AT Dislikes?

73216 Views 130 Replies 84 Participants Last post by AT-Dragon, 3 mo ago

Paige

Discussion Starter · Dec 7, 2015

Place for all negatives about the AT.

I think the negatives are almost more important then the positives. You know what you like and what you want, but more important is knowing what you don't like and if you can live with those dislikes in the long run...

Couple quickies from here

Long 1st gear. When idling the AT trundles at 14km/h - this is too fast for technical terrain. Can hopefully be fixed by a smaller front sprocket.
The readout display uses negative LCD (black background, light lettering) which is sometimes hard to read during daylight.
The throttle is a little too sensitive on the manual model – not a problem on the DCT.
The stepped seat is distracting when you ride technical terrain. Honda isn't planning to sell a straight bench unless customers demand it. Companies like Touratech will probably provide one at a premium price.

81 - 100 of 131 Posts

PTwin

· #81 · Feb 23, 2017

You can adjust the brightness, read the owners manual !!

this......i don't get why Honda released the bike with a dash that's "dimly" lit.......what did they see that other folks can't? either that or allow for contrast/brightness adjustability. bothersome.[/QUOTE]

Swen

· #82 · Mar 8, 2017

The Africa Twin is a fantastic motorcycle and the list of what I like about the bike is much longer. What people would change depends also on personal size, skills and what kind of terain we prefer to ride. Hmmm, I guess this would be my list if Honda would hire me to improve the motorcycle :smile2: :

# At least 20HP more would be very nice to have, I find the AT engine a bit boring. Offroad the power is OK most of the time, but on the road especially 2up a few more horses wouldn't hurt. Sometimes I dream about the KTM engine :wink2: However, I wanted a reliable bike, I guess you can't have both. lol

# ABS settings: I nearly crashed a couple of times, because when you switch your engine off the system does not remember your ABS and TC settings. It's not fun when you ride Offroad and suddenly realize that the ABS is on or the TC-System is on level three and you can't make it up the sandy hill !!! When I am riding in bigger groups it sucks that I first have to finish my "pilots checklist" before I can start riding again. This is also the biggest compain from my riding buddy who also has an AT.

# No cruise control (I use the Atlas Throttle lock now which workd good, but it's still only a quick fix and no real cruise control)

# Updraft from the fork tunnel (I should not complain about this >

)

# Rear spring is way too soft. Even allone this doesn't feel right to me and 2up, offroad with luggage this is far away from perfect.

# OEM tires are really not good. Honda should give us an option at least to order the bike with some (offroad) other tires.

# No 12v conector on the dashboard. I have to tear down half of the bike to get an cigarette lighter or USB plug? WTF? This would cost Honda 5$ more to install it from the factory like that.

# I would love to have easy access to the airfilter and battery. If you ride offroad in big groups it would be nice to check from time to time how mus dust is in the filter or to replace it directly.

# Spoke problem some people have

# Gearbox: It was "clunky" first, but it got better. Also I do not get "false neutral" so often anymore.... however, Honda should build a bike where everybody on a test ride does not have these kind of problems. However, I got used to the gearbox now and it works good for me.

This is not so important, but it woul be nice to fix this:
# You can change the LCD Brightness settings in the menu only, an automatic would be nice or at least a button on the display and not something hidden in the menu. The whole board computer menu isn't good.
# The left switch with blinker and horn... It took me a long time to get used to this and not touch the horn when I was looking for the blinker. With my winter gloves I still use the horn a lot. lol.
# The button where you change the TC settings should be used for the High Beam waring light, or on the James Bond version this button is for the machine gun

Most people here say the footpegs are too small for them and the first gear is too high. Strange, because this wasn't a problem for me so far. My buddy even installed a smaller rear sproket to get better mpg on the highway and we both ride offroad all the time. Guess it's all about clutch control

Maybe when I would use my MX boots on the AT then I will also have the foot peg problem, but so far they work good for me.

