Honda’s new CRF1000L adventure bike has been a hit and now it seems an Africa Twin Rally production version is about to hit the market with more power and less weight.
It was first shown at the Milan motorcycle show in November as the Enduro Sports model.
Now it has appeared in Italy as a production version Africa Twin Rally.
There is no word on when it will be available in other markets, but we suspect it won’t be long given the huge success of the model.
In Australia, the Africa Twin skyrocketed to the top of the adventure market last year with 740 sales.
It smashed the budget Suzuki DR650E (529 sales) and Kawasaki KLR650 (388) and sold almost as many as the ever-popular BMW R 1200 GS and GSA put together.
That’s despite early problems with supply when the Kumamoto factory in Japan, where they are made, was damaged in an April earthquake.
The Honda Africa Twin Rally features plenty of carbon fibre and has a lighter LED rally headlight so it’s 7kg lighter than the standard model.
The Euro4 engine has 4kW extra at 74kW, so power-to-weight ratio is improved.
Rally means tougher so it is has billet aluminium triple clamps, crash guards, and skid plate, and a beefier radiator and fan guards.
Other features are: a Termignoni exhaust, aluminium navigation holder, off-road seat, aluminium wheel rims, rally suspension, anodised forks, braided steel brake lines, enduro tyres, enduro footpegs, and an electronic rewritable ECU.
It may be lighter in weight, but it will no doubt be heavier on the purse.
In Europe, the standard manual transmission model costs €15,650, but the Rally is €21,490. The dual clutch transmission price is normally €16,800, but the Rally version is €22,640.
In Australia, they sell for $15,499 (manual), $16,999 (ABS), $17,999 (DCT) plus non-road costs. So the Rally version is expected to be over $20,000.
We await confirmation from Honda Australia on its arrival and will update this article when they reply.