The flagship Honda Africa Twin gets six speed DCT auto transmission only in India and the first batch of 50 targetted customers have been filled
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) made it official that the iconic Africa Twin adventure tourer would be launched for the Indian market this year a long while ago. It now undergoes minimum levels of local assembly, much like the CBR650F fully-faired sportsbike. Rivalling against the likes of Kawasaki Versys 1000 and Suzuki V-Strom 1000, the Indian-spec version has got only the range-topping variant with an automatic gearbox instead of the conventional six-speed manual.
Priced at Rs. 13.07 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi), the DCT Africa Twin is available only in New Victory Red colour. The inverted cartridge type fully adjustable front forks come with a 230 mm stroke- the longest in its class- with a good range of rebound and compression settings. With a class leading 250 mm ground clearance, riding this bike off-road is a glide. The Dual LED head lights- when lit, evoke memories of those Dakar winning machines.
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The bookings were opened for the first batch of 50 customers and the few lucky ones had got a chance to attend the grand out-door ‘True Adventure’ Africa Twin India launch event in May. Since the 50 slots have been filled, the deliveries commenced for customers from Honda’s exclusive sales and service Wing World outlets located across 22 cities in India. The Japanese manufacturer announced its intentions to launch the model in the 1,000 cc adventure bike segment by revealing it at the Auto Expo 2016 in February last year.
The Africa Twin is built on a steel semi-double cradle type chassis with high-tensile strength steel rear sub-frame. The adventure bike’s design is a combination of the original Africa Twin and the CRF Rally bikes while it features wide aluminium handlebar, twin air intake, rally windscreen, start-up system, a digital tachometer, hand-guards, etc.
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It measures 2,335 mm in length, 875 mm in width and 1,475 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 1,575 mm and 23 litres of fuel tank. The seat is high positioned and comes with different height options ranging between 840 mm and 900 mm. Some of the important features in the adventure tourer are new off-road functionality, switchable rear ABS and HSTC (Honda Selectable Torque Control).
The Honda Africa Twin gets power from a 998 cc, four-stoke, liquid-cooled Parallel Twin engine with a Unicam and 270 degree crankshaft. It is capable of pumping out a maximum power output of 87 hp at 7,500 rpm and 92 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm.
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As against US-spec version, which comes with a six-speed manual and a six-speed auto, Indian market only gets the DCT (dual clutch automatic) gearbox with selectable on and off modes. It gives you a choice of Manual and Automatic gear shifting though to suit tarmac, dirt tracks and steep mountain passes. It comprises of 310 mm dual disc brakes at front and 256 mm single disc brake at the rear. The front-end has Upside-Down forks with nine-inch travel and adjustable rear monoshock allows for 8.7 inch travel to tackle the off-roading conditions.
Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L India Images
