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Courtesy of Motorcycle.com, we now have a 16' Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin dyno chart.
According to Honda, the Africa Twin is supposed to hit 93.9 crankshaft hp at 7,500 rpm and 72.3 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. Of course, the guys at Motorcycle.com had to put this to the test so they strapped a new Dakar Rally AT to the MotoGP Werks Dynojet 250 and the actual numbers are a bit lower than what Honda claims.
Before anyone picks up their torches and pitchforks, we have to remember that the Dynojet measures the rear wheel horsepower and not the crankshaft hp. Generally with chain drive bikes we see around a 10% horsepower reduction in the rear wheel. The resulting numbers are just around the estimated ballpark at 86 hp and 67 lb-ft of torque if you take into account that 10% difference.
Numbers aside, EiC Duke thinks “Honda’s motor feels much livelier than the dyno chart indicates, pulling strongly from down low and revving out with decent gusto up top”. We can see proof of his claim in the strong and linear torque curve that will deliver instant response anywhere on the rev-range.
A contributing factor to the AT’s lively feel at low revs could be its lightweight body. With a full tank of fuel the AT only weighs 525 pounds and 545 pounds with bags, putting it just one pound over its liter-class adventure bike competitors like the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and Kawasaki Versys 1000.
In the future, we will be seeing the Africa Twin go head to head with its main competitors in the publication’s next Adventure Touring Epic.