The CRF1000L, Africa Twin is a modern version of the legendary XRV 750, which was based on Honda's successful Dakar Rally race bikes.  Honda calls the project “True Adventure” – after all, the Africa Twin sparked an ‘urge to travel’ for a whole generation of adventurers, and still has a loyal community of fans.

Many of them have crossed continents and explored the far reaches of earth. The original bike helped pioneer the adventure segment back in 1988 and now Honda wants to regain its position in the market with the launch of the 2016 Africa Twin.

Touratech-USA CEO Paul Guillien was lucky enough to ride the new Africa Twin as part of their development of an entire line of new accessories for the bike. Here are his Top 5 reasons to be stoked about the Africa Twin:

This bike can do it in the dirt.

It comes with a gravel-eating 21″ front wheel, and ground clearance to tackle proper off-road adventures. In the last few years, most entrants into the ADV segment came standard with more pavement-oriented 19″ front wheels. The list includes: the Yamaha Super Ténéré, BMW R1200GS, Triumph Explorer 1200, etc.... Honda got it right by giving this bike a rare 21″ front wheel. Honda's only 21″ competition in the 1,000cc plus category is the KTM 1190R.

Traction control modes can be changed on-the-fly or shut off completely. This is a critical feature when riding in sand or climbing loose terrain. The traction control switch is easy to operate and there’s no need to stop riding to turn it off. The new Twin is also reported to have a rear brake ABS that can be disabled to boost grip in loose gravel and allow skid turning for those with the skills.

Honda reliability is legendary.

Durability is critical to an adventure bike and few brands come close to Honda's reliability track record. Sure, it’s too early to hand the Africa Twin an award for this, but the odds are very good that this Honda will set the bar for reliability in the adventure category.

She’s a looker.

No doubt that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but our friends are swooning over this machine’s stylish looks. The Dakar Rally lineage shines through the curves of this bike. Symmetrical headlights, sharp angles, rally inspired bodywork, might just make you weak in the knees. The Twin’s gold rims hinting at HRC history strike a chord with many of us who grew up distracted from homework by the tantalizing pages of dirt bike magazines.

It’s little in the middle.

The quest for fuel capacity, adequately-sized radiators, air boxes and other engineering challenges have created many adventure bikes with body work that competed for space with the rider’s knees. We’re happy to report that the CRF1000L is narrow in the middle and comfortable for the rider in both sitting and standing positions. It may sound simple, but makes a big difference for rider comfort and control.

This motor screams.

While its predecessor was a lot of things, a power-house it was not. Honda didn’t disappoint with power delivery on their new Africa Twin. The dry-sump 988cc SOHC parallel twin motor winds up quickly and is downright exciting to ride. It sends impulses to your brain that make you want to light up the rear tire whenever you see gravel. If you rode it blindfolded you might think it was a KTM. It’s that good. You’d also crash… so please don’t ride blindfolded!

Touratech-USA.com | Powersports.Honda.com

Click here to check out Touratech's new CRF1000L Africa Twin line of accessories!

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