BREAKING: 2018 Honda Africa Twin bookings to open in India by the end of this month
HMSI is gearing up to launch the 2018 version of its ADV offering. To be precise, this is an update of the existing model and not the bigger Africa Twin Adventure Sport that was revealed last year. Honda has already showcased the 2018 Africa Twin at the Auto Expo earlier this year. HMSI launched the Africa Twin in India in May last year at Rs 12.90 lakh, ex-Delhi.  Just like last year's motorcycle, the 2018 Honda Africa Twin will also come in via the CKD route and will be sold in limited numbers again, though the final number of CKD kits to be imported into the country for assembly is yet to be confirmed. Deliveries are expected to start around the second quarter of the current financial year, in July this year. The updated Honda Africa Twin will compete with the likes of the Triumph Tiger 800, Ducati Multistrada 950 as also the Kawasaki Versys 1000.
Changes to the 2018 Honda Africa Twin include an updated throttle-by-wire along with updated riding modes. While the Honda Africa Twin is an impressive machine off-road, it has received some criticism for lazy feel on tarmac and we believe the tweaks to the bike's electronics package for 2018 should help in addressing the issue, making for a sprightlier feel on the road.
The Honda CRF1000L has already proven its credentials at the famous Dakar Rally, and the road-going Africa Twin boasts a ground clearance of 250mm thanks to its compact engine. This has been achieved by housing the water pump in the clutch case. Also, the water and oil pumps are driven by a single, shared balancer shaft that helps reduce the engine's overall height.
The Honda Africa Twin is powered by a 998cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine that produces 95PS and 92Nm. Honda states that it has managed to develop the litre-class engine by using a four-valve Unicam head design. Only the automatic, DCT (dual clutch transmission) equipped version of the Honda Africa Twin is on sale in India though and as of now there is no confirmation from Honda as to whether or not it will launch the manual version of the motorcycle this time.
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