Africa twin

[AndyB]

It wasn't just the early VF Hondas that had problems. CX500s destroyed cam chain tensioners, every one of their bikes fitted with inboard discs was a disaster, the CB900 engine turned into a hand grenade on a regular basis, the FT500 was just horrible and they're only a few.

Earlier SOHC Hondas regularly had cams wearing out the cylinder heads because they ran straight in the head and it was an accepted fact that if you had one of those bikes you needed to change the oil and filter at half the interval specified by Honda or you risked killing the engine.

[ttproducts]

Two sayings spring to mind:-

1. There's no smoke without fire

2. It's a Honda

Regarding the weight. Who in their right mind buys a 200kg+ bike to regularly ride 'off road'? The Africa Twin, big KTMs, BMWs etc are very capable of easy trails and dirt roads but the British version of 'off-road', not even close. 'Very capable' is a relative term.

Some Honda's have had problems in the past but it's not many considering they produce a couple of million bikes a year. By way of historic comparison every KTM built between around 1980 and late 90s was a ticking time bomb, difficult to own and hard to sell.

[Frog]

It wasn't just the early VF Hondas that had problems. CX500s destroyed cam chain tensioners, every one of their bikes fitted with inboard discs was a disaster, the CB900 engine turned into a hand grenade on a regular basis, the FT500 was just horrible and they're only a few.

Earlier SOHC Hondas regularly had cams wearing out the cylinder heads because they ran straight in the head and it was an accepted fact that if you had one of those bikes you needed to change the oil and filter at half the interval specified by Honda or you risked killing the engine.

Right on brother, Honda have had more than their fare share of shit heaps in the past. They were good in the 90's with the VFR, Fireblade, Blackbird etc but seem to have gradually cheapened the quality of their products over the years.

Walking into Honda dealers now it all looks and feels a bit tacky and the new AT's doing nothing to improve that judging by the NEC bikes.

[Zookman]

I still reckon Honda have missed a trick not doing a more roadie version of this bike as well.... As much as i like the look of it, i wouldn't ever consider buying a bike with spoked, tubed wheels and a 21" front, when i dont go offroad, well apart from across a field at a rally.
I'm sure there will be a lot of potential buyers that are put off like myself in this respect.
Triumph did it with their Tiger 800, i see no no reason why Honda couldn't have done it with this AT.

[picos mestizo]

I still reckon Honda have missed a trick not doing a more roadie version of this bike as well.... As much as i like the look of it, i wouldn't ever consider buying a bike with spoked, tubed wheels and a 21" front, when i dont go offroad, well apart from across a field at a rally.
I'm sure there will be a lot of potential buyers that are put off like myself in this respect.
Triumph did it with their Tiger 800, i see no no reason why Honda couldn't have done it with this AT.

Yes I think you're right.
They should do a 17/19 combination which gives good sure footedness & quick neutral response.

[Zookman]

I still reckon Honda have missed a trick not doing a more roadie version of this bike as well.... As much as i like the look of it, i wouldn't ever consider buying a bike with spoked, tubed wheels and a 21" front, when i dont go offroad, well apart from across a field at a rally.
I'm sure there will be a lot of potential buyers that are put off like myself in this respect.
Triumph did it with their Tiger 800, i see no no reason why Honda couldn't have done it with this AT.

Yes I think you're right.
They should do a 17/19 combination which gives good sure footedness & quick neutral response.

Yeah, 17/19 would be ok and still give it that dual sport image.... and personally i'd rather have alloy wheels as well.
Maybe it'll happen if it doesn't sell enough in its current form.

I shall be getting a test ride on this AT soon anyway.... i know i wont buy one, but i'm interested to see what its like and whether its 93 bhp is enough or lacking somewhat.

[Trev]

I still reckon Honda have missed a trick not doing a more roadie version of this bike as well.... As much as i like the look of it, i wouldn't ever consider buying a bike with spoked, tubed wheels and a 21" front, when i dont go offroad, well apart from across a field at a rally.
I'm sure there will be a lot of potential buyers that are put off like myself in this respect.
Triumph did it with their Tiger 800, i see no no reason why Honda couldn't have done it with this AT.

Yes I think you're right.
They should do a 17/19 combination which gives good sure footedness & quick neutral response.

Me too, I would be quite happy if they stuck the 1000cc motor & DCT in a NC750X type bike with higher quality suspension, if they could keep the frunk as well then even better.I may however go for a secondhand AT once the feeding frenzy dies down, even though I don't want an 'adventure bike' I love the looks and no, I'm not a habitual Honda owner, the NC is only my second after an ill fated SS50 :whistle:

[Mike54]

Early electronic regulators failed on nearly all bikes, they were nearly all 3rd party supplied so hardly the machine manufacturers total blame.
They were constructed of components which were not of automotive quality as were the CDI units.
In general Honda have a superlative record of reliabillity, in fact I'd go so far as to say Japanese bikes in general are exceptionally reliable.
That could probably be proved factually so is not an opinion.

So using that logic, if my bosch injector fails on my bike that's the fault of Bosch and not the bike manufacturer? The bike remains 100% reliable...apart from the injector? Or it eats wheel bearings for breakfast, that's the fault of the wheel maker not the bike maker? Honestly you really do stretch things.

As for your second half "In general Honda have a superlative record of reliabillity, in fact I'd go so far as to say Japanese bikes in general are exceptionally reliable.
That could probably be proved factually so is not an opinion"

Just read that back to yourself for goodness sake :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[picos mestizo]

Early electronic regulators failed on nearly all bikes, they were nearly all 3rd party supplied so hardly the machine manufacturers total blame.
They were constructed of components which were not of automotive quality as were the CDI units.
In general Honda have a superlative record of reliabillity, in fact I'd go so far as to say Japanese bikes in general are exceptionally reliable.
That could probably be proved factually so is not an opinion.

So using that logic, if my bosch injector fails on my bike that's the fault of Bosch and not the bike manufacturer? The bike remains 100% reliable...apart from the injector? Or it eats wheel bearings for breakfast, that's the fault of the wheel maker not the bike maker? Honestly you really do stretch things.

As for your second half "In general Honda have a superlative record of reliabillity, in fact I'd go so far as to say Japanese bikes in general are exceptionally reliable.
That could probably be proved factually so is not an opinion"

Just read that back to yourself for goodness sake :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well it is a Bosch part failure but the manufacturers fault for chosing the unreliable part.
Bit like the Bosch failures on R80 G/S's Alternator rotors, Ignition Amplifiers & Bean Can Hall Efect Devices.

https://rideapart.com/articles/most-rel ... otorcycles
Try that reliabillity report.
Top 3 are Japanese.
In fact it should read Top 4 Japanese because Suzuki should have been included.

You're right what I wrote was laughable.
I thought being in the trade you would have known that without me looking it up.

[Oop North John]

Anybody else notice that the voltage regulator is in a nicely ventilated position? If I'm not getting my electrical bits mixed up then it's just in front of the rear wheel, so should get some water cooling as well B)