The Honda Africa Twin is a legend in the adventure motorcycle world, renowned for its incredible blend of off-road prowess, long-distance touring comfort, and Honda’s famous reliability. For U.S. riders, it’s the ultimate tool for exploring everything from interstate highways to challenging dirt roads and remote trails. It comes in different versions, allowing riders to pick the Africa Twin that best suits their kind of adventure.
Purpose-Built Design for Global Exploration
The Africa Twin’s design is inspired by rally-raid bikes, emphasizing durability and functionality:
- Aggressive, Slim Profile: Its lean bodywork and rally-style fairing make it easy to move around on the bike, which is crucial for off-road riding. The stance is tall, giving excellent ground clearance for obstacles.
- Dual Headlights: Distinctive LED dual headlights give it a unique face and provide excellent illumination.
- Variants for Different Adventures:
- Africa Twin (Standard): This model is more focused on serious off-road riding with a 21-inch front wheel and long-travel suspension, making it ideal for dirt enthusiasts. It typically has a shorter, rally-style windscreen.
- Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES: This version is geared more towards long-distance touring and on-road comfort. It features a larger fuel tank, a more protective adjustable windscreen, heated grips, an aluminum rear carrier, and often electronically controlled suspension (ES) for easy adjustments on the fly. It typically uses a 19-inch front wheel for better on-road stability.
- Spoked Wheels: Both versions come with tough wire-spoked wheels, which are better at absorbing impacts on rough terrain than cast wheels.
Powerful and Refined Parallel-Twin Engine
At the heart of the Africa Twin is a robust and smooth liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine:
- 1083cc Unicam® Parallel-Twin: This engine is designed to deliver strong, usable torque across the entire RPM range, making it equally comfortable cruising on the highway or crawling over technical terrain. It produces around 100.6 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 77.4 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm.
- Throttle By Wire (TBW): This electronic throttle system provides precise control and allows for multiple riding modes.
- Manual or Automatic DCT Transmission: A key differentiator for the Africa Twin is the choice between a conventional 6-speed manual transmission or Honda’s sophisticated Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT). The DCT offers seamless, automatic shifting for effortless cruising, but also allows for manual gear selection via paddle shifters on the handlebar, providing the best of both worlds. Recent DCT updates offer even smoother low-speed operation.
Advanced Electronics and Chassis for All Terrains
The Africa Twin is packed with advanced technology to manage its power and enhance safety across diverse conditions:
- 6-Axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU): This clever sensor constantly monitors the bike’s lean angle, pitch, and roll, allowing the electronic systems to react intelligently.
- Riding Modes: Multiple selectable riding modes (Tour, Urban, Gravel, Off-Road, and two customizable User modes) adjust power delivery, engine braking, traction control, and ABS settings to optimize performance for different situations.
- Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC): This traction control system helps manage rear wheel spin, especially useful on loose surfaces.
- Wheelie Control: Helps keep the front wheel down during hard acceleration.
- Cornering ABS: The Anti-lock Braking System is optimized for cornering, allowing for safe and controlled braking even when the bike is leaned over. It also typically offers a setting to turn off rear ABS for off-road riding.
- Long-Travel Suspension: The standard Africa Twin features a fully adjustable 45mm inverted Showa fork with generous travel (around 9.0 inches) and a Pro-Link rear shock (around 8.7 inches of travel). The Adventure Sports ES models often come with Showa EERA® Electronic Suspension, allowing for easy adjustments to damping and preload with the push of a button.
- Cruise Control: Standard on all Africa Twin models, a welcome feature for long highway stretches.
- Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™: Full integration with your smartphone (requires a Bluetooth headset) allows access to navigation, music, and calls directly through the bike’s display.
- 6.5-inch TFT Touchscreen Display: A large, clear full-color touchscreen provides all ride information and allows for intuitive control of the electronic systems.
Fuel Economy (MPG)
The Honda Africa Twin, despite its large engine and capability, offers respectable fuel economy for an adventure bike:
- Riders typically report real-world fuel economy figures of 40-45 miles per gallon (MPG).
- The standard Africa Twin has a 5.0-gallon fuel tank, while the Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES boasts a larger 6.6-gallon fuel tank, providing an extended cruising range (often well over 200 miles, and over 300 miles for the ES model), perfect for remote adventures.
Price in the U.S.A. (MSRP)
The Honda Africa Twin lineup offers various models with different features and price points. For 2025 Honda Africa Twin models, the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) typically starts around $14,799 for the standard Africa Twin with a manual transmission.
Prices for other variants are as follows:
- Africa Twin DCT: Starting around $15,599
- Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES: Starting around $17,599
- Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT: Starting around $18,399
These MSRPs do not include destination charges (which are typically around $775), dealer preparation fees, sales tax, title, or registration fees, which will vary by state and dealership. Special paint colors may also add to the cost.
The Honda Africa Twin continues to be a top contender in the adventure segment for U.S. riders, offering a compelling package of power, advanced technology, comfort, and undeniable off-road capability, making it ready for virtually any road or trail you can throw at it.