This is the most impressive big bore ‘true’ adventure bike I’ve ridden to date. After a short stretch of non-technical graded dirt road we set off up the spectacular Bain’s Kloof Pass. In my book the new Africa Twin looks more like the big brother of the CRF450 than the son of a 2003 XRV750 RD07A (the last motorcycle to carry the name Africa Twin). At the crest of the pass I engaged tourist mode for the ride down to the lunch stop and this is where the DCT came into its own. It takes everything we throw at it in stride and asks for more. And it doesn’t stop there, the traction control is so precise that select level one, find a dusty loose corner and whack open the throttle and you too can be a back wheel drifter of epic proportions whilst the ECU will keep you rubber side up. It’s also quite obvious that the smaller capacity off-road CRF model has played a major influence in the looks department, a fact that’s been confirmed by the inclusion of the ‘CRF1000’ moniker in the full title. The first section of the road ride was on high speed straights with the occasional long sweeping bend. This was touring at it’s finest where I could concentrate on the road ahead and the scenery and let the Africa Twin make all the decisions, which it did with impeccable manners and choice. As men of a certain age are prone to do, I’d sustained a serious sock injury on the flight over to Cape Town. Damage was cosmetic only—a scuffed up fairing and hand guard—and the dog was fine too. I agreeI do not agree, I consent to allow Adventure Bike Rider to collect my contact information (required). This twisty, uneven, spectacular Alpine-style strip of tarmac is one that has the ability to empower your teeth-grinding speed-king persona or engage with your more relaxed open-jawed tourist nature. However, issues can arise when you engage warp speed on multi-personality routes where you quickly establish that the DCT algorithm does not work in tandem with the right side of your brain. And when you throw in the DCT which works near perfect in off-road conditions you can forget having to find the gear lever when standing up or trying to work out which gear you need to engage to work through the deep mud or sand up ahead – the Africa Twin will do it all for you. Once back in the Rider garage, we also added a Helibars Tour Performance bar riser ($129) for easier stand-up riding off-road and more relaxed ergos when seated. Automatic gear changes are so smooth and unobtrusive I was constantly checking to see which gear the bike was in. See our privacy policy for details on how we manage your data. In short, Honda were working on a wish list of Holy Grail proportions. The running order of the next two days read like this; day one would be a road ride with the morning spent on the DCT version, switching to the manual gear change in the afternoon. If I have a complaint, then it was certainly highlighted by the intense sun of South African summer. The exception is whereas the Ténéré feels, and is, top heavy, the Africa Twin does not and is not. dunlopmotorcycle.com >>> Related: 6 things I learnt from throwing an Africa Twin around off-road. More than capable of high speed motorway cruising in comfort and a hoot on alpine style roads. On the other hand you can ignore all the buttons, look straight ahead, twist the throttle and ride with nothing more to do. helibars.com Here's our full review and test. Full marks. Man, it even brought a smile to a drugged up old guy with a faltering back. We haven’t experienced any more hesitation issues as noted in our first report, but our Africa Twin did start exhibiting some occasional hard starting recently. We were promised sections of deep sand and ruts, loose rocky trails, gnarly hill climbs and fast paced undulating piste with unexpected drop offs and water cuts. We were cruising somewhere over the spectacular Hoggar Mountains of southern Algeria when I made the cataclysmic decision to lean forwards and change into British Airways comfort socks. We did discover, however, that with the Helibars riser installed, the fixed position of the large Givi tank bag (due to the tank ring mount) interferes with the handlebar at full lock. Fuel Consumption: Honda claims 61mpg Day two was going to be interesting. All you need do is pick the line and enjoy the experience. Sticking with the seat height, Honda has pulled off a bit of an engineering whiz with the new Africa Twin where you get the coveted combination of a reasonably low seat and good ground clearance (250mm) on the same bike. The route for the day was not the level, hard-packed, graded roads which are common in South Africa but 50-or-so miles of genuine technical trails. With visibility as good as it gets and the riding non-technical it was a great opportunity to get to grips with all the modes and concentrate on the form and function of the bike rather than the tarmac ahead. The vision was a rider feeling at home when commuting in a busy city, scratching around A roads, continental touring or setting off on a round the world escapade. A safety tether, rain cover and extra strap-on clear map/tablet compartment are included. I was lamenting those heavenly days gone by as the warm glow of an early morning African sun chased the last nip of cool air from the balcony of my luxury bedroom. Of all the places they can go, the things to see, the adventures to savor. And that’s what they’ve achieved. Honda’s solution is a multiple split screen set up where the essential need to knows are kept apart from the nice to knows and they’ve done a good job.