B I G B O R E A D V C O M P A R I S O N T E S T
P78
SHOOTOUT
It's pretty
agricultural
looking, but the
inspiration is in
the ride, not the
aesthetics.
Ducati, but it's also much, much
cheaper, and you can do a lot
to a bike with a few grand left in
your pocket (as long as you buy
this standard gearbox version
and not the DCT model, which
will set you back an extra $700).
The Africa Twin's electron-
ics are simple at best, and like
the KTM's, are annoying as hell
in that they default to factory
settings when you switch off
the ignition. There's also a bit of
a budget feel to the finish like
the cable-actuated clutch and
throttle, crappy footpegs and
tubed tires, but it also means
this bike is easily fixable if one of
said parts breaks in the middle
of nowhere.
I can personally attest to the
build quality of the Africa Twin
after a near 700-mile Vegas to
Reno race on one with Johnny
Campbell—we bashed that bike
to high hell and it kept coming
back for more—and there's no
way I'd have done that race on
the Ducati or BMW.
The Honda lacks inspiration
in the design. It doesn't get the
juices flowing like any of the oth-
er bikes on test, but the simple
fact is the Honda is the bike we'd
all put our money down for at the
end of the test. CN
