Honda’s Africa Twin is a massive hit – the second best-selling machine in the adventure segment after BMW R1200GS. Still, it has some drawbacks: it’s heavy and it’s quite expensive. Honda unveiled an even-heavier and more expensive Africa Twin this year, but the middleweight is still missing.
Honda has some smaller bikes in the so-called adventure class, but none of them is a true adventure machine: the CRF250 Rally is too small, the CB500X is just a CB500 in a different trim and the NC750X… well, it has a car engine and it’s very heavy.
We’re thinking about a 700 cc, 70-80 hp engine, less weight (200 kg wet) and a less than $10,000 price tag. Something similar to Yamaha’s Tenere 700. How does it sound?
It’s not impossible. “When we speak about pure adventure, we don’t have such a wide line up, says Kenji Morita, Large Project Large for the Africa Twin, to MCN. “And yes, we are thinking of putting a half-way model in to attract younger people. We will develop this bike, but it’s not something we are working on right now.”