But it's still an amazing bike and I enjoy riding it more than complaining about it

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Chris

· #83 · Mar 8, 2017

LED display too bright

I bought clear 3M tape and covered most of my bike parts including the tank that is likely to be scratched when riding through tight tracks and general wear. This has already proven to be a worthwhile addition although extremely time consuming. I chose not to buy a kit because it didn't cover the parts I included on my bike.
I made templates from paper first before cutting out the tape, and included the instrumental panels on the LED display.

I would highly recommend buying the set for the display panels on e-Bay, they were very difficult to cut out and the price on e-Bay are inexpensive. The tape cuts down on glare and helps with some of the issues others are experiencing with the LED brightness.

Hope this helps!

Chris

· #84 · Mar 8, 2017

Air Filters

I have two dislikes about the AT that I would like to share. The first is the plastics in which they have been made to fit. I broke a few lugs off the back of the front fender, taking it on and off a few times, now it keeps opening when I go off road. I also broke a lug off the front fender the first time I tried to take off one of the front panels (what an effort)! I had to use a lot of force to remove it, and one of the lugs ended up on my garage floor. My Honda dealer was kind enough to replace the fender under warranty. The plastics are also pinned together with extremely cheap plastic pins that are likely to break over a short period of time - I carry spares. Honda has not thought this through very well, some decent screws would have done a better job!

My biggest gripe is trying to change those two air filters. I have crash bars, so I have to take off the front fender, drop the bars and try to remove the two front panels just to get to the filters. This is crazy! Some better designed panels would have solved this problem, Honda have definitely taken the cheaper approach when designing these plastics. Apart from what I have mentioned, I am loving my AT, it's a great bike for the price but definitely could have had some better design features.

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Desert rider

· #85 · Mar 11, 2017

Is there a motorcycle that's ever been made that someone will start winning about ❓The AT is an amazing machine it does everything Honda designed it to do, which is amazing. Is there a better street bike (yes) is there a better dirt bike (yes). Enjoy your AT and modify it to make it the (best bike ever).

Reactions: 2

Tigerjohn

· #86 · Mar 11, 2017

I'd enjoy mine better if we had a bit of sunshine over here in the UK. Come on Honda, sort it out! There are two very similar threads running on the 'constructive criticism' theme......mods, would it make sense to merge them so we can whine in one place?

PTwin

· #87 · Mar 11, 2017

So your actual dislike is your clumsy ham fisted approach to panel removal, hilarious.

JEPomer

· #88 · Apr 21, 2017

The stock mirrors don't allow good vision behind me. I noticed that when I first picked up my bike from the dealer. Normally I'm not overly concerned with that, but this car with flashing blue lights came up and stayed in that blindspot on my second riding day. Looking to get some type of mirror mounting extenders.

Also remind myself to stay out of the leftmost lane except when passing. The ride was so very smooth and felt under control that my speed drifted up. If I were in my car, I would normally set the cruise control in this situation. But I do think the officer was surprised to see I was an older white-haired guy and not a "kid".

Djairouks

· #89 · Apr 21, 2017

Swen said:
# ABS settings: I nearly crashed a couple of times, because when you switch your engine off the system does not remember your ABS and TC settings. It's not fun when you ride Offroad and suddenly realize that the ABS is on or the TC-System is on level three and you can't make it up the sandy hill !!! When I am riding in bigger groups it sucks that I first have to finish my "pilots checklist" before I can start riding again. This is also the biggest compain from my riding buddy who also has an AT.

I have the habit not to use the off switch on the handlebar, I pull the side stand out turning off the engine, this results in the TC level not being reseted, not sure if this is also the case for ABS and what happens when the key is turned off, but you should check, maybe it's an easy trick to circumvent this issue.

