2016 HONDA CRF1000L AFRICA TWIN
RACER TEST
P106
race bikes were getting (Barreda
got a GPS-certified 116 mph on
his bike).
The top speed capabilities
may have been impressive, but
they were overshadowed by
how user-friendly the power
delivery was at low speed. Soft
like butter is probably the best
way to describe it, allowing you
to dial in power so progressively
and slide the back with such
ease, you feel like you're in slow
motion. I shouldn't have been
surprised, really: this is what the
Africa Twin was designed to do,
not high-speed desert racing—
another thing we just proved that
it can actually do, though.
Handing the bike to Mikami-
san, a more accomplished des-
ert rider than myself with multiple
Baja 1000 starts to his name,
was a relief. The Africa Twin was
a little bent but rideable, with
the triple-clamps twisted and the
left hand guard donated to the
Nevada abyss.
As expected, Mikami-san rode
without fault and handed the
bike to the safest pair of hands
on the team, Johnny Campbell's,
for him to take it to the day-one
finish in the sleepy town of
Tonopah. It may have been only
a 30-mile ride for JC, but he was
beaming like a teenager who'd
just seen his first pair of boobs
at the finish.
"That wasn't long enough!" he
said to me. Having a rider of this
man's caliber on the team was
a huge motivating factor for two
reasons. One, is he's extremely
naturally gifted on a motorcycle.
Two, his love of racing is infec-
tious, and even if I'd had enough
by the time I gave the bike to
Mikami-san, after five minutes
with Johnny all I could think
about was how bad I wanted
to get back on the Africa Twin.
Andre Agassi may have been the
best tennis player in the world
but hated it. At one point Johnny
may have been the fastest des-
ert racer in the world and loves
it just as much now as retired as
when he was at his peak.
DOWN TIME
When you're a part of the official
JCR Honda team, there's plenty
of people on hand. That means
mechanics, cooks, general com-
pany. Unlike many of the riders
in the Vegas To Reno, we were
absolutely not changing the
tires, broken hand guards, bust-
ed fork seal, none of that stuff.
