Honda begins deliveries of CRF1000L Africa Twin

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), which had launched its globally popular litre-class adventure-touring motorcycle – the CRF1000L Africa Twin on May 15, has started its deliveries today.

Honda’s flagship adventure motorcycle, which is also its first completely knocked down (CKD) model in the one-litre superbike class, was available for bookings for an initial batch of only 50 units.

With 50 bookings for the Africa Twin in the last 60-75 days, the company has sold out all the models imported as CKD units in the first batch. The Africa Twin is available at HMSI’s network of 22 ‘wing world’ dealerships located across 22 cities in India.

Felicitating the deliveries of Honda Africa Twin in Udaipur today, Minoru Kato, president & CEO, HMSI said, “I would like to congratulate the first lucky customers on the delivery of their amazing machines. My own experience of riding the Africa Twin, during the development of one of its variant on my official assignment in Europe, was exhilarating. The motorcycle with its unique features, allows it to be very adaptable for varied riding conditions. I wish all the Africa Twin customers a memorable and adventurous experience.’’

Adding to that, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice president - sales and marketing, HMSI said, “We are extremely delighted to witness the overwhelming response received by Africa Twin. Africa Twin is possibly the most reliable, versatile and proven adventure touring motorcycle ever launched in India. As we welcome the first tribe of Africa Twin customers in India, few lucky customers will also get a chance to attend the grand out-door ‘True Adventure’ Africa Twin ride event.”

It can be recalled that Autocar Professional broke the news about Honda’s plan of rolling out the motorcycle in India by mid-2017 in its report dated June 30, 2016.

Honda’s CRF1000L Africa Twin, which was first showcased in India at the 2016 Auto Expo in Greater Noida, is powered by liquid-cooled, two-cylinder, 999.11cc engine, which churns out a peak power of more than 87 bhp. The 245kg (kerb weight) adventure motorcycle variant available for sale in India comes equipped with a six-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT) system for smooth acceleration and deceleration.

Minoru Kato, HMSI president & CEO and Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president (Sales & Marketing), Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India with the first Africa Twin customers in India.

The DCT system offers choice of manual and automatic gear shifting to the rider. A company release explaining the different riding modes on Africa Twin quotes, “D mode offers the best balance of fuel economy and comfort cruising, while S mode provides extra levels of sport performance, with three different shift patterns to choose from. Africa Twin is also fully equipped to operate in an off-road environment, and its functionality is enhanced by the G-Mode. Pushing the G-button in any riding mode modifies the control of the clutch system to give a more direct drive.”

Although the Africa Twin’s price tag at the time of its commercial launch in India was Rs 12.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), it is now revised to Rs 13,06,927 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Honda is the sixth global brand to bring its adventure-tourer motorcycle to the maturing India market, which already has top names such as Triumph Motorcycle India, Ducati, BMW Motorrad, Suzuki Motorycle India and India Kawasaki with models in the 800cc and above engine displacement category.