Hardcore Honda Africa Twin Coming Soon

It seems like entry level adventure bikes are going to be the hottest topic at the upcoming 2017 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, next month. Triumph Motorcycles teased the upcoming new Tiger last week, while BMW Motorrad followed suit by giving us a glimpse of the new BMW F850GS. Ducati has already announced that it will be riding in five new bikes, which will also include the new Multistrada 950. 

Now, Honda has joined the bandwagon as it will launch a new version of the Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin at EICMA 2017. There is no official announcement about the name of the new bike but it has been given an affectionate nickname of Honda Africa Twin “Big Tank”.

The new motorcycle is expected to have a fuel tank capacity of 22 litres as compared to the 18.8 litres of the standard bike. It will be a more hardcore off-road version of the Africa Twin, designed to compete against the BMW R1200GS Adventure and the Triumph Tiger Explorer. The new bike will be based on the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept which was showcased at the 2016 Osaka Motorcycle Show. It will feature better suspension parts including USD front forks with longer travel, new spoke wheels with knobby off-road tyres and a more robust bash plate to safeguard the powertrain. 

It is also expected that the bike will feature a flatter saddle and from the teaser image we can see crash guard around the body panels. Powering the new bike will be the same 999cc, liquid-cooled, twin-cylinder engine that develops 88.3PS of power and 92Nm of peak torque for the Indian market. 

More details about the bike will emerge from the 2017 EICMA motorcycle show. We will be covering live from the event so make sure you follow ZigWheels for all the latest updates.