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How the NC stacks up against the Africa twin.

I just saw an African Twin in person for the first time yesterday. My dealer in Searcy Arkansas has one sitting on the showroom floor. Its the red white and blue version. It's a nice looking bike but I'd hate to buy a bike like that and only use it to commute to work. I'd like to see one with the grey color scheme. I may change my mind if I saw one of those. LOL!. Unfortunately for the AT, there was a VFR1200 sitting right next to it. That is a beautiful bike. One the other side of the AT was a CBR1000RR and for the first time in my life I was not interested in the CBR. I hate going to the dealer. Makes me want to spend money.
 
" Its the red white and blue version"
How'd that end up here in US?
We're not supposed to get the Tri-color AT.
Do you recall if it was a manual or DCT?
 
Old Can Ride said:
Now how do you explain traction control?

[video=youtube;VA4W84NZO54]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA4W84NZO54[/video]
Click to expand...

Thx, now we know the AT can be used as a snow plow.
Too bad, it's been several years we saw snow in Gawja!:(
 
happy said:
I am not sure if anyone asked this question.
Can a DCT AT pop a wheelie?



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Click to expand...
Supposed to be able to. With TC OFF and "G" mode on. But once the front wheel is in the air and the front and rear wheel are spinning at different speeds the DCT will not shift up. So you're stuck in what ever gear you were in at the start of said wheelie. At least this is what I've read. I personally have not tried, nor do I plan on trying.

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DCTFAN said:
" Its the red white and blue version"
How'd that end up here in US?
We're not supposed to get the Tri-color AT.
Do you recall if it was a manual or DCT?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it was red, white, and blue. It definitely had white and red. It was a manual. I just pulled up the website and looked at their current stock. It is red, white, and black. I must be going color blind. It is selling for $12,999
 
Old Can Ride said:
Like always the USA is the last to get any new bike that Honda comes out with. In the USA the DCT version with the Dakar paint is just about impossible to find at the present time. I have only seen one person in Califonia who has gotten a Dakar DCT. The dealer has called an offered me a manual shift with the Dakar and Silver DCT, but NO DCT Dakar has arrived at either of the dealerships I have contacts with. Looks like later than sooner.
Click to expand...

If your dealers loved you, they'd swap the Dakar parts onto the DCT.....;)
 
I now have almost 6000kms on my AT. All is going well so far. There are a couple of issues with spoke corrosion. My front wheel spokes are showing a little corrosion but I am applying AC50 for now and will watch that space. Some folks hate the seat and others love it. Heavier folks have an issue with the shock not being strong enough. I am getting by for now with mine but I am also watching that space. One or two have notchy manual gearboxes. Mine showed slight symptoms of that in the early mileage but it gradually disappeared and is now very smooth in changes. Petrol consumption for me continues around 55/58 miles per Imperial gallon. I ride briskly using engine torque, and keep up good corner speeds rather than rev hard between bends and brake hard.

My biggest issue right now is with the Tyres. They are Dunlop D610's. They are made in Japan as opposed to our European Dunlops which are made by Goodyear. I can now say that they are possibly the worst set of tyres I have ever had on a motorcycle, particularly the rear one, and in the wet. Lots of others have these issues with them also. The slipping and sliding in wet weather is quite incredible. Even in a straight line and bolt upright yesterday on damp/wet roads I had the rear spinning several times on no more than 3/4 throttle. I have almost given up using the rear brake in the wet as the consequences could be disastrous . I thought Z8's were poor on the NC, but these 610's have brought poor OEM tyres to a new level of incompetence. I am now taking them off, to be replaced with Pirelli MT90's as were on my original KTM 950. Can't wait !!

Otherwise this is a gem of a bike.
 
Just got mine on Saturday, some observations: Agree that it puts a lot of heat on the rider, mostly on the legs, more than my NCX ever did. The bars are a little low for me, but I raised them on the NCX too, so personal preference? Definitely miss the frunk already. Going from a manual to a DCT took all of about 5 minutes to get used to for me, and so far I love it. It doesnt always put itself in the gear I would have chosen, but I just let it do its thing and dont care too much, as that was kinda the whole point to me. Everything on this bike just oozes with quality, I've never owned something so nice. Little things like the brake lever being on a splined shaft making position adjustments a breeze, to the dash controls being on the handlebars, etc. I just feel like this is a premium bike, where the NCX was a budget bike. But thats not to knock the NCX, I fully expected to own that bike for years. But I spent a lot of time an effort trying to make it into something that it wasnt, whereas the Africa Twin seems at this point at least to be everything I want in a bike right out of the gate.
 
dduelin said:
I'm glad for you OCR and all those waiting on affected models.
Click to expand...

