VOLUME 57 ISSUE 25 JUNE 23, 2020 P65
For this year, however, the
two Africa Twins have been
separated further, with the base
model now a much sportier off-
road prospect and the Adven-
ture sports, further aligned with
its touring persona.
The base model comes
standard with a five-gallon gas
tank; compact, rally-style body-
work with a short, fixed screen;
skinny hand guards; revised
fully adjustable suspension and
tubed, spoked wheels off-road
riders will love.
The Adventure Sports comes
with a host of goodies including
three-stage cornering lights;
a 6.5-gallon gas tank; wider
front fairing compared to the
base model; tubeless spoked
wheels; a tall, adjustable wind-
screen; rear luggage rack and
larger skid plate; a lower seat
height compared to the 2019
AS; heated grips and an acces-
sory charger as standard.
UNDER THE HOODS
Both the $14,399 (base) and
$17,199 (non-DCT) Adventure
Sports have come in for fairly
significant overhauls for 2020.
At the heart of both machines is
a new 1084cc (formerly 998cc)
parallel-twin engine. The in-
creased displacement arrives
via a 6.5mm longer stroke with
a claimed six percent increase
in power (although Honda
won't say how much that power
actually is). Inside there are new
pistons, crank and cams with
longer intake and exhaust valve
lifts (the intake is up from 9.2mm
to 10.1mm while the exhaust is in-
creased from 8.6mm to 9.3mm).
Up top, the throttle body
has grown two millimeters in
diameter to 46mm, the intake
has been straightened up for a
smoother air tract and the ECU
gets new fuel injector settings
to help smooth out the initial
throttle response.
There's so much
going on in the
dash, Honda can
be forgiven for
a slightly clunky
design. It's a
good stab at
it but could be
better.
