Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/680400
HONDA CRF1000L AFRICA TWIN FIRST RIDE P84 can turn torque mode com- pletely off if you want. ABS can also be disabled via a button on the panel and while you're not moving. However, you're only turning the ABS off to the rear wheel, not the front. This a first for a Honda motorcycle and one that I'm beginning to like more and more as I ride more bikes with this feature. I just haven't experienced a real reason yet not to have ABS watching my back full-time up front. The DCT AT also has "S" mode, which stands for "Sport." S mode alters when the transmission shifts and you have three choices: levels one, two and three; level one being the least aggressive (less rev- vy), level three being the most. S mode can be confused with engine-mode features on other bikes, but it's not that at all, it just changes shifting points and has nothing to do with altering the engine's power mannerisms. (Except for the CRF250 and 450Rs, no Honda motorcycle offers en- gine mode.) When you turn off the DCT bike, it defaults to "Conventional" mode, so you have to push a button on the left handlebar to activate S mode every time you start the bike. This is a little annoying, because you'll ride this bike in S mode 99.9 percent of the time because conventional mode is extremely tame and is, for all intents and purpose, "rain" mode. The DCT bike also has G mode, which can be easily be turned on or off on the fly. Turned on, G mode smoothens on/off throttle transition at slow speeds to help eliminate that herky-jerky feel- ing, a common problem with most auto bikes. I found it handy on gravel (hence "G" mode) and in parking lots at walking speeds. Turned off, initial throttle response is quicker, good for off-road riding. After trying many combinations with the DCT bike off-road, I found, for me at least, that Sport-mode 3 and Torque-mode 3 (least intervention), or just turned off completely, with both ABS and G-mode turned off, as well, worked quite well in the dirt. With these settings, you could ride the bike almost like you would the manual version; I could see how DCT could be advantageous on long rides. It reduces the rider's workload a bit and could make things easier on you when you're tired at the end of the day. I was, however, not a fan of Hill Detection. This senses when the bike is being ridden up or down steep grades and adapts gearshift patterns for ascents and/or descents. Uphills seemed okay, but steep downhills, when they were long enough that I actually wanted to open the throttle, the bike wouldn't shift out of first gear and would just rev to the moon. "C'mon, shift!" I guess I could've manually shifted up with the handlebar trigger but I didn't think about doing that until I was back at the hotel. I didn't get a chance to ride the bike again to see if that would've worked. Transmission-wise, you can override everything and manually shift the DCT bike at anytime, or you can switch into full manual mode and do all of the upshifting yourself with the handlebar-mount- ed triggers. (It will still downshift for you even in manual mode, though.) For me, full manual mode was a lot of fun for the street but not as much for the dirt. As mentioned, the AT is not exactly light, but for a 1000cc adventure bike, it's not bad at all. In fact, it feels lighter than its listed 511 pounds, (Top) There is a lot of info right here, but the windows quickly fill with dust and are hard to wipe off. (Bottom) Sturdy hand guards are a nice touch. The "D-S N" button operates the S-mode options on the DCT model, you'll use it a lot.