Reactions: 2

Wilco10

· #90 · Apr 21, 2017

JEPomer said:
The stock mirrors don't allow good vision behind me. I noticed that when I first picked up my bike from the dealer. Normally I'm not overly concerned with that, but this car with flashing blue lights came up and stayed in that blindspot on my second riding day. Looking to get some type of mirror mounting extenders.".

I widened my mirrors when I had an AT. The standard 10mm jobs on eBay work fine.

Loicon

· #91 · Aug 8, 2017 (Edited)

Atilla Erkut said:
it is really enough with "cheap casio wristwatch like" LCD displays

torque control button - why?? really why do someone thinks that it is better change highbeam button with torque control button?

honda's original center stand - hard to reach it because of rear footpeg ( i always hurt my tibia)

2-cyclinder engine - my previous bike was triumphtiger800 with 3cyclinder block so sometimes i think 3 is better than 2cyclinder

after all - this is really a great bike for me for now

Not to even mention that Casio's may be cheap in their simple models but as you could see in any Boyner shop like http://promocodius.com/tr/magazalar/boyner-indirim-kuponu, the high end models like G-Watches are far from cheap. I had to mention this as a Casio fanboy since early childhood. Additionally, I could not have agreed more with the remarks about torque control button; just like in guitars, people are asking for trivial features like killswitches only to use it once or twice during a whole gig. Here is my question to my fellow countryman though: what would you prefer to buy from Triumph's current production line and why would you prefer that one over any other? I am contemplating adding a roadster to my garage and I do not want a Harley - Davidson like everyone else :wink2:

Jpc

· #92 · Oct 3, 2017

The OE Dunlops are not confidence inspiring in the damp or cold.
Fitted Continental trial attack 2s
After 600kms have to say the bike is much nicer to ride.
And a lot happier in wet /damp conditions.
Honda got their tyre choice wrong I think for the UK and Ireland.

Reactions: 2

Cuchulainn

· #93 · Oct 3, 2017

Loicon said:
Here is my question to my fellow countryman though: what would you prefer to buy from Triumph's current production line and why would you prefer that one over any other? I am contemplating adding a roadster to my garage and I do not want a Harley - Davidson like everyone else :wink2:

I was a long time Triumph fan, having owned nothing but Triumphs until 2014, when I jumped ship and purchased a KTM 1190. Now a Honda Africa Twin.

If I was going to add another Triumph to my garage today though, it would probably be a Triumph Bobber. That said I also would really like a KTM 1290 Super Duke GT. I may look to add the KTM next year.

Cuchulainn

· #94 · Oct 3, 2017

Jpc said:
The OE Dunlops are not confidence inspiring in the damp or cold.
Fitted Continental trial attack 2s
After 600kms have to say the bike is much nicer to ride.
And a lot happier in wet /damp conditions.
Honda got their tyre choice wrong I think for the UK and Ireland.

I seriously wonder if they formulate the compounds differently for different markets. The OEM Dunlops wouldn't be my first choice of tire, paying out of my own pocket, but they did fine through this yesterday...

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Jpc

· #95 · Oct 5, 2017

Cuchulainn said:
I seriously wonder if they formulate the compounds differently for different markets. The OEM Dunlops wouldn't be my first choice of tire, paying out of my own pocket, but they did fine through this yesterday...

A hardy day out to be out on a motorcycle.
Winter kicked in early?
I won't say anymore about the tyres .:laugh:

Cuchulainn

· #96 · Oct 5, 2017

5

Jpc said:
A hardy day out to be out on a motorcycle.
Winter kicked in early?
I won't say anymore about the tyres .

