Honda CRF 1000 L AFRICA TWIN Adventure Sports 2019 — Specifications

What was the Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin missing to go toe-to-toe with the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure and KTM 1290 Adventure R on their own turf? A bigger dose of ruggedness. The ability to venture further, for longer, where trails turn to rubble and only true adventurers dare point their spoked wheels. Honda's answer comes down to two words: Adventure Sports. A version built for long-haul travel and the kind of roads that even GPS units hesitate to display.

Visually, the machine makes its intentions perfectly clear. The front crash bar doubles as a bull bar, the skid plate wraps around the parallel twin with far more generous coverage, and the windscreen gains 80 mm in height to shield the rider when the headwind has been blowing for hours. The ergonomics have been rethought for those who ride standing up: seat raised to 900 mm, flatter profile, wider footpegs on reinforced mounts, raised handlebar. Everything is calibrated for stand-up riding, the kind that lets you tackle ruts and technical sections without your body absorbing every jolt. The tank holds 24.2 litres on the standard version, but this Adventure Sports climbs to 26.2 litres. Honda claims over 500 kilometres of range. Enough to link two Sahelian fuel stations without breaking a sweat.

On the suspension front, the 45 mm inverted fork now offers 252 mm of travel, 22 mm more than the standard Africa Twin. The rear shock follows the same logic with 240 mm of stroke. The result: 270 mm of ground clearance, a figure that places this Honda in the big league of off-road tourers. The spoked rims fitted with 90/90-21 tyres at the front and 150/70-18 at the rear remain unchanged, which makes sense since the sizing was already well suited to off-road use.

The 998 cc parallel twin retains its 95 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 98.1 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm. No power race here, and that's a deliberate philosophy. Honda chose instead to refine the engine character: revised intake, optimised exhaust system, lighter balancer shafts. The improvement is felt in the mid-range, where you spend 90% of your riding time on a journey. The real novelty lies in the electronics. Four riding modes make their debut: Tour, Urban, Gravel and a fully customisable User mode. The HSTC traction control jumps from 3 to 7 adjustment levels, allowing riders to fine-tune the machine's behaviour depending on whether they're riding on wet tarmac or a laterite track. The six-speed gearbox remains available in standard or DCT form, the dual-clutch transmission that can operate in automatic mode with several maps, including the renowned G mode dedicated to loose terrain.

On the scales, the Adventure Sports tips 242 kg wet, roughly ten kilos more than its sibling. Honda kept the weight gain in check thanks to a lithium-ion battery that saves 2.3 kg. A reasonable surplus, especially since the real kilos will come from the panniers, camping gear and all the kit every adventurer piles onto their mount. Priced at 15,099 euros, it positions itself as a credible alternative to the German and Austrian heavyweights, with one compelling argument: Honda's legendary reliability and contained maintenance costs. Standard-fit heated grips and a 12V socket round out an equipment list designed for riding off without looking back. This Africa Twin Adventure Sports doesn't claim to be the most powerful or the lightest in its class. It banks on versatility, endurance and genuine off-road capability to win over riders who want to leave the beaten track behind.