Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L | Szczegółowa Opinia Po Dwóch Sezonach w Siodle | LPG #16
Welcome to the next episode of LUCZYN AFTER HOURS Beautiful weather outside our window... So we jumped out for a while in a slightly uglier scenery, and I'm already working on material for you from the first day of these awesome adventures. In the meantime, we will pursue a slightly different topic which you cared about. In the comments, you have asked Szymon many times about his opinion on the use of Africa...
As it would be hard to put such an extensive answer in a comment, Szymon, after spending 2 seasons in the saddle, recorded and edited his own material for you. If you would like to know an opinion on our other motorcycles or the equipment and equipment we use Feel free to write it in the comments below this video. Now without unnecessary prolongation, everyone interested in Africa I invite you to watch.
In the comments under the videos, you asked about your observations and impressions of using Afryczki. Well, a few kilometers have already been driven, so I can try to say something. I ride it very well!!! But it will not be any universal wisdom, only subjective impressions resulting from driving what and other motorcycles of similar construction, appearance or purpose.
Everyone can have their own… Let's start! Compared to other large tourists, Africa is not exceptionally large. It is such a compact traveler that has something of the lightness of the Transalp and energy of a liter Varadero. Africa in the standard version is not high enough to make it difficult to sit comfortably and control of the motorcycle at slow manoeuvres. The sofa has 2 height settings, I set it to the higher one right away and it's still low. The profile of the sofa goes down rather... In the Adventure Sports version, it is more horizontal, and therefore a little further to the ground.
In the equivalent KTMach 1090, 1190 or 1290 Adventure, however, is even higher and there a driver with a height of 180 cm may have trouble with solid support on the ground. It's bearable here I do not know - I am a little over 190 cm tall and have long legs, This one has, God gave him, nice long legs... He has a wife! So on most devices I sit like a dog and I reach the ground with a full platform.
For me, the seat is low, the steering wheel not too high. He becomes rather stooped - such a beauty. If I had to do anything about it, it would be suspension up and sets the same down. Then the knees would rest. The African drives well because it has a low center of gravity and a small turning radius characteristic of this type of tourism.
The center of gravity is low, the mass is not felt so much and it is easy to feel the point where the machine starts to fall to the ground with slow maneuvers. And I don't think it tends to wobble when folded lightly, although recently I heard from a lower manager that he pulls to the ground just as hard, or even stronger than the latest KTM 1290R, the one with the tank spread out to the sides. The only thing you need to watch out for is a fairly low gear ratio in first gear, which can cut the torque when driving very slowly, ring the valves, yank and drive us into the ground...
This can be remedied by trying to work more with gas or change the diameters of the gears, strengthening the one a bit. As for the engine... Did accountants play a decisive role here? Surely, but maybe the constructors also did something useful? At first glance, you can see that they made a relatively small engine, instead of a V-Twin, they made a row, what they could lose weight and reduced. Dimensionally, the engine looks like a six hundred. Probably someone will ask the question, what is the difference of this polymorph version since the first projection of new Africa? In the manufacturer's brochure we can read about changing the airbox, ignition maps, some changes in the timing... which reportedly improved the way the torque was delivered, so the whole bike is supposedly more efficient than the pre-facelift version.
In practice, it's not too bad and it's not doing too badly either, albeit with factory gears and selection of drive components indicate a higher maximum speed, at the expense of dynamics at lower speeds, which is a bit pointless, given the nature of Africa, and our ideas about bull riding. Might be better to slow down a bit here (currently it was able to accelerate to the counter speed of 219 km/h) and take care of better low-end departure, or at least a smooth low-rpm ride. I bought the Africa with an accessory exhaust, so I wasn't able to check it has the stock exhaust been improved and is as fantastic as described in the brochures... change of chambers, better flight, better sound and so on...
On this accessory exhaust, the engine runs expressively, not too quiet and not too loud. Certainly better than most stock cans. Of course dbkiller is screwed on a screw. I've gone out a few times without it, but it's quite noisy...
It's nice, because it doesn't tear its mouth and rumbles bass. But because we sometimes ride close to wild animals, it's better not to annoy the gamekeeper. We won't disturb him... The clutch is light, but light for a classic wire string, however, it has nothing to do with the lightness of the hydraulic clutch. Simplification for the sake of reliability or cost cutting? Rather the latter, because it is difficult after so many years of using hydraulics in motorcycles indicate some special failure rate of this element, or increase the weight of the equipment. It presses well, you can feather with 2 fingers...
