These are the first full photos of the all-new 2016 Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin, perhaps the first bike to genuinely live up to the adventure motorcycle’s potential. Big dirt bike? Yep, and not much more.


Snagged by Australian Motorcycle News, these renderings reveal the new Africa Twin in full. Following yesterday’s leaked video and this week’s news that the bike will be sold in America, these confirm the scaled-up dirt bike spec.


As we’ve exclusively revealed through various leaks from our Honda insider, that’s a 21-inch front wheel, an 18-inch rear and a novel frame/airbox/fuel tank arrangement that pushes the airbox outside the frame, allowing the fuel tank to slide forwards, allowing a longer seat and more dirt-like ergonomics.

Honestly, after hearing this thing run in that leaked video, I’m pretty darn close to putting down a deposit on one.

What the ADV market has lacked for so long is a genuine, scaled-up dirt bike. Something that doesn’t weigh way too much or have too much complication. We’re told Honda is targeting a dry weight of 440lbs. And, this all-new 1,000cc parallel-twin sounds like its been tuned to work like a big single, delivering immediate response and big torque over useless high-rev horsepower. All backed up with Honda reliability, pricing and its vast dealer network. Stay tuned for more.

IndefinitelyWild is a new publication about adventure travel in the outdoors, the vehicles and gear that get us there and the people we meet along the way. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.