with three sportier shift levels for
more aggressive riding. These
modes also affect the amount of
engine brake you get—the more
aggressive the mode, the more
engine brake you receive.
The manual mode allows you
to change gears via the shift
paddles on the left handlebar,
much like in a Tiptronic car, and
is the mode I admittedly spent
the most time in, although even
that had its surprises.
The Africa Twin is also re
-
sponsible for the NT's chassis,
but it's not entirely identical. The
steel semi-double-cradle main
frame is the same, but there's
a shorter wheelbase thanks to
a different swingarm, a slightly
steeper rake angle of 26.5° com
-
pared to the AT's 27° for sharper
tarmac steering, and a 1.5-inch
lower seat height at 32.3 inches.
By keeping the MSRP be
-
low $12,000, Honda has fitted
Showa suspension that can be
adjusted only by way of pre
-
load, both front and rear. Dual
four-piston Nissin front brake
calipers grip 310mm discs with
cornering ABS up front, while a
single-piston caliper squeezes a
256mm disc at the back. Top
-
ping the hardware off are the
17-inch wheels wrapped in either
Metzeler Roadtecs or Dunlop
Sportmax tires—both are sup-
plied as OEM equipment.
We had a couple of acces-
sories fitted to our test bike, in-
cluding the 32- and 33-liter side
cases and inner bags, and these
bumped the as-tested MSRP up
to $13,258.10. But, hey, if you're
buying one of these, you'd be
mad not to get the side cases
with it at purchase.
Soft suspension
means you need to be
gentle under brakes,
but do so, and the
NT will do its best
naked-bike sporty
impression. It's
surprisingly nimble
given its size.
VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P123