How long it can be, basically. Basically, because I use the clutch basically only when driving slowly in the field and while filtering somewhere in city traffic jams. One and up to two I change with the clutch, the rest higher up and down without clutch, because here just, in my copy there is a quickshifter up and down. And about this quickshifter: both up and down adjusts its sensitivity, whether there is a cut-off time or gassing by the ignition system or the throttle.
On the slider of the lever there is a directional contactor that transmits a pulse as it is pushed or pulled. And while going up is not a problem, going down is different... It takes a bit of practice to get it right and it didn't stick.
In general, it works similarly for all rotational speeds, only you have to make the movement confidently and quite hard... Well, it simply is. In the first Yamahas with a quickshifter, I remember that it worked even worse, because there it was smooth only with dynamic driving, and with calm changes it jerked and banged on the chain.
And why so glued? Those who have Africa with a quickshifter already know it or will soon find out, that Honda messed up and fastened the single strands of the cable too weakly in a hardened bone... The entire beam moves up and down during the change... THE WHOLE COUCH WORKS! and single threads burst out. To prevent them from tearing or breaking, it is worth strengthening it with something. I used some self-fusing tape. As for the best tires for Africa, I don't have much to say...
In enduraks we test various, rather soft and unstable rubbers, in road bikes it's a completely different story, because we were throwing various rubbers, from universal tourist to sports ones, but still with road approval. Africa has been using Michelin Anakee Wilds from the beginning, so far it has done over 25,000 km and you can see the stairs in front, the scuffs and cuts in the back. I'll drive them down a bit, although they've already passed their time and from this perspective they can be considered quite durable.
In the field they are quite decent, but never driven in any extreme conditions - ordinary sand, mud, some wet leaves and shallow ponds. Except Anakee Wild it is probably one of the most expensive shop tires that you can put on a tourist enduro. At KTM we test Bridgestones and Mitas. I have the impression that Anakee are doing better on asphalt... all vibrations, snaking are less noticeable, and the tire itself is easier to control in the wet.
Well, you also have to take into account that Africa has less of this moment from below and does not tear tires as much as the LC4 in KTM. In Poland, everyone didn't care anyway, but post-lift Africa it was only the first time that she got homologation with enduro rubbers... Until now, you could only legally ride dual-sports. Or at least the Germans did. As for the wheels themselves, in the first projection they gave ordinary steel spokes or nipples, or the spokes and nipples that people start to rust. After the facelift, they gave stainless steel, so they don't rust here yet.
But just like before, they left the hoops unsealed, which cannot be fitted with a tubeless tire alone... You have to push a tube or other tubes. Of course, you can do it if someone insists and seals it. Is it better this way Yes, there are pros and cons to both solutions.
After the next facelift, Africa already has tubeless wheels as standard. So what, you said that this anode on the lags is already the reinforced version? Well, that's how it turned out... Accessory hard brake hoses that the previous owner put on in connection with changing the fender to a Dakar one during strong compression, the suspension touches the leg surface... They touch so much that they tear the anode bare. And while we're on hold...
despite being fully adjustable front and rear, the suspension is more comfortable than sporty. You can harden everything, but it will still be more hardened gran turismo than a hard racer. While in enduraks with a light front it is manageable and you can always drive on an uncertain road with the weight shifted backwards, and therefore the front is not so nervous and does not easily get out of balance or cut on slants or stones...
So much in this model of Africa they skipped and did not install any steering damper, even a simple piston oil. In this way, if we doze lightly and do not relieve the front, and at the same time we will not notice any surprise in soft ground, grass or mud... we are lying! Maybe someone can, I can't prepare and react to cutting out the front wheel as far as it will go.
What's more, I usually don't even get enough air into my lungs before hitting the ground. And once we relieve the front on the asphalt then we'll catch the shima, but it may be worse to get up there when a truck runs over us and Daewoo Lanos will correct it. Adjustable ones seem to work best and progressive steering dampers on the bridge.
