Honda Motorcycles and Scooters has launched the 2020 model of its flagship adventure motorcycle in India, the Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin. This two-cylinder, 1,100 cc bike competes with the likes of the Triumph Tiger 900 and the Ducati Multistrada.
Here's what's new with the 2020 model of the Honda Africa Twin adventure bikes. Essentially, it has shed some weight, got a larger fuel tank and a bit more power. Also, it now comes with a 6-speed manual transmission in addition to the DCT automatic it has. There is a standard model and an adventure sports model.
The Africa Twin now gets a lot more electronic gizmos. For starters, the instrument panel is a full touch-screen display (that works with gloved hands). It has Bluetooth connectivity for audio and phone calls as well as Apple CarPlay (on a bike). It gets traction control, cruise control and wheelie control. Engine braking is also electronically controlled – allowing users to set how aggressive or passive they want it.
The engine is larger than before at 1,084 cc, in a two-cylinder parallel-twin configuration. It puts out 11 percent more torque and 12 percent more power. Figures stand at 101 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 105 Nm of torque at 6,250 rpm.
The DCT automatic box is about 2.2 Kg lighter than before. India now also gets the manual transmission variant.
It offers multiple riding modes such as Tour, Urban, Gravel and Off-road as well as user-customisable riding modes. The standard model has a fuel capacity of 18.8 litres, while the Adventure Sports model gets a larger 25-litre tank. It's a heavy bike at 236 Kg kerb weight. It's also fairly tall, with a seat height ranging between 850mm and 870mm.
Honda plans to completely localise the manufacture of the Africa Twin in India rather than the CKD route it used earlier.
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