Dr Tigger's CRF1000 Africa Twin DCT

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The build up to buying the new Africa Twin was a bit of a roller coaster for me. Since first hearing about it and the CRF name I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of the sort of adventure bike I have been droaning on to the other ED Riders through my adenoids about for years; i.e. very light with moderate power but torquey from a twin with big wheels; basically a bloody big crosser. I was just as excited when the pictures first came out even if the styling was a tad Honda-ish, i.e. slightly dull..

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I then read the specs; approx 232kg (242kg for the DCT) and only 94bhp. My hopes crashed to the floor, like me after my third half a shandy, that they had clearly made the decision to make the CRF1000 one or two thousand quid cheaper in exchange for not making it 200kg or less. Also opting for a less than 100bhp motor was against the run of the market of recent years; weedy even compared to Triumph, KTM and Ducati. Don't get me wrong, the base price of £10,499 was very competitive compared to its competition (e.g. Triumph Explorer at £12,139, KTM 1190R £13,196, Super Tenere £11,999 and the mortgagely expensive BMW R1200GS & Ducati Multistrada Enduro) but might this be a compromise too far? Despite being a massive Honda fan, having previously bought a new VFR800, CBR1000RR and Varadero I came away from the 2015 bike show wanting a KTM 1190R!

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I was so disappointed I didn't even hurry to get my leg over one for test ride or try the motorcycle. In fact, it wasn't until early 2016 that I finally got round to it. In the end, it turned out to be a demonstrator from Wheels, Peterborough; a black manual with a Remus endcan.......

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All I can say is that whilst I was obviously right I was totally and utterly wrong.

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I stand by my point that the Africa Twin could and should be lighter but it is, without a doubt, the best engineered bike I have ever ridden. Considering its weight and lack of outright power it felt light-ish and has great midrange poke. One sacrifice for this is the near absence of top end go and I kept accidentally banging into the rev limiter on the test ride. On getting back to the show room I found myself unexpectedly needing to discuss sums and decide if I wanted it enough to wait 7 months for the version I desired (a black manual) or snatch the the only opportunity to get one there and then (a red/dakar colour scheme with DCT gearbox due to be returned to Honda after a sale falling through). Umm... errr.... Oh and OBVIOUSLY I considered the impact on my wife an family WAY WAY earlier than all of this other unimportant motorcycling rubbish, honest!

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The long wait, according to a salesman and therefore never the most reliable source of information, is because of an earthquake in Japan affecting production and the sales rate in Europe being 7x what Honda had anticipated, making it the best selling bike in Europe. At the time of writing this (August 2016) there isn't a brand new manual CRF1000 on sale on Autotrader.

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So, on one grey Saturday two weeks later I plunged myself into the unknown by collecting my new red DCT CRF1000 Africa Twin, Eeyore. I called him Eeyore as his original number plate ended in EOR.

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Well the running in was, as it often is, a finger nail pulling process but perhaps more so with this new Africa Twin because of the very clever DCT gearbox. This was because in D (drive) mode the gearbox has a running in mode where it limits the power/strain by changing gears unusually early. This progressively lengthens but painful being in 6th gear at 28mph on riding him home from the dealership. Painful but good I guess? I can't help feeling this was over cautious and running the risk of a tight engine.

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The first thing one notices is the slightly wider handle bars than on many bikes which suits the 'big crosser' idea and feel. The seat, once got used to, is relatively comfortable and the shape almost gives you three different feels depending where on it you sit. Sit in the middle and it feels like you might expect for this sort of bike but slide forward a bit and there is a slight supermoto like quality and if you go wiggle it to the back it widens out into an arse supporting touring seat. This might be an arse size specific thing but I certainly enjoy moving position to suit my riding intention.

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The next thing that pleased me was that he genuinely feels lighter than one might expect given his 242kg weight; even if my 100kg is an insult to the suspension. He turns in swiftly and gives some good confidence with the front although I am unconvinced the standard Dunlop Trailmax tyres are the best one can get. I'll be changing to Bridgestone A40s once I've worn through these. One can certainly notice that the tyres are a tad narrower than some as the front likes to follow gouges out of the tarmac. Despite the weight Eeyore is a doddle to put on the optional extra centre stand (£160 - Honda money grabbing bastards, should be standard). Nevertheless, it's not worth going for an aftermarket option here as they are only slightly cheaper and rarely have the centre of balance just right like the manufacturer's option; it only takes a few kilos of pressure on the back to get the front wheel up for tinkering. This weight can easily be found by hanging a fabric jacket over the grab rail with pockets laiden with wine gums, an empty wallet and ear plugs as mine is.

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I think part of this lighter feel is because the bike is very well balanced, very narrow and compact for a bike in its class. Everything is squished in tightly which makes him one of the fiddliest bikes I've every had to work on; just stringing some extra cabling through him is tricky. The narrowness makes it a sinch for filtering & weaving and almost makes it feel like it's a shame to put panniers on him. I, for one, have resisted so far because I don't want to limit the fun I'm having on him even though top boxes are pretty fugly and he's swish.

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Unfortunately, whilst one can start to have fun on the bike after the first (600mile) service Eeyore didn't really start to come alive until over a thousand miles and I fully expect him to get slightly better over the next several thousand. Maybe the running in was too tame? Having the DCT makes for lightening fast get aways off the line if you're waiting in gear and, as on the test ride, the mid-range grunt is amazing from a mear 94bhp motor. You do have to be careful if you open the throttle and drop a gear because you're doing a ton before you know it; honest Officer. The top end is also the same as the manual I test rode; nigh on non-existent. This isn't a problem if you've had similar or higher powered bikes before but it takes a tweak in your riding style before you're happy and not sounding a plonker in front of your mates by keep running into the rev limiter. Something else to learn to save face is if you're wizzing up through the gears manually. By not having a clutch to operate you effectively have a quickshifter set up and my blipping the throttle, as is hard to avoid initially, when you change up completely upsets the bike. This is easy to adapt to and brilliant once you have.

