2018 HONDA AFRICA T WIN ADVENTURE SPORTS
FIRST TEST
P110
For most riders, including yours
truly, I'd call the HSTC range ex-
cessive. I will be surprised if I find
an area where I prefer HSTC set-
ting #6 to setting #4. But maybe
I will. I used #7, #1 and Off on my
test ride. It was a lot like having
1,2,3 and Off on the previous ver-
sion. We need more time to find
the other five necessary.
What I did enjoy about the new
HSTC system is the feel when it
engages. It's much smoother and
doesn't jerk as much when cutting
power to a spinning wheel. It feels
much more natural. Also, you
can adjust it independently of any
other riding mode at any time with
the trigger switch. This is a must-
have function. I used the toggle
switch to turn it off and on all day.
That's not all! Honda has intro-
duced power management into
the mix. You can now dial-in power
delivery across three levels. This
wasn't an option on previous Africa
Twins and, while we left it in the
most aggressive power mode all
day, it's not confusing to have three
modes of power output delivery to
play with.
Finally, Africa Twins get three
modes of Engine Braking adjust-
ment for 2018. Engine Braking
was my favorite mode to use and
learn from. It makes a huge differ-
ence in the performance charac-
ter of the bike and when manipu-
lated in conjunction with DCT shift
settings, it's awesome. This is a
keeper in my book.
Confused yet? Yeah, I get that.
But Honda has some pre-selected
combos of the above. Riding pro-
files can easily be toggled to Tour,
Urban and Gravel pre-sets. They
have Power, Engine Braking and
Torque Control settings built in.
Interestingly, two of the profiles
have the same Engine Braking
settings (2) and all of them have
the same HSTC setting (6). So,
between Urban and Tour, you
get a one-notch change in power
output. And Gravel has the same
rear-wheel slip as the street-
focused pre-sets. We didn't use
the pre-sets much.
One pre-set you're really going
to like is the customizable User
Profile. This is the profile you can
customize to your preferences
and lock into the system. You se-
lect your favorites of the options
and leave it there. Turn the bike
It almost goes
without saying
that the AT is a
pure joy on the
pavement.
