Our little ABR ears have pricked up today, as there are rumours flying around on t’internet about the arrival of a mid-capacity Honda Africa Twin. Now, before you get yourself all in a sweat (like I did), they aren’t making it quite yet, but they have said it’s on the horizon.
This is an exciting prospect because as much as we all love the immensely popular Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin and the new gnarly Adventure Sports model, they do have their set backs. They’re bloomin’ heavy, darn powerful and can be off-putting to younger riders or those who are new to the adventure riding scene, and while they are capable off-road in the right hands, their size can be a little intimidating. So, we can definitely see the gap in the market for a smaller model.
Though Honda haven’t released any details regarding the specifications of the baby Africa Twin, we assume that, to slap themselves right in the middle of the mid-capacity adventure bike market and to compete with the likes of the Triumph Tiger 800, KTM 790 Adventure, Yamaha Ténéré 700, and the BMW F850GS, that the company are likely to bring out a 700cc Africa Twin.
“When we speak about pure adventure, we don’t have such a wide line up,” said Kenji Morita, Large Project Leader for the Honda Africa Twin when recently speaking to MCN. “And yes, we are thinking of putting a half-way model in to attract younger people. We will develop this bike, but it’s not something we are working on now.”
Though Honda aren’t working on the baby Africa Twin now, with the next Tokyo Motor Show coming up in October 2019, we reckon this could be a golden opportunity and the ideal time for the company to reveal what they have up their sleeves
Do you think Honda should build a mid-capacity Africa Twin? We’d love to know your thoughts, let us know in the comments section below.
