The Honda Adventure Bike That Leads The Luxury Segment In Reliability

Big bikes are luxury products, there’s no two ways about it. That means large profit margins, and that’s alright because that has always been the way of luxury. But to be a luxury product, you need to wow the prospective customers first, second, and third. So the designers of these products make sure these items look snazzy, have a ton of cool features, and performance that will put a grin on your face every time you goose the throttle.

However, the world’s biggest two-wheeler manufacturer chooses not to play the luxury game for the most part. Not that it cannot – the Gold Wing is a shining example of its capabilities – but it prefers to be a logical choice as well as an emotional one for most of its products. It’s the same with its adventure bike offerings, right up to its largest, most powerful ADV. This also happens to be the Honda adventure bike that leads the luxury segment in reliability.

To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from authoritative sources such as Honda Powersports.

The Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Leads The Luxury Segment In Reliability

Price: $18,399

It isn’t usual that a luxury product remains the same for more than a few years. But the Africa Twin got its last big mechanical update in 2020 – five years ago! Since then, its bones have been used for another touring bike, the NT1100, which shares the frame and driveline with the Africa Twin. The Africa Twin Adventure Sports in particular is also a touring bike, but with the chops to go off-road should the occasion call for it. It is equipped with electronic suspension from Showa that adjusts automatically to the situation if left to its own devices. In addition, it has a six-axis IMU, tubeless spoke rims, cornering headlamps, a large TFT color touchscreen display with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. If that isn’t luxury, then we don’t know what is!

Why We Picked The Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT

• It is the pinnacle of Honda’s adventure bike range
• Electronic suspension is automatically adjustable
• Dual-clutch automatic gearbox is unique in the segment
• Touchscreen TFT display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Enough performance despite the low-ish peak power figure

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Engine

Reliability Coupled With Enough Performacne

There are bike manufacturers who want their massive adventure motorcycles to be capable of achieving a hundred and plenty miles an hour, but Honda knows that a tourer realistically isn’t going to do that. The Africa Twin is capable of 100 miles an hour, and that is enough for a tourer. It has focused on delivering torque from its 270 degree parallel twin engine instead. That is why it makes ‘just’ 100 horsepower from 1,084 cc. The torque figure is a more respectable 85 pound-feet at a low 5,500 revs.

This is the only engine in the segment to offer a true automatic gearbox. Sure, the BMW R 1300 GS now offers an automated manual, but not only is it a $5,000 optional extra, the Honda uses a dual clutch setup for much less. Honda has thought of everything, giving the gearbox a ‘G Switch’ with the last update of the Africa Twin. This allows the gearbox to slip the clutch for better control at walking speeds.

Of course, there is also Sport mode, and manual control via buttons on the left handlebar, or an optional foot shifter. This coupled with the by wire throttle and six-axis IMU offer cruise control, traction control, ride modes, power modes, and wheelie control – everything you get in a luxury adventure bike. However, since this driveline hasn’t changed in five years, and it powers multiple models, you can be assured it won’t break easily or at all. A six-speed manual gearbox is also available for those who want to row through the gearbox themselves.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Engine Specifications

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Chassis

Just As Reliable As The Driveline

The Africa Twin’s chassis is surprisingly sophisticated given its price point – this is a semi-double cradle frame, which means it won’t balk at dealing with off-road conditions. A steel subframe offers better strength to deal with the load a pillion and luggage, and an aluminum swingarm reduces unsprung mass for a better ride. Not that it needs much help: the electronic suspension has been developed by Showa, and it allows you to set the rear preload at the touch of a button.

The brakes have wave discs, which help with better heat dissipation – no doubt a nod to the extra weight the massive 6.6 gallon fuel tank will haul when full. The six-axis IMU allows for cornering ABS, and the rear ABS can be turned off. A more tarmac-friendly 19-inch front wheel is present as part of the latest update, making this a rare 19/18-inch wheel diameter combination. The smaller front rim has lowered the front of the Africa Twin Adventure Sports, making the weight bias better for tarmac, and lowering the seat height.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Chassis Specs And Dimensions

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Features

Luxurious? Why, Certainly!

Honda hasn’t pulled many punches with the features list for the Africa Twin Adventure Sports. We know it has quite a lot of components in the Gold Wing parts bin, but there is a different set of features available to the Africa Twin Adventure Sports. It starts with a 6.5-inch TFT touchscreen display equipped with wireless Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay. There is also a simple LCD below that displays information like the speed, which should help in the unlikely event of the TFT failing.

The only place we can really nitpick is here in the features list: for a luxurious adventure bike, an engine skid plate should be standard. It’s the same with the center stand. A long trip is what the Africa Twin Adventure Sports’ massive 6.6 gallon fuel tank suggests it is made for. The driveline is ridiculously efficient, especially in automatic form, so you can expect some of the longest one-tank distances ever from a Japanese motorcycle from this one. On the options list are other luxurious items like heated grips, hard luggage, and enduro-style or comfort footpegs, depending on your usage and preference.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES Notable Features

• 6.5 inch TFT color touchscreen display
• Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Electronic suspension
• Six axis IMU
• ABS that can be switched off at the rear
• Cruise control
• Dual clutch automatic gearbox with ‘G Switch’
• Cornering headlamps
• Adjustable windscreen
• Massive 6.6 gallon fuel tank

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Competition

No Shortage Of Luxurious Competition

The one thing to keep in mind here is price. The Africa Twin Adventure Sports is the most affordable product here by a significant margin, even with the automatic gearbox. The closest in price is the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, but when you spec it with the electronic suspension and spoke wheels, the $19,999 base price goes up to $22,199. These additions are necessary to bring it on an even footing with the Honda. The KTM 1290 Super Adventure S is a more reasonable $20,999, but it focuses a little more on performance than it does luxury.

Finally, there is the segment leader, the BMW R 1300 GS Adventure with a base price of $23,645, but that balloons to $28,390 when you spec it with the automatic gearbox. It even has on the options list a semi-active electronic suspension that automatically lowers. Still, this is the only other fully automatic option among the full-size adventure bikes, and coupled with its shaft drive, unique suspension and engine layout, high power output, and electronics package, it could be viewed as worth it.

There are no such illusions with the Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally, which just states that it will command the highest price here by virtue of the brand and the tech it throws into it, like a V4 engine with a counter-rotating crankshaft, rear cylinder deactivation, radar that faces both at the front and the rear for adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring, and the only other semi-active suspension besides the Harley. The Harley lowers itself at walking speeds to make slow-speed maneuvers easier; the Ducati does this and reduces the rear preload to the minimum when parked to make it easy to get it off the side stand as well.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT Vs Rivals