RUST magazine: RUST#37

2018 Honda CRF1000L/L2
Street riding our way to the off-road
part of a our test the general comfort
was good, it was comfortable enough,
the suspension working well, the
tyres (Metzeler Karoo 3s) felt secure,
the brakes were good – when crash
braking the bike flashes the hazards
too – and while the tank is wide at the
front, it’s suitably narrow for the rider’s
knees when standing or seated. The
screen – 80mm taller than on the L –
sadly didn’t work for me. There was a
fair dollop of turbulence coming off it
and – sin of all sins – its not adjustable.
So you’re left with the slightly costly
option of finding a better one (whether
it needs to be taller or shorter, who
knows?) or an add-on. A shame
because the height worked well for
forward vision.
The instrument set I wasn’t
enamoured with either (boy, I’m picky).
Having recently experienced the
wonders of multi-display, multi-colored
TFT screens, the black and white digital
displays of the Africa Twin were like
going back to black and white TV.
Perfectly functional, but so outdated.
As well – sorry to rub salt in the wound
– the plastic screen proved very
reflective and when covered in dust
made reading the screen a real chore.
And sorry again, but the display really
needs sorting, it’s cluttered and (on first
initiation at least) not very intuitive.
However, when it comes to
performance the Africa Twin shines.
Bearing in mind this 1000cc motor is
under stressed (making very similar
power to the competitors’ 800cc
offerings) it still feels suitably peppy.
Happy to dawdle along (which is
super-important in an adventure bike),
but engaging when you wick it up.
Not super-powerful, but on relatively
skinny 21”/18” wheel combination
there’s a limit to what you want to mess
around with.
OFF ROAD
It’s really only off-road you really get
into the various settings. And the
problem with having so many of them
is you need more time than a couple of
days to scroll through them all to find
what you like.
And one setting I couldn’t quite
assimilate to on this test (given the
time allowance) was the whole DCT
auto-box. Now my first-ever test on
an Africa Twin back in 2016 was on a
DCT model and I really enjoyed it then.
But, here’s a confession, I rode that
bike like something of a thug or yob (a
‘thob’ if you like, ©Laura Thompson)
never off the gas and firing it through
the gears real fast using the fingerand-thumb
quick shifter. The trails in
Germany were open and fast, it suited
the DCT. In Devon we were riding
more technical single tracks, with mud
and ruts, a terrain where we needed
more deft throttle control – and
clutch control. And here I was finding
I couldn’t transition to a clutchless
w
www.rustsports.com 21