2016 HONDA CRF1000L AFRICA TWIN
RACER TEST
P104
corner to rebound the bike back
onto the course, and pick my
new buddy off at the next cor-
ner. But the Africa Twin bashed
straight through the mini berm,
over the edge of the road and
into the rocks below. Luckily I
was only going about 15 mph by
the end, but a crash is a crash,
and I felt like a bit of a dick for
it. Especially as I lost more time
than the crash itself trying to
find out why the Africa Twin kept
stalling as I tried to get out of the
crap (due to the traction control
defaulting to "on"). For this ride,
of course, any electrical-assist
operations, like ABS and traction
control, were turned off (though
the front ABS always stays on—it
can't be turned off).
Despite my crash, it was gen-
uinely surprising how easily the
Africa Twin handled the rough
stuff. Even with the standard
weight spring in the rear and
just a one-stage heavier spring
in the 45mm Showa cartridge
fork, it cruised over every bump
and rock the 450s did without
once getting out of shape (aside
from rider induced moments).
We were a little under-geared
Mikami-san
powers through
the second half
of day two.
