New Video Takes Africa Twin on Wild Ride to ‘Top of the World’
Raiden Rider Ernie Vigil puts an Africa Twin through its paces in Moab.
Icon’s Raiden line is known for two things: tough adventure riding gear and some pretty amazing videos to promote it. For 2016, Raiden is back with more of both, and even if you’re not in the market for new gear, you’ll want to check out the video.
“Lords of the Atlas: Top of the World” has Raiden test rider Ernie Vigil once again flogging a big bike like only he can. You may recall when Vigil and a co-rider ripped through city streets, jungles, snow-capped mountains, dunes and a dry lake bed on Triumph 800 XC in “Portland to Dakar.” Then there was “Lords of the Atlas: Mexican 1000,” in which Vigil and teammates bashed down the Baja Peninsula, once again on specially prepped Triumphs 800 XCs. They followed that with “Lords of the Atlas: Alcan 5000,” highlighting their misadventures on the longest rally in North America, riding the same Triumphs they raced in Mexico.
For “Top of the World” team Raiden replaced the Triumphs with a brand new Honda Africa Twin, which looks stunning sliding through turns, carving dune faces getting airborne against the backdrop of the red rocks of Moab, Utah. The bike seems like it was made for the riding found in wide open spaces like this, and the photography is as beautiful as past Raiden videos, featuring everything from slow-motion rock flinging to panoramic aerial shots. If you’re not itching to ride a bike in Moab after watching this one, you may want to consider a new hobby.
While Raiden excels at long videos — both Portland to Dakar and Lords of the Atlas: Mexican 1000 clocked in a 25-plus minutes — this one is on the short side at just over 3 minutes. That puts it in league with other Raiden efforts such as “Nine 2 Five,” shot in Morocco, and “KTM 450 RR Rally,” which features one of the nastiest falls ever caught on high-def video. But three minutes is long enough to convince you that that whatever you’re doing, you should be out riding instead.
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That was really tame…
[…] stock – Africa Twin 1000. Although most adventure and dual sport related sites, like ADV Pulse mention nothing about mods, nor does the official Icon […]