VOL. 55 ISSUE 21 MAY 30, 2018 P107
If you're counting, that's five ways to
shift an Africa Twin with DCT. None of
them require a clutch lever (there still
isn't a clutch lever). You can't use your
foot to shift unless you go for an optional
foot-control that looks like a shifter. It's
not a shifter, it's a shifter-looking control-
ler that does the same job as the pad-
dles. We didn't try it but it sounds cool
and also, weird.
None of the ways you can shift a DCT
will let you stall. And they're all pretty fun.
Drive mode is similar to operating an
economy-class rental car and the bike is
on its best, most borrrrrrrrrring behavior
here.
Sport modes take the respectful Drive
mode and punk it out a bit.
Each level of Sport extends shift
points deeper into the revs and snaps
the gear changes with more pizzazz.
Level three has the most pizzazz and I
don't see a sporting reason for levels
one and two.
Size matters. The
new Africa Twin
Adventure Sport
is noticeably
more "girthy"
than the base
model.
Sport modes do as advertised and
modify gear change pizzazz incrementally.
If you're looking for the rowdiest beast
in the DCT jungle, go full "manual" and
tap that transmission into submission
with your thumb and index finger. I highly
recommend.
The "manual" configured bike will not
shift for you and that's nice for someone
experiencing a bit of insecurity with all
this automatic business. Plus, when you
decide when the bike can shift, it does
so absolutely brilliantly. We're talking
seamless. The new DCT system intro-
duces gears to other gears fantastically.
Okay, that bit about Manual mode not
shifting for you isn't entirely true. Hon-
da's DCT will not let you stall or destroy
a clutch system or look like an idiot for
trying to do so. So, if you slow or come
to a stop in sixth, or fifth or fourth gear,
in manual mode and then accelerate, it's
going to shift down for you.
DCT Manual and Sport 3 are the only
DCT modes I rode in after trying all the
options. Combined with the power de-
livery, engine braking and torque control
options (more on that pile of buttons
later), DCT drastically changes the way
the bike behaves on the way up and
down. Mess with it yourself to find your
favorite combo. But, you'll probably want