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Once you've tuned yourself to the engine, the much bigger deal is to tune yourself to the other aspects of the DCT gearbox because, alas, I very much doubt you'll find what you want in just one of the 4 settings. This bloody clever gearbox has D - drive and 3x S - sport settings. Basically, the sportier the option you choose the longer it holds onto gears and the quicker it kicks down when you crank the throttle. The problem is as a human (or a reasonably close approximation in my case) you can need and use all of them and more within seconds and it is not possible or practical to be constantly changing settings in anticipation of this. An example of this is when I ride to work: I'm happy pootling along in a high gear but, when an opportunity to overtake comes, I want to change down a couple of gears instantly, overtake and then be back upto into sixth just as quickly. The only way to do this is to do some gear changing yourself which I anticipated and had the optional foot shifter installed at a shocking £300 including fitting.

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The reason for this is multifold. Firstly, it is natural for my brain to want to change gear with my left foot and secondly, the left hand control cluster is a total disaster; the only bad design on the whole bike. For a start the tiptronic-esque controls are not in an easy to use position; though one could get used to it.

More annoying is the passing light switch has been replaced by the traction control switch and moved to the relatively awkward position of being part of the headlight selector switch. It is difficult to use this now with a usual hand grip position and I mean how important is it to be able to change your traction control settings without looking compared to being able to use your lights at night?!? It certainly isn't going to be a switch you use much and so you will probably need to look for it; not safe.

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I think I'm appropriately annoyed by this but it is shown in relief by the fact that the rest of the bike is designed with such a depth of engineering nouse, although the standard screen is a bit too small for long distance speedy road riding (I've added a Puig screen) as are the handguards, as well as being a tad 'flimsy'. I would also have liked a bigger fuel tank and shaft drive. Anyone who's ridden outside the first world might well think that the extra weight of fuel and shaft drive is a price worth paying as being stranded in the middle of nowhere because the sand in your chain has ground your sprockets away is never the highlight of an adventure trip. Other Honda penny pinching can be seen in providing the space for a 12v socket but requiring you to buy a specially adapted Honda socket at £50, not having a height adjustable seat (low seat is £150, high seat is £300) and built in heated grips are over £300 whereas my Oxford hot grips are just fine and cost £45, thank you very much Mr Honda. I have also added a Denali mini-sound bomb because I just could not find anywhere on the bike to mount the pump unit for the full, 120bd sound bomb. The fairing crash bars and R&G bobbins are to protect the paintwork and the Rugged Road's rectifier protector protects the...                                       ...something or other. (Rectifier? - Ed)

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If I was to be able to buy a new Africa Twin tomorrow, it's not definite I would plump for a manual, despite what I've said, as it is relaxing to stick him in automatic sometimes and I'm currently really starting to get to grips with using the foot shifter and manual mode. The only fly in the ointment would be that the manual gearbox has a slipper clutch and I can only assume the DCT doesn't as I've locked up the back a couple of times already. 

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Nevertheless if I could have any new bike tomorrow it would still be a CRF1000; I have fallen head over heels in love with him.

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Other great features of the CRF1000 I haven't mentioned so far include:

• The excellent as standard adjustable suspension.
• A screen mount that you can mount your SatNav on.
• The front indicators glow as you drive.
• A little box over the battery for your tools to free up vital under seat space.
• An acceptable, if not great, sump guard which is a rarity on 'so called' adventure bikes.
• The option for two sets of crash bars to properly protect your bike (here it is best to go for good quality aftermarket ones).
• The big simple rear ABS off switch.
• A very easy to clean under subframe area.
• The binnacle is very clear and easy to read.
• The start button is also the kill switch so you might not take a bike apart thinking it had a major propblem just because you'd knocked that red one without noticing like I did once.
• It is a Honda.

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If money wasn't the lawful impediment it is I would certainly add some more of the following goodies to Eeyore, some of which I'll be making myself:

• Denali riding lights, D2/D4s.
• The 12v socket.
• Bridgestone A40 tyres.
• Engine crash bars when they become available for the DCT (it is slightly wider).
• A longer chain guard.
• A K&N air filter when it comes to market.
• An aftermarket exhaust to release the rumble better. The Remus end cans look good in carbon fibre.
• Blanking plates for the pillion pegs.
• Headlight protector when a good one comes to market.
• A better, more in keeping, top box and/or very narrow aluminium panniers.

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When it comes to how Eeyore performs off road, which is the all important thing for me as I actually do go offroad, I must say this...          

...I haven't taken him offroad yet. I re-slipped a disc in my back as soon as I finished running him in and am still a tad too broken to try.

UPDATE after 10 months of our relationship:

All of the above is true but time showed me that I was wrong, not Eeyore. The Africa Twin wasn't the machine I really wanted or needed.

If you ride her hard on the road even a semi-competant rider like me can start to feel the limits of its grip and suspension. This isn't a problem because this isn't what she is designed for but I came to realise it is something I need. 

I also realised that, whilst it might be the best off road big bike, I'm just too old, crippled and fat to be doing serious off-roading now and need a comfortable bike with a bit more road bias and grunt that will cope with a little bit of rough stuff when needed. It's all about where on the on-road / off-road spectrum your riding is. An Africa Twin is the perfect bike if you are closer to the off-road end than I am now.

Sorry Eeyore. I hope you have a great life and adventure with your new owner.