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What did you do to your Africa Twin today?

503K views 4K replies 401 participants last post by  01smokes 
#1 ·
Share what you did today with the Africa Twin community!

Example: Met up with the Africa Twin group and went on a ride with the boys!

Example: Finally received the heated grips in the mail. I will be installing them tomorow, stay tuned for pictures.

Example: Took her out to play in the dirt for the first time...

Anything goes.... :grin2:
 
#989 ·
Aside from the lofty price tag, I have seen a concerning number of reviews saying that they aren't waterproof, despite the claim. Some say they are barely water-resistant. Maybe better to wait for an update to the model or a model that replaces it?

I have a pair of Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro Drystars that I wear. I find them pretty comfortable. Maybe not everybody would. I had a pair of Aplinestars Toucans before those. The toucans were super comfortable IMHO.

Best of luck to you on whatever you decide.
 
#999 ·
Had my factory Honda key blanks cut for my ATAS, finally. Was reminded I still needed to have the keys cut when at a local-ish True Value Hardware yesterday while looking for metric fasteners and walked past the key station while keys were being cut. So showed the man my ATAS key and he said no problem as they have the machine to cut "sidewinder" style keys. So took both Honda blanks in today and the elderly gentleman was very thorough in getting the machine and keys setup and cut in about 30 minutes. Tested each key as cut and perfect fit in ignition, fuel cap, seat and panniers. I swear they feel better than my original key! :LOL: All for the hefty price of $21 out the door. So all in around $60 for two OE Honda key blanks and cutting. I'll be giving them some more of my business as the experience overall was very good. The dealer was useless when inquiring about having keys cut btw.

I'd post a photo of the keys but you know, opsec. 🧐
 
#1,003 · (Edited)
Yeah, I had similar problems. In my situation I had a transverse screw through the bottom of both bones to tie the ends together. It came out when the cast came off and I had nerve issues on the top of the affected foot for several years after that. The situation is a lot better today, 36 years later. But I still have a tender spot on the outside of my ankle where they took that thing out that if I hit it on something, you'll be scraping me off the ceiling. Otherwise, all is well.

Get good and get back on the road. Cheers.
 
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#1,004 ·
Severely outnumbered today, but the same Honda bloodline. However, the Africa Twin was not ignored by the Honda riding brotherhood ...

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Note: If you look carefully, the third Honda from the left is pretending to be an ADV bike. It has two (2!) pairs of auxiliary blinding riding LED lamps, a compressor horn, an oil radiator protector, an engine crash bar, and all kinds of handlebar errata only found on offroad bikes. Go figure.
 
#1,012 ·
Yeah, now that I look hard that is a lot of engine in that frame. Anyhoo, those big fours were a dream once upon a time.

Thanks for sharing.
 
#1,017 ·
Got caught out in an outer band from tropical storm Ida yesterday and experienced some of its (much, much reduced) fury with heavy rain, wind and lighting. In no way am I making light of what hurricane Ida has done in the Gulf region and my thoughts are with everyone experiencing the affects. I lived down there in '05 and been through that experience. 🙏

I got a good soaking but the ATAS with Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires performed admirably. The weather hardly phased the bike, stable and chugged right along and cut through the water with no problem. It wasn't until this morning I noticed the ATAS decals on my high fender had peeled back. I'd been meaning to cover the fender with paint protection film since I did the install to prevent lifting.

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Since the factory decals are around $70 for the pair, I decided to try and save. Started out by cleaning and wiping down the fender with 70% IPA. I peeled one decal off and tried to wash as much grit out of the adhesive as I could with the IPA and got quite a bit out. Then used a heat gun to warm the fender and decal to remove its shape and reapplied. Took a bit of time on each side lifting, stretching, adjusting and laying down the decals. I'll be removing the fender and covering with paint protection film tomorrow.

The remaining debris under the decals is noticeable but I can live with it. People who see it might think it's a bad install but I'll know it for what it is - Ida grit.

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#1,019 · (Edited)
I'm curious to see if anyone else on the Forum has taken Bret Tkacs' advice and rotated the bar risers 180 degrees to set the handlebars higher and more forward? And if so, what was your impression of the new geometry?



I tried this on Ol' Red and really like the new position of the bars. I can now stand on the pegs with hands on the bars in a more natural and comfortable position. I'm also 6' 6" and have added 20mm of riser (SW Motech).
 
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#1,021 ·
I'm very happy with the setup changes on my ATAS with the Scott's damper + BRP bar clamp kit that has +10mm / +20mm forward mounting position for the handlebars. I wasn't looking for any additional height over the stock risers.

Prior, I had the bars rotated forward in the stock handlebar clamps which wasn't ideal and with the +20mm position on the BRP clamps, I was able to rotate the bars back for more natural riding position. Being bridged, the bar clamp is more rigid than stock ATAS so less twisting and less mushy feel when pushing on the bars with no increase in vibration.

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#1,023 ·
After weeks of woes with my dealer service, and a week out from an off road ADV camp in NJ's Pine Barrens next week, finally got to just work on my bike instead of have problems with it. Thanks again to everyone on the forums who's helped me get to this point.

First up was reinstalling the brackets to hold this quick release Touratech headlight guard for offroad use. Awesome, just pops right on and off with rubber grommets. It helps a lot to actually install it with fasteners instead of just loosely sitting the metal brackets in the air vents, as the dealer did. I got a refund on the $82.95 service charge.

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My new rescue dog I adopted last week 2 days before my apartment flooded in NYC wanted to check out the AT while my shy wife laughed her ass off.

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Got the other spring on the center installed as the dealer didn't do as elaborated in a painful thread elsewhere. Me an auto mechanic neighbor did it with brute strength and went wild when we got it on after we bent a prybar trying to leverage it on! One spring sleeve will forever stay off, but it's done and now I can do my own wheel and chain maintenance and not have to deal with that dealer.

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Next up was Mosko Moto Reckless 40. Looks like I'm gonna have to camp in NJ for 3 days, and I couldn't be happier with this rackless system from them. I've done a lot of solo bikepacking (long distance bicycling with camping gear) and the construction of this bag system and thoughtfulness behind every detail is awesome. At first all the straps were a little perplexing but now I can get the thing on in 5 minutes. Love that it's entirely rackless and how it attaches. I could easily take this down to South America and fix it to a 250cc if I had to.

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With the 22L Stinger tailbag in the expanded beavertail, I can fit everything I need to camp for 3 days minus replenishing water, and 2L of extra fuel in MSR bottles in the side pockets. My one person MSR tent / poles / footprint / rainfly slides right into one of the leg sleeves. Other sleeping gear on the other side, food and cooking system, and tools to fix a flat including a compressor and all else in the stinger. I reckon you could even fit their Stinger 8L that the Reckless 40 comes with under that beavertail. I love this luggage, cannot say enough good about it.

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And then it was off to shake it down. Nice 200 mile ride alternating from dense urban traffic to highway to rolling twisty backroads to some service roads and even some singletrack that was muddy as heck from Ida passing over the NE. The AT handled it all beautifully, and why I love this bike so much. I feel like I can go **** near anywhere, do about anything.

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Thanks again to everyone in the forums who's helped me with so much since the day I got this bike a few months ago. I love it even more, I know it's capable of even more, and goddamn what a joy it is to ride.
 

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