Smaller Honda Africa Twin In The Works

Published December 8, 2017
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The bike could possibly employ a 650-750cc engine and could make its debut at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show

We, at Zigwheels, have over the time emphasised the need for mid-capacity adventure bikes in India and it’s heartwarming to witness some progress in that segment this year. For instance, Triumph has been doing great with the Tiger 800 and BMW is also likely to ride in the F 850 GS to India next year. And now, it looks like Honda is eager to jump on the bandwagon too, with an exciting, smaller Honda Africa Twin.

Honda Africa Twin is a very popular off-road tourer but its size and power isn’t quite palpable for novice riders. New riders need something friendlier, lighter and more affordable. Honda’s Large Project Leader for the Africa Twin, Kenji Morita, accepted that they lack pure adventure bikes and as to how they are thinking of getting a “half-way model” in to attract young or A2 riders.

Developing a new engine would obviously be very expensive. Moreover, it doesn’t make sense because Honda already has a 750cc parallel-twin that currently does duty on the NC750X. Employing this engine will allow the bike to be accessible to a bigger market while also making the optimum use of Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission. However, this doesn’t really make for a small capacity Africa Twin. Hence, Honda could also possibly bring an Africa Twin with a 650cc engine like in the XRV650.

However, with the KTM 790 Adventure and the BMW F 850 GS lurking around the corner and Triumph’s Tiger 800 range out there now, Honda would have to roll up its sleeves and get to work to make the most out of this currently trending segment. The next Tokyo Motor Show is a good target with it being still almost a good two long years away. A concept of a smaller Africa Twin could get all the attention to help Honda become the talk of the town in 2019. We do hope that the new Honda Africa Twin comes soon as its elder sibling had us impressed and the new bike is expected to follow its footsteps.