Since my trip through Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia earlier this year with MrsH on the back of a GS I've been thinking about getting a big Adventure bike. http://ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/slovenia-and-croatia.42453/ We tried the DVT multi before we went but I found it a bit too smooth and refined for my taste (like all the latest Ducati's I'm afraid) and the Mrs preferred the GS. I do a bit of trail riding and I kinda felt that I wanted something with a bit of off-road potential so since coming back I began to wonder about the KTM 1190 Adventure and the Multistrada Enduro but they are both so damn BIG that I wondered if I'd be able to handle them off road as I can hardly swing my leg over the pillion seat to get on board! I thought I'd go on a training course to see what a big bike is like on the dirt and the only one I could book on was the Honda Adventure Centre in Wales who run the Africa Twin. Wow - what a revelation! It might be much the same weight as the GS or the standard Multistrada but the Honda feels a lot lighter to ride. In fact I'd say it feels more like my little Yamaha TTR 250 trail bike than it does the GS or Multi. They had us doing proper trail-bike stuff through mud and rocks, up and down big hills, through streams and everything. By the end of the weekend, having learnt a few new techniques, I was happily doing stuff on the Honda that I would previously have struggled to do on my 250. The Honda is also great on the road. It isn't mega powerful but the handling, torque and power delivery are so balanced that it feels spot on. Moreover the engine has character reminiscent of a v-Twin. In fact for me it feels more like a v-twin should than the DVT does. This video sums it up pretty bloody well. By the end of the weekend I was fairly smitten, and started browsing Africa Twins on the web. There aren't that many to be had secondhand, and new ones are unavailable at the moment because of production difficulties after an earthquake in Japan. However I stumbled across one being sold by a lady just an hour away who bought it and realised she didn't like it after putting just 33 miles on the clock! It seemed too good an opportunity to miss so almost before I knew it I'd contacted her, been to the bank, paid her without even seeing the bike and then went to collect it from the dealer she bought it from down in Cornwall who had just finished removing the lowering kit she had put on it. I had back at home for an evening ride the very same day 300 miles later I've just finished running her in and I'm blown away by this bike ... It has genuine 50/50 off-road/on-road capability and as such is in a class all of its own as far as I can see. In fact it is so good that I could see it meeting all of my biking needs apart from when I need a sports bike fix. It is as much fun as my 990 SuperDuke - in fact more so because it doesn't demand to be ridden like a hooligan ALL of the time - so I can't see that getting a look-in any more. If the Mrs likes it on the back then with panniers it'll do everything that the ST4s will do - so there wouldn't be much point running that either. I'm waiting for Karoo3 tyres, crash bars and Barkbusters to arrive before hitting the dirt - and for the kind of trail bike riding I do, it could even take the place of my TTR. It looks like I could be thinning out the contents of my garage next year ... and all because of a bloody Honda! I can hardly believe it!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm going on the Africa Twin course in Wales myself, they reckon the semi auto gearbox on that thing is awesome
I only have 1 Honda - made a sellotape dispenser out of it :Angelic: but it takes up sooo much room, bloody Honda's
Tyres and bark busters? Surely an Akra pipe should be priority, junk that great lump of uglyness hanging off the side.
LOL - I have half an eye on the Termi end can or the Arrow full titanium system. Both are nicer looking than the Akra ... but then again the standard can makes a good bumper. It is definitely going to get dropped off-road and knowing my luck it won't always be on the left hand side! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You'll love the course and you'll have the option to try the DCT auto/semi-auto version. It is pretty impressive but you have to ride it in quite a different way to a normal bike - especially off-road for lifting the front over logs etc. In the end I prefer the manual - old dogs new tricks and all that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Arrow are a good bet....plus one thing ive found with pipes....try getting anything out of akra after youve bought it....replacement parts are all stored at Hogwarts....arrow on the other hand will sell you any individual part from their systems. I change the centre section of my race headers on my z1000 from a dual exit to a single exit...the replacment part was with me in 5 days, from Italy. Could be an advantage moreso on an off roader if you damage the exhaust which is going to be highly likely...i would say.
