Thinking about an Africa Twin.......

As per title really. What do I need to know? What's good? What's bad? And what to avoid etc.

Will be used as a hobby bike essentially as have a GSA and Enfield already, always been fond of them, never had one, always wanted one.

Appreciate any gems of info.....

TIA

check all plastics - as they are either unobtainable or costly to replace.

check front sprocket and shaft for wear, the main shaft/spline can wear down if chain too tight - costs approx £500 to fix and means engine out casing split etc...

Rims can rot on original wheels if used all year round, They rot from the inside out so watch for lots of mottling or surface corrosion on them.

Fuel pump can be an issue on some bikes but I personally would not worry about that until it went wrong ( which it probably wont )

Apart from that do your homework and make sure you check out XRV website in the For sale and wanted section, your more likely to find a good example on there then EBAY In my opinion.

farmboys got the main points

but i found super tenere is a better bike , except for looks. plus they're often not very good value and pretty scabby as the paint on frames, engines and cycle parts was poor.
nice ones as you'll see are £3/4000 which is a lot of money for what it is , but they go on for ever and you won't loose much if any money on one.

good luck

Never had one myself, but a friend used to complain that the seat was uncomfortable too early on a long tip and was very envious of the lack of dive of the telelever front end when we both pulled up and his dipped a couple of yards. That said, he rather liked it.

Thanks chaps, food for thought. Is there one variant better than any other, you know the xx one is "the one" to have.

I was thinking my strategy was to get the latest lowest mileage one possible, pref in the red white blue HRC colours, but I guess condition is all(as ever) whatever colour it is. However, didn't want to buy the one that everyone says " nooooo fool, you shouldn't have got that one"

For me it has to be either an RD03 or RD04 in HRC red/white/blue made between 1988-1991

They really were built to last a lifetime

RD03 is a 650cc built by HRC to race and win the Dakar Rally, identifiable by its single front brake with sand/rock cover.

Never sold in this country but a few were imported over the years, There are one or two around but most are to be found on mainland Europe
( France,Italy )

RD04 is the 750cc built by Honda to celebrate the 650 winning the Dakar although a few did race in the rally itself, basically a few more vibes than the 650 with twin front brakes.

The seats are OK but not brilliant, they are identical on both the 650 and 750

Front fork dive is always going to happen on a tall top heavy bike built to survive offroad.

Good ones are very very hard to find nowadays, I have owned both and still have my RD03, still regret the day I sold my 750

In my opinion of course, There ar emany many RD07 and RD07A owners out there who are just as happy + they are much easier to find

Had 3 x XRV’s, an RD03, RD04 and RD07a. The one to go for if you’re after a classic is the RD03 Marathon – basically a full blown rallye bike but made in very limited numbers and very hard to find. TBM did a feature about the restoration of a yellow camel sponsored RD03 Marathon bike many years ago. The bike is still out there – last owned by a member of the BTBC IIRC. For road use, the RD07a is the one to go for as it’s by far the most refined. The RD04 is tall and heavy. TBH though, if you’ve got a GSA why bother? As far as I’m concerned the GS is better in almost every way with the exception of offroad and reliability. The Honda’s are bomb proof – I did over 200,000 miles on mine, rode them hard offroad and nothing went wrong, ever. The last 4 BMW’s by comparison…….

DrAlf said:

Had 3 x XRV’s, an RD03, RD04 and RD07a. The one to go for if you’re after a classic is the RD03 Marathon – basically a full blown rallye bike but made in very limited numbers and very hard to find. TBM did a feature about the restoration of a yellow camel sponsored RD03 Marathon bike many years ago. The bike is still out there – last owned by a member of the BTBC IIRC. For road use, the RD07a is the one to go for as it’s by far the most refined. The RD04 is tall and heavy. TBH though, if you’ve got a GSA why bother? As far as I’m concerned the GS is better in almost every way with the exception of offroad and reliability. The Honda’s are bomb proof – I did over 200,000 miles on mine, rode them hard offroad and nothing went wrong, ever. The last 4 BMW’s by comparison…….

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Easy to answer - its a heart purchase, not a head purchase. Always loved the look of them, one of those bikes (if I owned one) that I would go into the garage and look at for hours........I recall that I used to walk literally for hours as a schoolboy to a Honda dealership (Costin's I think it was called, near Southend, Essex) and press my nose up against the glass and just marvel at the Honda trailies they had, Xl's At's etc and vowed to myself, someday, I would have one.

For me the GSA is easily the best all round bike I have ever owned, and the only bike I need. But is it the only bike I want - no it isnt!

I reckon the AT's are classics now, and need to be preserved, even if i am being a bit rose tinted and sentimental about it all- schoolboy fantasy being realised and all.

I reckon thats a pretty good reason to buy a bike?

I had an early 750.

It'll feel quite top-heavy after a GS, especially off road.

Great build quality, but a slightly flat torque curve - very efficiently designed no doubt but it robs the power delivery of any character.

Having said that, I had a similar feeling when I test rode an F800GS....




P