Africa Twin test ride

[Timolgra]

Told ya

 

[Giles]

.... even if I have previously ridden MotoX and trials for years since I was 11.

Ha ha .... Yes yes yes .. alright .... I didn't know!!

Well in that case it's right up your street! Enjoy

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Bit boring on the road Giles. Tell it like a northerner.

 

[GS TRV]

Everyones becoming a Dave Thorpe all of a sudden

 

[Davy F]

Everyones becoming a Dave Thorpe all of a sudden

He did ask for my autograph when I visited the NEC......

 

[Rob Farmer]

As we suspected - too wheezy for the road

It sounds like a decent bike to me. If you want a 100hp+ sports bike why bother with the pretence of it looking vaguely like an adventure bike? The current crop of ridiculously oversized gs/adventure/ktm have given up any pretence of dual sport and have to my mind anyway become completely pointless.

 

[Nutty]

It sounds like a decent bike to me. If you want a 100hp+ sports bike why bother with the pretence of it looking vaguely like an adventure bike? The current crop of ridiculously oversized gs/adventure/ktm have given up any pretence of dual sport and have to my mind anyway become completely pointless.

Has JB hacked your account?

 

[g00ner]

Has JB hacked your account?

He has a point - I met Giles, Bounce and Tunneruk a little while ago for what was described as 'a nice gentle ride, no heroics' to a cafe in Sussex. I didn't see them again till I reached the cafe . Not all of us need or can use 100 bhp on our roads

The only saving grace is Quenten was stuck behind me

 

[Timolgra]

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, not sure which is worse....

 

[Rob Farmer]

He has a point - I met Giles, Bounce and Tunneruk a little while ago for what was described as 'a nice gentle ride, no heroics' to a cafe in Sussex. I didn't see them again till I reached the cafe . Not all of us need or can use 100 bhp on our roads

exactly. Some of the ride outs are hitting speeds of 120+ MPH. if that's your thing then great! Some of us don't want to be riding at those speeds or even riding in ride outs.

 

[Nutty]

He has a point - I met Giles, Bounce and Tunneruk a little while ago for what was described as 'a nice gentle ride, no heroics' to a cafe in Sussex. I didn't see them again till I reached the cafe . Not all of us need or can use 100 bhp on our roads

The only saving grace is Quenten was stuck behind me

Next time we meet there for breakfast, as the service is so slow, the plan is to order the food, then go for a quick ride while we're waiting for them to cook it! You'll need at least 150bhp for that!

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Has JB hacked your account?

No, but he's right.............Rob is a wise old sage

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

exactly. Some of the ride outs are hitting speeds of 120+ MPH. if that's your thing then great! Some of us don't want to be riding at those speeds or even riding in ride outs.

Exactly, neither of the 2 rides I led at Dent last year, came anywhere near that

In fact on the only bit of B road , where you could have done 120mph..............I held it back at 58mph, because there was a 90% chance of a speed camera van and NY Police didn't disappoint and sure enough, just before the first coffee stop, there it was

On all the other minor roads, we had a good hoon, but i bet wee never got above 80 and I heard no mutterings of discontent, from any of the participants, even Giles managed a smile


Nowadays over 70mph up here is being outlawed

 

[Rob Farmer]

I passed you when you were all in the cafe Just a couple of miles from where this was taken.

Lovely roads. Shame to race through them.

 

[Giles]

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, not sure which is worse....

Has it taken you all night to think that one up ....!

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

It pains my to say this but......one or two of the pictures in your report Giles are ok I suppose.

It sounds a lovely bike to ride on the mucky stuff, everybody seems to say the same too. How does it compare to Cato off road?

Andres

 

[Giles]

One or two of those photos are fucking ace Andres .... !!
My off road skirmish was just 40 minutes on what are in effect road tyres. So a pretty lame off road test in reality.
I guess if you said that comparing the Honda and the Ktm were like comparing a drz and an exc, then the Honda fans would jump up and down and complain. And they'd be right - the AT is very accomplished indeed. The Ktm can be raw and a bit brutal, I always feel like it's ready to bite me on the back side if I loose concentration. The AT felt much softer and kinder by comparison, and that frees you up both mentally and physically to relax and get on with it.
I suppose in many ways, my off road skills are better suited to the softer kinder AT than the razor sharp Ktm. And I'm sure that would apply to 90 percent of us ...

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Interesting and given how shit I am off road the Honda should suit me better.......the only problem is your analogy, I had a DRZ and hated it, I found it very hard work off road. Whilst I've never ridden an EXC I did have a 450 Berg after the DRZ and found that a much easier and nicer bike off road.
Like you though most of my riding is on road so I can't see myself leaving the Orange fold anytime soon, the character and 'that' engine are too big a draw for me

Andres

 

[Reggie P]

Formalities over .....

I say ...

A great bike, but not for me. 99% of my riding is on the road, and the 1190 does that just brilliantly. The AT didn't have the raw brute force that I like in Cato

But .... if I lived in spain, Italy, somewhere where there are loads of never ending trails on my doorstep (and not snotty English green lanes that if your honest, suit the 400 / 450's) I'd have one in a shot.
You'd be mad if all you ever did with this bike is tour on tarmac with it ...

Giles hit the nail on the head.(again)

(imho) the DCT is the future , Honda are wisely investing lots of money and time into DCT.
However, I'm not sure that I need to buy one just yet. Maybe in a few years, when BMW have "refined it" to perfection. (Their 8 speed unit in my 5 series is sublime, its even linked to the GPS so it knows what terrain/roundabouts are "up-next" on the route .....just perfection)

My real problem with the AT, is that it looks like shit ! Yes Arsey, Davey and a few others have been (surprisingly ) "taken in" by the blue/red stripes... But when you really look at the bike (not the kaleidoscope of colours its sold in) Its a "plain Jane" imho.



KTM and BMW offerings have all the power/excitement are proven and genuinely exciting.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Yaaaay, a picture staurtw.

I love pictures too

Andres