Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept unveiled

With more and more motorcycle manufacturers jumping into the booming adventure touring fray, it is becoming quite hard to differentiate the real deal from their “R” or “Adventure” versions that sometimes follow along. This trend can be best exemplified by the one that started this whole adventure riding category in the first place, the mighty BMW R1200GS and its derivative R1200 Adventure, a more upmarket tourer with better suspension, bigger fuel tank, and more protection from the elements.

Then there’s Suzuki with their 650 XT V-and the 1000 Adventure V-Strom, the Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally and, more recently, the Multistrada 1200 Enduro from Ducati. Not to mention the wide range of KTM Adventure models. And now, Honda is following suit by unveiling the new Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept at the 2016 Osaka Motorcycle Show held in Japan over the last weekend.

Essentially a more off-road-friendly version of the standard CRF1000L Africa Twin, the Adventure Sports Concept sports the same engine, same chassis, and most of the same bodywork, but turns up the wick in other features. The massive aluminium bellypan is reminiscent of the old NXR750 Paris-Dakar racers and the original Africa Twin, and the rear end is all new. There’s a flatter, motocross-style seat, new tail unit with the 'Adventure Sports' logo that adorned the first-gen Africa Twin proudly on display. A tubular luggage rack and grabrail replace the posh cast alloy versions on the stock bike and there’s an upswept Termignoni pipe to add the right soundtrack. The wire wheels are now shod with knobby wheels, rounding up the dune basher look.

Since it is a concept, Honda has taken off the indicators and the rear-view mirrors but we reckon they will comeback if it makes it into production. The pure first-gen Africa Twin colour scheme could also make a comeback here.

It remains to be seen if this Adventure Sports concept makes its way to the production line. Until then, we have a lot to celebrate as Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has confirmed that the CRF1000L Africa Twin will be assembled in India, thus keeping its price tag down in the country.