Motorcycle news outlets are reporting that Honda is working on a smaller displacement Africa Twin. The speculation is that it will use a modified engine from the Honda NC750. Here is one rendering of what it might look like.
I’m all for more choices so this is great news. Hopefully Honda will make it competitive with the KTM 790 and Yamaha 700 Tenere in terms of weight and performance.
Cycle World recently reviewed Honda’s new do-it-all dirt bike, the CRF450RX. You can read the article here. I found the opening paragraphs of the review to be particularly interesting. “Has there been a better time to be an off-road rider? Gone … Continue reading →
Having managed our expectations about this Cycle World article by previously re-writing the title in plain English – Sub-1200cc Heavyweight Adventure Dirt Road Shootout – we are now prepared to discuss some of the particulars of the article. Our goal … Continue reading →
You’ve been wishing, hoping, praying, and hollering for the Japanese to come out with a modern 450 dual sport bike. You swore that if they would just make it, you would buy it. Your wish has been answered – today … Continue reading →
In the first part of this multi-part post, we began exploring a question asked on advrider.com as to whether European bikes are worth the premium over Japanese bikes. We established that the Europeans don’t make a 400-500cc dual sport bike … Continue reading →
With the addition of the Husqvarna 701 Enduro to my stable I decided to sell my beloved Honda XR650L. Goodbye you big red pig – you were a great bike.
Many of the counties in the western half of the Texas hill country are sparsely populated, which means the counties don’t have a very large tax base. Consequently, many county roads are not only dirt, but are only sporadically maintained. It’s … Continue reading →
It has been a few years since the last Texas Adventure Ride (TAR) in Junction, TX. With the formation of the Texas Adventure Riders Association in January 2017, I added TAR back to the event calendar for this year. About … Continue reading →
Like all motorcycles, the Honda XR650L has some known weak points. One of which is the countershaft / front sprocket contact area. There are issues with the OEM sprocket that XRL owners have been using workarounds to solve since Big … Continue reading →
The Husky TE610/630 are the finest 6xx class dual sport motorcycles ever produced. Unfortunately, Husky discontinued the TEs in 2012, with no replacement in sight. However, the Honda XR650L is still available and it is a surprisingly good platform for a … Continue reading →
“Get Ready for True Adventure Some bikes are total game changers. And that’s the perfect description of Honda’s all-new Africa Twin®.
Project XR650L Adventure is complete. Was it successful? With all the changes I made Is Big Red a better dual sport adventure bike? Read the verdict here.
I have recently completed the final upgrades and modifications to my XR650L. You can read about them here.
I finished Project XR650L Adventure just in time for a 7 day, 1400 mile recon of the mountains in Mexico south of Ciudad Victoria. Here is Big Red, packed and ready to go.
One of my goals for Big Red (my Honda XR650L) was to get a little more power out of the engine and to improve the transmission. When I bought the bike it was pretty slow – probably from 22,000 miles of engine wear leading … Continue reading →