HONDA AFRICA TWIN 6 Year Review: Pros, Cons, and Everything in Between

#africatwin #hondaafricatwin #adventuremotorcycle

︾ Hey Adventure Riders,
Welcome to another video in our adventure motorcycle review series. Today we are looking back at our 6 years with the Honda Africa Twin and how well it's performed as well as some of the issues we've had.

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Host: Eric Lange

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[rodirsno]

An Austrian tester Varahannes put 487.000km on his 2016 Africa Twin. The engine is still going strong!

[meinekleineweltreise]

I already put 55tkm on my 2020 AfricaTwin DCT Standard in one and a half year. I rode through south Europe, South America and will hopefully extend my ride through USA tomorrow. 😅 And I’m happy to say that I never faced any issues you mentioned for the 2019 model. I absolutely love this bike and it never let me down. I destroyed my steering head bearings after 18tkm of rough washboards in South America, but just call it maintenance. 👍 My bike will easily take me to the artic ocean and back to Europe. Well done Honda! 💪

[ken]

At around 65K miles, I certainly don't have the same amount of mileage on my 2016 as I'm sure you do on your fleet bikes. The only problem that I have experienced with mine in the time that I've had it is the well-documented fork seal issue. Other than that, it has been completely bulletproof. On the number of long trips that I've taken it on, I've never felt any anxiety over reliability. I know when I push that start button, it's going to start and throughout the day, it's going to handle every situation that I can put it in and function flawlessly. Honestly, best overall bike I've ever owned.

[TSER]

I had a 2005 XR650R. What a beast of a bike. Honda need to bring them back for sure.

[erocnw]

The 2020 and newer models fixed many of the cons: bolt on subframe, slightly more power, suspension not too soft, a bit lighter. Although most people loved their early model AT's too.

[Bbanker]

Love my 2017 AT. Agree on the fork seals. That's about the only weak spot on mine. 42, 000 mi. Had 0 when I threw my leg over. I have the idle air sensor and the water pump replaced under warranty in the first 2 years. The highest mileage AT is a 2016 with over 400, 000km on it!

[atfromaz]

Hey Eric - thanks for the long term review of the AT. It's great to hear these bikes have been serving your operations so well. I ordered up a 2021 Adventure Sport ES and took it home from the crate in May of 2021. I've got just over 21k of my own miles on it now and haven't had any trouble. Love this bike.

[AntonChemk]

Great video! I have 2016 Africa Twin DCT. Through all years I've put just around 55, 000km on it. It was a reliable bike, but here are my findings: 1) around 50, 000 crank position sensor stop working when engine temperature reached a certain level. So the engine was stalling. It didn't show any error code so finding this issue was a bit a tricky part.
2) After 50, 000km the valve clearances stayed almost in spec but valves were leaking quite significantly, causing lower power and increased fuel consumption.
3) fork springs are way way too soft, hard to control on a bit more technical terrain. I became much better rider after I changed springs to a bit stiffer ones.
4) DCT gear changing actuator got contaminated by debris from motor brushes. Resulting in a stuck gear when motor temperature got high. Easy fix by cleaning the brushes, something to keep in mind nevertheless.
5) Way too fragile plastic.
6) wind protection is a joke.

Other than that its a great bike.

[AdventureTravelandScuba]

Love my 2017 AT got it since new so far still happy rider

[Gangsta]

Came here for the AT knowledge, leaving an extra like for the XR650R mention

[MaramuresDualSport]

Hello, Eric! Well, another minor problem I had on my 2016 AT was something of a bad contact on the kill switch button. When i started the bike it would run for a few seconds and then just die. I searched on forums and groups and it was pretty common between 2016 models, but it was a simple fix: i bought a contact cleaner spray and took the kill switch assembly apart, cleaned really good with the spray, left it open a few minutes to dry out and put it back together. Never had any issues again. About the fork seals...i've read that part before buying the bike (second hand) and anyway i had planned to have the fork serviced so i bought a set of SKF fork seals and 16.000km later with a lot of offroad, no problems. It's such a great bike, i am so happy i got it. Thanks for the review, have a great Sunday!

[johnmillman]

just hit 40K miles on my 2017 Africa Twin 1000 DCT, I am second owner, bought with 32k on it. In the past year I have had two instances where the DCT did not respond to shift input, I will chalk that up to sticky buttons that need to be cleaned. I commute on it every day, and take it up to the mountains to tear up the forest service roads. Had to replace the battery, change the oil, lube the chain, and that's pretty much it. I did have an aftermarket windshield/mount that rusted out, replacement was discontinued, so I said whatever and secured it with some heavy duty zip ties. Zero issues. I would recommend to anyone looking to buy an earlier model to get some extra aftermarket lights, touratech seat and kickstand, as well as a Denali power distribution box for all your accessories. I ran premium gas for the last 8 months, dealership reccomendation, but the manual says it doesn't matter, so I will believe Honda over my local powersports shop. Honestly, the exhaust didn't smell right running premium, it smells more natural running regular. Weird observation, but I said what I said. It cold starts in 17 degree weather no problem. I have nothing but good things to say about these bikes. Hoping to break 400, 000 miles, cheers and happy riding y'all!!

[nyadver]

Great vid again. I already bought a 2021 ATAS DCT but like to dig into "known" issues bikes can have to watch out as I enjoy my new ride. Your info is always sourced with real world experience and many hours, so thank you for sharing it with us all.

[ClaudioGeo]

Got a second hand 2018 AT, with 35000 Km on it, last year. Glad to heard this. I bought it on the internet from the previous owner without testing it or putting a hand over it while I was working out from home. Once back home, I took it to my mechanic for an inspection (I know the right thing to do is taking it to the mechanic first :D), he told me "you can go and buy one of them eyes closed, no problem". I love it, great machine.

[hasanyildirim]

i ownthe A.T. 2016 DCT for 8 monthn i enjoy it, and i am ready to travel around europ . The DCT is very confortable and i didn't ride on hard off road with it so i will try and see . I like your channel, please continue, i watch from Belgium. Bye bye

[bjjw]

Year and a half ago I got a 2017 AT Standard. Put on 25km on it since and apart from oil change and tires haven't done anything to it. Yes, it is heavy and tall, but does it handle and work like a charm. Keeping it till one of us kicks the bucket.

[RetiredAdventureRider]

I bought my 2016 AT in 2019 with 12, 000 km on it. 3 1/2 years later, I've got almost 40, 000 km on it. I've been all over my home province of BC and as far as the Yukon. I've got two trips to the US planned for this summer. So far, my only mechanical issues have been with the fork seal and a failed rear bearing. I do find it heavy for me to handle off-road, and I'm considering a lighter bike. I hope to join you on one of your trips in the next couple of years, and I plan to ride a different bike for the experience.

[yorkchris]

XR650R was an alu-framed race bike. The 450 road bike is the same thing, but more racey engine. I think the 650R engine would make a nice X-Adv.

[timmoore]

Thanks for this review! I hope to ride this bike one day.

[sdb]

XR650R! Yes! Great review of the AT, Thanks!