Rode an Africa Twin today.

[Paco Bulto]

   Rode one today at Niehaus Cycles in Litchfield, IL. Briefly, I will say that this is one very fun motorcycle! I am on my second Super Tenere, a 2014 ES that I love and this AT really impressed me. It felt so light and flickable and handled great on the few sweepers that I had it on. The rest of the 20 mile loop was country blacktop with a rough surface and it handled that very well, with a smooth ride. It was very comfortable and the engine was quite responsive. I turned the traction control (torque control, Honda calls it) off and as I approached a small rise while in second gear, I rolled the throttle on and it did a wonderful, controllable sky shot and sat back down easily. BTW, you can change TCS settings on the fly and can even turn it off without stopping. if I still had my first gen 2012 Super Tenere, I would probably be ready to trade. I have grown to really like my 2014 Gen 2 ES and will stay with it for a while, since I do about 90% road riding. It seems to me that my Super Tenere is a great adventure TOURING bike and the AT is a great ADVENTURE touring bike. Well done, Honda!

[HawkGTRider]

The AT may be the most sought after test ride at STAR this year at the Honda demo truck. I know I'll be trying to sign up.

[Brick]

Excellent Fred! I thought you would probably be the first person I knew who would get a ride on the AT.


Let's Ride!
Brick

[Paco Bulto]

Yes, I'll bet that it will be very popular at the STAR demo rides. They probably won't let you try any hooligan stuff, though. That's another benefit of having a good dealer, no such restrictions. 

Brick, I think our Super Tenere friend trikepilot would be an excellent candidate for an AT.

[Brick]

Fred I agree this is what he should be riding the TAT right now.


Let's Ride!
Brick

[TN2Wheeler]

Fred probably has better information. My local dealer said Honda is building less than 500 Africa twins for 2016. He thinks there will be an early release of 2017 models however.

[Paco Bulto]

Fred probably has better information. My local dealer said Honda is building less than 500 Africa twins for 2016. He thinks there will be an early release of 2017 models however.

I think that's right, Jim, since the earthquake has put a major delay in getting the 2016 models here, there won't be that many 2016's made.  I know that if I were considering one, I would wait for a 2017, rather than getting a 2016 later this summer. Seems that the early shipment that arrived last week consists mostly of presold units. Our dealer has several of the next shipment sold already and it will be a while before they get here.

[TN2Wheeler]

Fred probably has better information. My local dealer said Honda is building less than 500 Africa twins for 2016. He thinks there will be an early release of 2017 models however.

I think that's right, Jim, since the earthquake has put a major delay in getting the 2016 models here, there won't be that many 2016's made.  I know that if I were considering one, I would wait for a 2017, rather than getting a 2016 later this summer. Seems that the early shipment that arrived last week consists mostly of presold units. Our dealer has several of the next shipment sold already and it will be a while before they get here.

My guy said Honda already had deposits on 2600 units. So if that's true, much of the 2017 production is already sold too. He said he had a deposit from one buyer but doesn't expect to get a 2016.