It was an exciting day for Adventure Riders. The most anticipated new Adventure Bike in years was about to be revealed to a crowd of press in Milan, Italy at the EICMA show. Strangely, as the curtain dropped, what appeared to be the new Honda Africa Twin was displayed wearing camouflage and covered in mud, as if it had just been rushed to the stage after a trail ride.

It seems all the mud was Honda’s way of emphasizing how serious they are about their new Africa Twin being a dirt-oriented Adventure Bike. Honda states the new bike is inspired by their adventure heritage and recent Dakar rally racing program. Sharing the stage was the 1989 Paris-Dakar winning NXR 820V Africa Twin and the Honda CRF450 Rally used in the current Dakar Rally.

A new Honda Adventure Bike was unveiled at the Milan EICMA show covered in mud.

It would seem with the unveiling of a new Africa Twin, Honda has been listening to a growing throng of Adventure Riders unhappy with the trend toward over-sized Adventure Bikes unsuitable for serious off-road use. According to Honda, their new light weight, off-road capable Adventure Bike was developed to withstand the harshest conditions of a round-the-world tour.

While there was great excitement about a new Honda Africa Twin model, there was also disappointment. Although the bike appeared ready for production, Honda introduced the motorcycle as a prototype called the “True Adventure.” The True Adventure name reflects on Honda’s past glory and also encapsulates their future vision. Unfortunately, this means it could take some time before the Honda Africa Twin becomes a production model. Other than the visual unveiling, no other technical details or information was provided by Honda about their True Adventure prototype.

It may not carry the Africa Twin name yet, but the appearance of the True Adventure prototype reflects previous leaked information about a new Honda Africa Twin model. The dual headlights stay true to the Africa Twin heritage, while the vertical windscreen and upward-turned exhaust echo the modern styling of the CRF450 Rally. The bike is powered by a large displacement inline-twin cylinder engine and bodywork is minimalist without much plastic to break in a fall. A flat motocross seat, wrap around handguards, 21″ front/18″ rear wheel combo, aggressive Pirelli Scorpion Rally knobby tires and twin-spar aluminum frame, all send a message that this bike is ready-to-race.

Those with a keen eye may have noticed the bike is missing its clutch and gear shift levers. The prototype is equipped with Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) also available on the NC700X/NC750X and VFR1200X Crosstourer. DCT eliminates the need to operate the clutch, and in ‘AT’ mode automatically selects the best gear for riding conditions. In ‘MT’ mode, the rider can shift without a clutch using a pair of thumb and index finger operated paddles on the left side of the handlebar.

The gray downshift paddle can be seen in the pictures located under the indicator switch on the left side of the handlebar, while the drive mode selector switch is located on the right-side handlebar with N (Neutral), D (Drive) and S (Sport) shift modes. We can see how DCT could be a helpful feature off-road to prevent stalling on rough terrain, but this does add extra complexity to the bike. Most likely, Honda will make DCT optional like they do with other models.

It may not be all the good news many had hoped for, but at least fans of the Africa Twin can rest assured knowing that Honda is making progress toward building a reliable, fairly light-weight, low-maintenance, Adventure Bike with serious off-road intentions (and hopefully good highway manners). We hope that the new prototype is given a strong reception by the masses, so that Honda can be convinced to rush this new Africa Twin into production as soon as possible.

UPDATE 5/12/2015: Honda officially announces the release of the CRF1000L Africa Twin for 2015 launch. For photos and details click here.

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Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.