It did in the high country, had pretty much a 3 season ride going from low 70’s in Denver to a low of 39F on the passes. It had snowed the night before and that day I got a bit of everything from sunny and 70-ish to rain to snow and back. It wasn’t really sticking to the road much, which is good. Mostly cold and wet

Picked up 5 passes on that Rever Honda Pass Bagger Challenge however

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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DCTFAN

· #97 · Jan 5, 2018

Just a few more AT gripes

Cuchulainn said:
It did in the high country, had pretty much a 3 season ride going from low 70’s in Denver to a low of 39F on the passes. It had snowed the night before and that day I got a bit of everything from sunny and 70-ish to rain to snow and back. It wasn’t really sticking to the road much, which is good. Mostly cold and wet

Picked up 5 passes on that Rever Honda Pass Bagger Challenge however
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Awesome! that you were able to bag 5 passes in one (bad weather) day.
I managed to bag three passes in August, as I rode thru CO and picked up about a dozen more on
my return route back to GA via Seattle, WA.
My bike has gone through the maintenance table in terms of current miles on the odo >35k miles.
Oil/filter changes, valve checks/adjustments, brake pads, chain/sprockets and new spark plugs.
Not one mechanical issue that deserves mention, except a few occasional stalling that has gone away for now.
A lot of different types of roads and riding revealed only a few additional 'dislikes' for me.

The difficulty to shift gear when the rear wheel doesn't match the front: as in mud and deep sand.
The difficulty to hold the bike on a steep incline without rear brake.

Cuchulainn

· #98 · Jan 7, 2018

DCTFAN said:
Awesome! that you were able to bag 5 passes in one (bad weather) day.
I managed to bag three passes in August, as I rode thru CO and picked up about a dozen more on
my return route back to GA via Seattle, WA.
My bike has gone through the maintenance table in terms of current miles on the odo >35k miles.
Oil/filter changes, valve checks/adjustments, brake pads, chain/sprockets and new spark plugs.
Not one mechanical issue that deserves mention, except a few occasional stalling that has gone away for now.
A lot of different types of roads and riding revealed only a few additional 'dislikes' for me.

The difficulty to shift gear when the rear wheel doesn't match the front: as in mud and deep sand.
The difficulty to hold the bike on a steep incline without rear brake.

Nice!! I have been stuck at 18 for a while now. No new ones since October 11. I was hoping I might get one or two on a late October trip to the Ozarks, but not a single pass along the way. Some of the ones I need around here are closed for construction, season, etc. I am going to try to get a couple more this coming week.

I have only had one stall. That happened in the first couple thousand miles. None since.

Palomar

· #99 · Jan 8, 2018

a way improvable bike

One year, rode 13000 Km so far, mostly two-up. I had Transalp 650 and F800 GS before. The AT is way more difficult to service as compared to the BMW, and way more difficult to drive two up as compared to the shorter and lighter, yet less powerful transalp, perhaps due to the 18" rear wheel. The front tall screen is too narrow and a real pain in case of rain. Central stand requires wrestler strength when panniers are on. Who needs a traction control? A better TA would have tubeless tyres, 17" rear, better gearbox, correct speedometer, a flatter, unique saddle, a wider and less vertical fairing, more accessible brake oil tank, battery, oil and air filters; generally less plastic, more logic commands at the left handlebar.

eltel62

· #100 · Jan 8, 2018

I like virtually all aspects of my manual AT and buried service items seems to be the norm on todays bikes. I do think it is a bit compromised on the tarmac/asphalt as a two up with luggage high speed tourer though. The skinny front tyre and engine tune state leave it a bit listless and not that dynamic for me. A lot of that is due to my 125kg weight however! A new rear spring was very low cost and helped enourmously and a fueling module cured the low speed jerky throttle response to 100% satisfaction. My gearbox into first has always been tractor like no matter what clutch adjustment whilst others are smooth as silk? I got the shitty spokes like everybody else but that is well documented. As a European, almost 100% road biased rider, I have called time on the AT. I have a week left before the arrival of the Triumph Tiger 1200 XCa, the lure of top quality WP suspension, quickshifter, cruise and carrying capacity beckoned. Do I regret buying the AT, not at all, I think it is a superb bike and well suited to many environments and I suspect the engine is unburstable, I even liked the Honda Panniers (the top box was awful looking though)! Ta Ra

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