Honda’s 2024 Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES – Part One

If a 21-inch front wheel with a manual gearbox is your heart’s desire, then the 2023 Africa Twin Adventure Sport with traditional suspension is the model for you. All this can be yours for £14,749, reducing the headline price by £1,550.

As clear as mud. I’m just happy I’m testing the 2024 ES version with the DCT gearbox.

Read The Clucking Manual

When a motorcycle arrives for a road test, my usual routine is to change nothing and take it for a ride. The bikes will have been checked and reset to standard through the manufacturer’s workshop, so other than ensuring there is petrol in the tank and the brakes work, I want to get an initial impression before changing any of the settings to suit me.

Staring at the 6.5-inch TFT display and the plethora of options, I’m stunned. Is this standard? Should Gravel mode be on or off? Which suspension setting do I need? Pressing the favourites button changes the amount of traction control. WTF?

The settings for Engine Braking, Power, and Traction Control are familiar, although I only have three TC settings on the NT, not the seven on the AT. The other options are new. A week into riding the bike, the H/S setting (bottom row far right) is still a mystery to me. I assume it is hard or soft suspension as the ride is firm, but I’ve not yet discovered how to change it.

Perhaps this is the one motorcycle where reading the manual before riding it is almost compulsory.

Aerodynamics

For years, it has seemed that only MRA did meaningful research into screens. Their famous “flip” and the time they spend in the wind tunnel developing each screen have significantly improved my comfort on many long-distance rides.

Some manufacturers have quietly caught up (Suzuki 1050XT V-Strom), while others still screw a vaguely shaped sheet of Perspex to the front of the bike and call it a screen (Hi Yamaha).

The ATES screen is small and effective. Height adjustment is easy; squeeze the two clips and raise or lower the screen as desired. It’s simple and easy to achieve even when wearing gloves and stopped at traffic lights.

I’m 6 feet tall, and with the ATES seat in the high position and wearing my LS2 Carbon Explorer, complete with a squeaky peak and amazingly clear visor that doesn’t have any optical distortion, the ride is calm and relatively quiet. Some wind is hitting my shoulders and arms, but considering the screen’s width, Honda has invested time and money in getting the aerodynamics right.

Lowering the screen only appeared to increase the noise level. More investigation is required.

The ATES has air vents on either side of the headlights that help create a pressure zone between the rider and the screen, smoothing the airflow. Roger has never complained about buffeting on his seven-year-old AT. Still, it will be interesting to ride the older model for a few motorway miles to identify any differences.

Up and Down Comfort

The ATES’s ergonomics are the usual Honda delight for all-day road riding. My hands and feet fall naturally on the handlebars and foot pegs, comfortably stretched out without being over-extended.

The seat is a little hard for my taste, but the ATES only has 1,500 miles on it, so perhaps it still requires breaking in.

Where the Honda’s ergonomics don’t work for me is when I try to do the off-road thing and stand up. To reach the handlebars, I need to bend my legs, which I’m told is a good thing by those who ride off-road for real, but for me, it is just awkward. The bend in my legs makes my backside stick out behind me, and my head is pushed forward over the TFT. It is never going to work for any real distance.

If I compare this to the Aprilia Tuareg 660, where I could stand up straight, and everything was still in the right place, something needs to change on the Honda to make standing comfortable. SW-Motech Bar Risers and Sliders would perhaps make the difference.

Engine and Gearbox

The last time I rode Honda’s 1100 DCT engine, it was installed in an NT1100. It was impressive, especially when sliding through the traffic. I bought the manual version with a quick shifter because I enjoy the added engagement a manual gearbox brings, especially when bashing B roads, but it was a close call.

In theory, the DCT gearbox should be the best quick shifter ever made, and it would have been heading that way if it wasn’t for the subtle changes the latest generation appears to have introduced.

I can only speak about the one Africa Twin Adventure Sports I’ve ridden; perhaps others are different.

The sublimely smooth idle-to-drive connection between the throttle and the rear wheel has disappeared. In its place is a slight pause before the ATES surges off the line as the DCT clutch disengages. This is epic when I’ve filtered to the front of the traffic, and the lights go green. An outstanding traffic light GP launch every time.

Thankfully, the roads have been dry, and traction hasn’t been a consideration. In the rain on a greasy city road, perhaps the abruptness of the engagement wouldn’t be so welcome.

I’ve been enabling Gravel Mode to see if I can smooth out the delivery, but Gravel Mode resets every time I turn the ignition off.

Ever Onwards

Given the plethora of rider modes, customisable options and DCT gearbox modes, picking the right combination could take longer than I have the ATES for.

As expected, Drive mode is an uninspiring affair, and my settings of choice are Sport 1 or Sport 2. Then again, maybe Drive is the mode to use when it is damp or greasy. I’ll add that to the list of setting combinations to try.

I’ve also found that I need to constantly watch my speed as creeping 5 – 10 MPH over the speed limit can go unnoticed when the throttle is constant, and the DCT shuffles smoothly and efficiently through the cogs.

Mostly, I’m using Tour Mode and Sport One, which is the best blend of options I’ve found so far, even if the DCT gearbox software and I are having a slight disagreement over the need to downshift an extra cog just as I tip into a tight corner.

The easy answer to all of this would be to put the DCT into pseudo-manual mode and change gear with my foot or the buttons. Yet that seems counterintuitive. It is a DCT, and I shouldn’t need to do such things.

Finding the ideal combination for me will take time and experimentation, yet someone on an hour-long test ride isn’t going to have the luxury of living with the ATES to find the configuration that suits them.

Would it be blind luck that the default settings work for most potential customers, or has Honda built an overly capable motorcycle that can do too many things?

I’ll keep working on the ideal – every day – setup, but if I want the ATES to be something other than a daily ride, it can morph into just about anything.

Perhaps it is time to load the 2024 Africa Twin Adventure Sports and go camping.