To be quite honest Dave, watching your approach to mounting a motorcycle is one of the main reasons I purchased the Africa Twin. With my short inseam, and the way I have always mounted a motorcycle, there was just no way I could have mounted the Africa Twin. At Daytona this year, I tried your mounting approach on an Africa Twin and BINGO I saw the light. I will no longer be able to use a driver's backrest, but I can now mount the Africa Twin. So, Thanks!
 
Does Dave have any other mounting positions, for other twins?

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Haha, I didn't know it, but I love the Twin. We're talking motorcycles right?

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I got a chance to demo ride a DCT Africa Twin today. There was a short solo ride and a long two-up ride. Total distance was about 70 miles.

Good points:
The rear suspension was a bit soft, but in a way I would want a dirt bike to feel. With the preload cranked up in the back, hauling a passenger, but with no luggage, it handled some rough road sections very well. Handling was neutral and predictable in any situations. Wind management with the small windscreen was surprisingly good. The AT handled a passenger OK but I would consider it a solo bike. I did experience the DCT feature of it holding a lower gear on a steep downhill for engine braking. Speaking of braking, the brakes were very good.

Bad points:
I think the exhaust is louder than it needs to be. The extra noise (over what an NC has) served no purpose for me. Engine heat was baking my lower legs. Granted, it was a hot day, but this was not a problem on the 1200X I rode the day before, nor has it ever been noticed on the NC700. The engine seems buzzy and somewhat unrefined, almost like a single cylinder. Things did smooth out above 70mph. Now, I don't ride briskly, but the DCT in Drive mode was pretty worthless. S1 was reasonable but it still bogged down at times. Despite the larger engine, the AT has lower gearing than the NC, which is probably to serve well in dirt.

Unlike the VFR1200X (a big boy's and girl's bike), flat footing the Africa Twin with my 32 inch inseam was no problem at all.

The bike I rode had DCT and I don't care for it. I can understand the appeal of DCT, but it's not for me. I yearned for a clutch lever to smooth out the ride.

image.jpg
 

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Interesting to hear someone's first impressions now that I have 6000kms on my base model.

I totally agree with regard to the shock. It is actually proving to be undersprung and under damped. I will get by for now but I am already using 90% of the preload and rebound damping settings with light solo loading totalling 96kg. As I say I will get by but only riding solo. I agree that it is not really a two up bike but is well capable of carrying a pillion in reasonable comfort.

Yes indeed the exhaust is quite loud. One or two folks have commented on that. I am ok with it as my NC was too quiet and as a result I had some close shaves approaching cyclists from behind because they did not hear me coming.

I don't actually find mine buzzy. In fact it is considerably smoother than my NC was. It is quite possible though that the one you tested was in need of service as some owners have reported vibes on their bikes.

I can't comment on the DCT aspect as I only ever rode a NC750DCT. However I did like that version and have not discounted owning a DCT bike into the future.
 
Griff said:
I don't actually find mine buzzy. In fact it is considerably smoother than my NC was. It is quite possible though that the one you tested was in need of service as some owners have reported vibes on their bikes.
Click to expand...

Griff, your comments stirred my thoughts on vibration comparisons. The AT I test rode definitely shook and buzzed more than my long time NC700X. However, I now own two NCs that were probably built within a day or two of each other (serials 192 apart). Both bikes are properly maintained, yet the engines have a different character. So I wouldn't be surprised if the ATs and NCs both have variations amongst units.

The official Honda demo bikes mostly had about 700 miles on them. They are likely performing just as they left the factory.
 
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Well I'm the middle of a real bike test, riding the AT from GA to UT and back. Not just the mileage but all kinds of different terrain were tested.
I put new Sinko 705's for the trip. Tomorrow I'll be in Moab.
387361309b2794ff4f2ddf5c64af4b8f.jpg


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