The Honda Africa Twin is a popular motorcycle in the ever-so-competitive ADV space, and a lot of the credit goes to its off-road credentials rather than on-road capabilities. This is also the reason why it can’t really keep up with the 175-horsepower Ducati Multistrada V4, but when it comes to simple adventuring, the Africa Twin gets the job done.
Though very capable, it needs an exceptional rider to extract these things and Kirian Mirabet is one such rider. He’s an Africa Twin specialist who’s done some pretty crazy stuff, like backflips on the Japanese ADV. Today’s topic isn’t as crazy as the backflip, though, but if you know anything about off-road riding, you’ll definitely appreciate watching Mirabet obliterate a motocross track aboard his mammoth Africa Twin.
Honda Africa Twin On A Motocross Track
The video shows Kirian riding beside his brother who’s aboard a KTM 250 SXF motocross motorcycle. Impressively, the Honda rider not only impresses with his skills but even manages to gap the 250cc MX bike. Sounds obvious, right? Well, it actually isn’t. Off-road riding doesn’t work like riding on flat tarmac. The low traction works against a powerful motorcycle since you can’t put the power down effectively, and the weight further makes life worse. This is a prime reason why 250-450cc, bare-bones MX bikes are the go-to options for tight off-road tracks rather than a 1000+cc adventure bike.
To give you an idea, the KTM 250 SXF tips the scale at just 101kg (222 pounds) whereas the Africa Twin weighs 239kg (526 pounds). Sure, the latter pumps out more ponies, but as mentioned above, it’s the weight that makes life difficult on a tight low-grip circuit. Add all this up and Kirian’s ride aboard the Africa Twin on a tight MX track becomes simply applaudable.
Honda Africa Twin Specifications & Price
As impressive as Kirian’s skills are, you simply can’t discount the Africa Twin’s ability to take all this on the chin. And in case you dig it, the Africa Twin currently starts from $14,499 going up to $17,299. For the money, the motorcycle boasts a meaty 1,084cc twin-cylinder engine alongside a whole suite of electronic rider aids–all accessible via a TFT instrument cluster. Meanwhile, suspension duties are via long-travel Showa USD forks and monoshock while the top-spec ES variant rolls on electronic Showa units. Since all this can be a lot for a newbie, Honda is also prepping a more accessible ADV bearing the iconic Transalp name.