metallic) dan perak metalik (Mat Beta Silver Metallic) pada harga RM75,999 (harga jualan tanpa insurans).
Untuk maklumat lanjut, layari www.boonsiewhonda.com.my.
Boon Siew Honda launched three more models to the Malaysian market today to kick off 2019. They are the Honda Super Cub C125, Honda CB1100RS, Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.
Being of different segments, the additional models provide Malaysian motorcyclists with even more choices in Honda motorcycles.
Honda started a revolution when they introduced the Super Cub C100 in 1958. The Super Cub has evolved over the last 60 years. By then, it had become the largest-selling motorized vehicle of all time with more than 100 million units sold worldwide.
The Super Cub is now back in the guise of the Super Cub C125.
While its styling is reminiscent of the original Super Cub, the new bike is thoroughly modern.
It is offered in Pearl Niltava Blue, Pearl Nebula Red and Pearl Shining Black.
The CB1100RS harks back to the days when Honda’s inline-Four engines were the king. Specifically, it started with the CB750 in 1969, which was rightfully called “first superbike.”
Since then, Japanese motorcycles with multi-cylinder engines, round headlights, high handlebars, and bench seats became known generically as the UJM for Universal Japanese Motorcycle.
The UJM styling is timeless as Honda continued selling the CB line-up such as the sublime CB 400 Super Four VTEC and later the CB1100 over the years in many markets around the world. Except Malaysia.
Perhaps 2019 is the year to remember with the launch of this bike.
As with its predecessors, the CB1100RS looks like a 70’s bike but it a modern motorcycle in its essence.
It looks like a torquey machine judging from the spread between maximum torque and peak power.
The Honda CB1100RS is available in Darkness Black Metallic and Matt Beta Silver Metallic.
The “SP” version of the CBR1000RR Fireblade brings more fire to the table. It is endowed with more power, less weight and equipped with more technology compared to the “standard” Fireblade.
While other manufacturers kept pushing up the power output of their superbikes, Honda chooses to adhere to their “Next Stage Total Control” philosophies. You could say “What’s power without control?”
The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP is offered in HRC Tricolor only (no Repsol thank you very much!).
For those waiting to see the 2019 Repsol Honda bike were surely disappointed as the livery remains unchanged.
Many had expected a new colour scheme as the Spanish petroleum giant and Honda celebrate the 25thanniversary of their collaboration. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the stale same-ol’-same-ol’ stripes.
However, there seem to be a few notable differences on Jorge Lorenzo’s bike (pictured above).
The launch was held at the Sentul circuit in Indonesia. Current riders Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo were joined by past Repsol Honda champions Mick Doohan and Alex Creville.
The Repsol-Honda partnership began in 1994 when Doohan won the first of his five world 500cc GP championship. Alex Creville won the 1999 championship when Doohan crashed heavily during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez and retired.
Of course, both current riders spewed team savvy answers about how happy they are with the team, how they are confident in winning, yada, yada, yada.
Marc Marquez will be in action at the shakedown test from 1st to 3rd February prior to the first 2019 pre-season testing from 6th to 8th February. Both tests will be held at the Sepang International Circuit.
Ready to lose sleep? We reported on Honda taking the wraps off the 2019 Honda CBR650R at EICMA 2018 and it garnered plenty of positive interest. But just as Honda UK revealed its CB650R sibling’s price yesterday, they now do so for the CB650R, as well.
The CBR650R is the replacement for the current CBR650F fully-faired midrange sportbike. The new bike uses the same engine as the CB650R Neo Sport Café, which has gained 5% more power. Together with a weight reduction of 6kg from the frame, fuel tank and other parts, the new bike gains 8% in terms of power-to-weight ratio. That is something a rider can feel.
Its ergonomics has also been revised to provide a more aggressive ride. The clip-on handlebars are 30mm further in front, in addition to being lower. Similarly, Honda moved the footpegs back by 3mm and 6mm higher. This arrangement puts more of the rider’s weight over the front wheel for sportier handling.
Honda has also updated the chassis. The new bike features fully-adjustable Showa SFF upside-down forks and radially-mounted Nissin four-piston calipers.
Last but not least, the package is wrapped in a bodywork inspired by the company’s flagship CBR1000RR Fireblade sportbike.
Although the CBR650R doesn’t produce as much power as the discontinued CBR600RR, the former is still a motorcycle worthy in filling the gap. In fact, the CBR600F would look like the CBR650R had it continued on its development arc.
Oh yes, the price. The 2019 Honda CBR650R sells for £7729 (RM 40,730.66 as on 15thJanuary 2019) on the road.
Try getting some sleep now. Goodnight.
Just as we are currently testing both the CB250R and CB1000R, Honda released the price of the new CB600F in the UK.
First making its appearance at the Paris Motor Show last year, CB650R is an almost total revamp of its CB600F predecessor. Styling wise, the new bike fits into Honda’s Neo Sports Café line-up which includes the two models we are testing.
We were impressed by the CB650F during our testing. We called it an all-rounder as it filled a number of roles comfortably. However, its styling hardly caught anyone’s eyes. Sure, it fitted in with modern motorcycle designs, but there was just something missing.
As such, Honda addressed that issue by redesigning the bike completely. It now has a modern retro styling, yet with modern twists, hence the “Neo Sports Café” designation.
Honda didn’t just perform a makeover, however. The new CB650R is almost entirely new.
Revisions to the frame, fuel tank and other parts lowered weight by 6kg. The frame itself is 1.9kg lighter with a stiffer headstock and more flexible side spars. The forks are now Showa SFF (Separate Function Forks) that are adjustable for preload and rebound damping. The front brakes consist of radially-mounted four-piston Nissin calipers. The rims are new, too.
The engine gains a 1000 RPM rev limit, besides revisions to the fueling and mechanical bits. The result is a 5% power boost from the inline-Four.
As for ergonomics, the riding position is now more aggressive. The handlebar has moved forward by 13mm and down by 8mm. Additionally, the footpegs have gone backwards by 3mm and up by 6mm.
The TFT screen is shared with the Honda CB500 range.
Honda UK quoted the 2019 Honda CB650R at £6999 (RM36,950.52 as of 15thJanuary) on the road. We expect it to cost between RM 45,000 to 52,000 in Malaysia.
Honda filed for a patent for a new variable valve timing (VVT) technology recently. Could it be for the new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade most probably due in 2020? Or could it be fitted over other ranges of models, as well?
Honda’s new VVT system is akin to the BMW ShiftCam system which switches cams.
Each cylinder is fitted with two distinct cam lobes, one for low revs and another for higher revs. Like BMW’s system, the camshaft is slid back and forth to allow the appropriate cam to act on the finger followers, which in turn push open the valves. However, Honda’s system differs by having the system on the exhaust cam, as well.
This new system is different from Honda’s own iconic Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control (VTEC). It engages or disengages one set of cam lobes depending on engine load, whereas the new system’s cam lobes all spin at the same time.
Variable valve timing technology is not new in the world of motorcycles. As emission standards become tougher while the demand for more power grows at the same time, VVT is the only way to go. (Please click here to learn more about VVT and DVT.)
Almost all manufacturers employ VVT technology nowadays, although it is starting to be a trend among sportbikes. Heck, even the Yamaha N-Max, NVX and X-Max scooters feature VVT.
But it was Honda who first introduced VTEC to the in the 1989 Integra. It took another decade before it was adopted by the Honda CB400 Super Four VTEC in 1999. Since then, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 and its successor the Multistrada 1260, Kawasaki 1400GTR, Suzuki GSX-R1000 employ one form of VVT or another.
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