More earlier gossip & rumours from September 2014
Africa Twin Rumors
Follow the new Africa Twin rumours.....
The idea of Honda bringing the Africa Twin back to the market has generated an extraordinary amount of posts from motorcycle publications and on motorcycle boards.
The rumors have originated from info on
- “leaked” specifications about this bike
- a patent from Honda on a dual air cleaner system
- Honda’s renewal of U.S. trademark of names of discontinued Honda motorcycles
- an interview with Honda’s head of product planning in Europe
A set of drawings by journalists came out speculating what this motorcycle would look like. Honda recently announced a world premiere of an adventure motorcycle in Germany on September 10th.
We believe the Africa Twin name, with its following and tradition would require something larger than a reveal just a few days before Intermot. But the rumors continue so let’s entertain the possibilities.
Specs: Leaked info for the rumored 2015 (or 2016) Africa Twin
Published by a couple of motorcycle publications in Europe. The info is claimed to be from Honda insiders and supposedly relates to a new Honda Africa Twin:
200kg / 440lbs (fueled) // 180kg / 396lbs (dry)
20L / 5.3 gallon fuel capacity
Parallel twin engine, 1000cc
100hp
250mm / 9.8in suspension
21” front / 17” rear
Offroad-designed ABS brakes
Offroad-designed traction control
The main issue was that it was a parallel twin and no longer a V-twin like the original bike.
Many speculated the proposed 440lbs when fully fueled and ready to ride was not feasible to be achieved for a 1,000cc motorcycle with a 5 gallon tank, packing latest generation electronics and equipped with off road suspension.
Although there is no consensus of what an ideal dual-purpose motorcycle should look like, most everyone agrees lighter is better, and more power is better. Add to this recipe road worthiness/comfort/cargo capacity for long distance travel and we have the holy grail for a boundary expanding new enduro/adventure/dual purpose motorcycle. The specs on this rumored Africa Twin were spot on for most people, if they are feasible to be achieved, that is.
The Air-Cleaner Patent
This is one of the most interesting part of the rumors – Honda’s patent for a new airbox system. It divides the aircleaner/airbox into two elements, one on each side of the bike, flanking the traditional tank/steering. It places the air cleaner where most motorcycles have the overhanging side of tanks. And it opens up space on top of the motor and under the seat (places where the airbox is traditionally located), allowing the heavy fuel to occupy the space in the center of the bike, just above the motor and under the seat. It helps in lowering the center of gravity of the motorcycle for one thing, and it facilitates air cleaner maintenance for another, an important item for off road vehicles. More on this further down this post.
The Interview with a Honda Executive
Exactly a year ago (at the 2013 EICMA meeting in November, Milan) we heard an interview of Moto.IT with Dave Hancock, Honda’s head of product planning and business development of Honda Motor Europe. When asked about the speculated Africa Twin, Mr. Hancock said:
We’ve heard everybody would like to see a new Africa Twin. The official line is we can’t make any comment about any models that we are bringing in the future. But you can probably see by the look on my face that we probably will be thinking about something maybe… I can’t tell you when. But I think you probably will be happy eventually.
This interview leaves no doubt about Honda bringing a new model, one that is based on what the Honda Africa Twin represented.
Trademark on Motorcycle Names
At some point last year Honda renewed (filed) the United States trademarks of names of Honda motorcycles that have been discontinued, among them Elsinore and Africa Twin. These could be routine trademark renewals, with no intention of doing anything about them on the near future. We and most others speculating about an adventure bike from Honda mostly focused on the Africa Twin name. It makes sense in our opinion that it will be called Africa Twin, since the Africa Twin name carries a much larger tradition and following outside of the United States. The name in itself could be the marketing campaign. But we would not be surprised if Honda brings something else to the market, and based on the Elsinore name.
Source for info: I'd Rather Be Riding.