I have a new piece of art lying in the closet and getting dusty because I don't have time to wear it. When I fuck up so much that I can't catch my breath anymore the family will put it on OLX. I'm not selling yet, I will be making! The chauffeur is painfully simple, but Hondas generally have it, sometimes it's a good thing because at least it's ape-proof. The screen, however, changed a bit, it was slightly spaced and directed more vertically, and now he is focused and tilted slightly to the level that it is supposed to be better seen when riding standing up. Generally not bad and surprisingly, the brighter the sun, the more readable the display.
Funny this display is inverted in this Africa, because the more the sun shines on it, the better you can see! I do not like the digital tachometer, because looking at it is not so intuitive like an analog clock whose individual ranges are hammered into your head and just a quick glance. Digital indications are always looked for, looked at, reading, analyzing... And usually there's no time for that and shift gears by ear... The rest of the gauges are, the fuel gauge works as standard, that is, the first half is larger and the second smaller. The tank is less than 20 liters, so sometimes you can get lost and end up without fuel.
And Africa has a mean nature. As we drive gently and calmly, let's say without much wheel grinding in the field, and on asphalt up to 110-120 km / h... it burns us 5 liters per hundred. But when we have a motorcycle loaded and cut with a full stove it burns itself 8 liters and more. Here you can get lost and refuel with no place to go. The temperature gauge works ok, the fan turns on relatively quickly and does not have many opportunities to show extreme temperatures.
But if he gets a little bit of a bone it likes to throw some liquid on the manifold cover and sometimes leave wet dots on the right shoe. If it's a few drips or drops - it's normal, when it flies so much that the fluid in the reservoir is depleting in the eyes - we unscrew it. The speedometer slightly overstates the indications, but with cubes and significant changes in their height... That's how it must be.
The switches on the handles are simple and similar to all those that have always been in Hondas... plus some small additions in the form of buttons to operate functions available from the display level, i.e. some more or less shady items, like every Passat... There are daily runs, range on the fuel that is in the tank And surprisingly, we checked that the range is up to 0km when you leave it calmly There is actually just over 1 liter of fuel left. It also shows us here the instantaneous combustion, average combustion... I have never checked the accuracy of these indications.
Interval countdown and temperature... Well, it's fun here, as long as the cold indications are roughly ok, so much when the engine is hot, the sensor exaggerates strongly and throws the temperature on the display usually 3 to 5 degrees higher than it actually is. As if it was so difficult to mount it in a place that does not heat up so much.
In one of the ladder menus, we can set the drive mode, i.e. reaction to gas, the degree of engine braking and traction control response. 3 preset modes are defined - TOUR, URBAN , GRAVEL and one left entirely set by the manager and I use it.
I'm used to analog bikes, I have the highest throttle sensitivity permanently set, maximum engine braking and minimal traction control intervention. The button at the far front of the left combination switch, in addition to shifting the traction control level, allows you to turn it off completely - at any time. No need to stop and mess around.
Standard minus resulting from current regulations - turning the ignition off with the traction control off will still turn it on on next boot... Fortunately, to a level that we are also able to set, provided that it is not deactivated. In KTM, just changing the traction control mode is even more annoying, because it requires browsing through the menu, but a dongle comes in handy there, i.e. a service key that holds the settings permanently.
There is no dongle here, but you can do everything with your left hand... The ABS switch on the rear wheel is a separate button on the right side of the board. The front works all the time. At the moment, the serial window with which Africa left the showroom is installed. I have several windows - sports short, high accessory Honda and generally...
The tall ones don't work for me they make noise because the air hits a part of my helmet, they become dangerous when you have to look through them, and generally the webcam on the jaw registers a dirty protruding window, not what is supposed to be seen. I do not mention isolation and fever on warm days, because it is very tiring on motorcycles with a large windshield and it's the same for me on Devilce. And that he knows less? Even less in the car. Lighting in Africa is all LED. I am not a supporter of this solution when failures begin, but overall it's glowing decently.
But unfortunately, these types of headlights tend to dazzle oncoming traffic. Especially when the motorcycle has a large suspension travel and the handler avoids potholes in the road. Then, just at the reflection of the hinge or a slight tilt, beautiful and strong light, just below the cut-off line, we shoot someone in the eye. Well, there is a mechanical adjustment, but for it to be effective, it must be on gyroscopes...
