Those who purchased a new Africa Twin
Discussion
Ignoring price for a minute, if you were going to choose a middleweight ADV bike, would you go for the AT again, or something similar from a different manufacturer, like the BMW 850GS, KTM 790/1090, or the Triumph Tiger 800?
I know the ridiculously good PCP deal is what drive a lot of the interest, but put that aside for a minute.
I know the ridiculously good PCP deal is what drive a lot of the interest, but put that aside for a minute.
I'd buy it again. BMWs are great but have no soul (dull sounding engines), KTMs are great bikes but appear plagued with reliability issues. The Tiger has never really taken my fancy. If I don't get the Desert Sled as my second bike, was on half a mind getting a nice used AT and keeping it for roadwork only.
Bob_Defly said:
Ignoring price for a minute, if you were going to choose a middleweight ADV bike, would you go for the AT again,.
No I wouldn't.Don't get me wrong it's a great bike but after a year and a half of ownership i'm bored with it.
I don't find it overly comfy and it definitely lacks a few horses,all imho of course and there will be plenty on here who disagree.
I know you said ignore the price, but I got mine purely because of the price.
My bike before was a 70,000 mile 2004 R1200GS which whilst was utterly reliable was in need of updating.
I’d of loved a 2018 R1200GS or maybe a GSA.
I ended up with a 2018 AT Adventure Sport because it was about 6k cheaper.
Would I buy another, well I’m only 3-4 months into ownership but I use it most days and have a dash into Europe a few months ago. Can’t fault it, but I’d prob go for a 1200/1250 GS in a couple of years time just because I enjoy that bike/engine so much.
Doesn’t really help, sorry
My bike before was a 70,000 mile 2004 R1200GS which whilst was utterly reliable was in need of updating.
I’d of loved a 2018 R1200GS or maybe a GSA.
I ended up with a 2018 AT Adventure Sport because it was about 6k cheaper.
Would I buy another, well I’m only 3-4 months into ownership but I use it most days and have a dash into Europe a few months ago. Can’t fault it, but I’d prob go for a 1200/1250 GS in a couple of years time just because I enjoy that bike/engine so much.
Doesn’t really help, sorry
Bob_Defly said:
Ignoring price for a minute, if you were going to choose a middleweight ADV bike, would you go for the AT again, or something similar from a different manufacturer, like the BMW 850GS, KTM 790/1090, or the Triumph Tiger 800?
I know the ridiculously good PCP deal is what drive a lot of the interest, but put that aside for a minute.
Price aside, no I'd try something else. KTM is just cooler - I parked next to one in a work car park and definitely felt I had the poorer end of the deal. However, the price last year was great and drove my decision. I use the bike to get to and from the train station rather than using a car. It's not a glamorous purpose so I don't need a glamorous bike; I want it to start and stop reliably which are good Honda attributes.I know the ridiculously good PCP deal is what drive a lot of the interest, but put that aside for a minute.
Slightly off topic, I'm not impressed with the durability; it's probably cosmetic only, but still not great. The wheels corroding we all know about (my claim is logged and waiting for new ones to turn up), but many of the exposed fixings such bolts holding panels look a bit the worse for wear.
I love my adventure sports - I've always had sports bikes and bought this as I the London ULEZ thing is fast approaching and I wanted something cheap/fun to replace my old Fireblade with.
I cant compare it to the Fireblade but it is a fun bike to ride, suspension out the box is soft so I need to get it tweaked to suit me but instead of the odd trackday I just go out & do a bit of green laning which is great fun, OEM tyres are crap in mud.
Motorways I cruise along around 85mph, I'm high up and I can go anywhere, do anything its great - filtering is just as good as smaller bikes really as the bars are higher than most car mirrors so you can just fly through.
Good wind protection from the screen and the wider tank & good ground clearance. The adventure sports model sits 20mm higher than the normal africa twin and also has bar risers, plus a few other little bits.
OEM hanguards are crap, 1 little drop or catch 1 on the back of a lorry like i did at around 2mph they snap so I've fitted some Barkbuster guards (metal frames).
No regrets from me but I will be changing the exhaust and adding a 'Rapid Bike' tuner box to give it a bit more ooomph which is what the demo bike I rode had and felt a fair bit pokier.
You can by better spec'd/equipped bikes but Im happy with what I paid/got.
I cant compare it to the Fireblade but it is a fun bike to ride, suspension out the box is soft so I need to get it tweaked to suit me but instead of the odd trackday I just go out & do a bit of green laning which is great fun, OEM tyres are crap in mud.
Motorways I cruise along around 85mph, I'm high up and I can go anywhere, do anything its great - filtering is just as good as smaller bikes really as the bars are higher than most car mirrors so you can just fly through.
Good wind protection from the screen and the wider tank & good ground clearance. The adventure sports model sits 20mm higher than the normal africa twin and also has bar risers, plus a few other little bits.
OEM hanguards are crap, 1 little drop or catch 1 on the back of a lorry like i did at around 2mph they snap so I've fitted some Barkbuster guards (metal frames).
No regrets from me but I will be changing the exhaust and adding a 'Rapid Bike' tuner box to give it a bit more ooomph which is what the demo bike I rode had and felt a fair bit pokier.
You can by better spec'd/equipped bikes but Im happy with what I paid/got.
I enjoy mine, does what it says on the tin.Mine is a 67 plate close on 28k miles now after a bargain 0 percent pcp purchase. It has done multiple tours in europe and performed brilliantly.
People who purchased it because it was cheap and don't need it for the job it was designed will say not to bother I am sure, but depending on your usage it is a brilliant bike.
People who purchased it because it was cheap and don't need it for the job it was designed will say not to bother I am sure, but depending on your usage it is a brilliant bike.
Rawwr said:
It was my first adventure bike. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep it until it falls apart.
Same, I want 120k miles out of this thing, will be time to trade it in for the next one then.Edited by supercommuter on Friday 30th November 09:42
bladerrw said:
Supercommuter - How's the finish standing up on yours? I seem to recall you were going to give us some pictures a while back. I enjoyed your write up of the CB500X progress.
I will clean it up and add the detail to the Africa twin PCP thread when i get a chance.That said, I thought the corrosion was average, the oem exhaust mountains were rusted massively and there is some surface corrosion on the nuts and bolts. But i will have a proper look at the weekend
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