Standard Africa leaves the showroom basically with only a small plate under the engine without wrapping on the collectors, which in turn get stones and sand from the front wheel. You would have to put something on the collector itself or replace the plate with a more folded front and sides. On the plus side, there is a cradle frame straight from high-performance enduras, which in itself is a good protection and works well when we hang the motorcycle on the belly, or we slam the bottom when driving over a log.
Screwed on it, even a relatively thin cover does not have many opportunities to bend like a beer can, because it has equal support. The side of the engine and plastics remain uncovered and it is worth adding something there. I screwed some stainless becker and something inexpensive down... The rear is gently covered by massive passenger sets, which is why I did not unscrew them, protect the delicate plastics at the back and the exhaust. In the axles I screwed some crashpads lying around the garage, a bit big, but they make it easier for me to lift the rear on a standard motorcycle stand, Speaking of sets, they are slightly different in the facelifted version, as well as the motorcycle frame and handler sets.
The sets in the first vintages had an aluminum foot, which in the event of tipping over and hitting the ground broke most of the time. It was also narrower and provided less reliable support for the foot. The sets in the back have been attached from the bottom, they are less conspicuous and more resistant to damage. So is the subframe responsible for supporting the sofa and luggage. And speaking of luggage, Africa has quite a bit of space in the back... If we put a passenger there, another bag will not fit behind her you need to put on a luggage rack that will go beyond the outline of the motorcycle.
This is where the problem arises as we put heavy luggage on the tail and also, God forbid, it will be a hard trunk, and with such a load we will enter the climbs and jumps... There is a good chance that the weld connecting the subframe to the main frame will break. I'm skipping the safety of fastening hard trunks for off-road driving and risk breaking your legs in many places with a gentle sideways tipping. I attach soft bags to the sofa and possibly to the Becker side racks in the field. If I can, I pack everything in bags on the couch I leave the sides of the back free. I have small Lone Raider bags fastened to the front crash bars all the time, some little things, hats, cloths, snacks, thermos with tea - a very nice thing and in practice it turns out that they are also a good pillow in case of capsizing - nothing happens to them and additionally, they distance the motorcycle from the level and possibly leave it between the motorcycle, and the ground for a leg.
Everything can be screwed on as an accessory to Africa I basically just need a phone holder - some chinese RAM clone with charger - it works, it works, it can be. I still have the upper navigation mount above the roof - with a beam. If I put on the steering damper, it will be tight in the shelf area and I will be forced to move the phone to this beam. Maybe someday I'll make a more spacious plate for the engine to better protect the exhaust manifold.
In this version, they changed the footer a bit, but it's still worth adding an extension here, which will save us from looking for garbage to plant and reduce the desire to fall over on soft ground. FLY, FLY - GO, GO! Honda service is generally quite simple, because the manufacturer himself is not willing to change elements and parts, which are checked. All parts are readily available in the original, although they are not cheap. On the other hand, consumable parts are cheap, mainly due to the use of universal parts. Africa has the exact same oil filter as 594 other Honda models, Yamaha, Triumph and the like.
We buy parts from a proven manufacturer and replace them, while OEM consumables are not the only good ones... Branded alternatives are just as good, if not better. Access to the air filter is hopeless - you have to unscrew the sides and the head... As the plastics get old, any such operation will be effective breaking another catch. In a motorcycle that can ride in dust and dust and require filter replacement or cleaning at least a few times a year - thus complicating the whole operation? No sense.
How will this comfort someone - KTMs are even worse. Factory recommended oil - as in Honda... Overcomplicated! 10W30 while the rest pour the best available 10W40 and 10W50. Oh well.
I do not encourage, I do not advise against. Facelift version, instead of the standard acid battery got a tiny lithium battery - It's nice because it's much lighter. Only everything else, operationally, is no longer pink - as long as it is operational, the only problem is its very small capacity (less than half of the sourdough).
Connecting to the installation of other receivers, chargers, navigation, etc. while stationary - will cause its rapid discharge and starting problem. It is little comforting to know that that the alkali metals are resistant to deeper discharges. Am I satisfied with Africa? I am! And I hope it will serve me well for a few more years.
More kilometers ahead! If not all issues, about which you wrote, I touched on in this video - write in the comments! I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED AFRICA... JUST ALL OF THIS REQUIRES SOME, SUCH A BREATH... SOME TERRAIN... AND THIS IRON IS MOVING SO MUCH HERE... THIS SHIT...
2022-11-30 04:44
