Honda XRV750 Africa Twin - Our Bike Review

Honda XRV750 Africa Twin, 2001

So after 42,400 km and about 405 days away, what is our opinion of the Africa Twin for an overland trip, 2 up? For us, we think she's perfect!

This bike has taken us safely over some incredible terrain, on roads that I would never have thought I could ride. We have ridden about 98% of the distance two up with luggage.

The extended and re-moulded seat is very comfortable for both of us and has transformed the bike for long hours in the saddle. The uprated spring fitted to the rear shock has enabled the bike to handle well with the extra weight, even on bad roads. Amazingly, it has held up and the bike still handles well. I replaced the steering head bearings with genuine Honda items before we left but they need replacing again - not surprising really!

We have not had to modify the fuelling when running on low octane fuel (84 and 87) and at high altitude (up to 5000 m). This is very impressive as we have spoken to other bikers who have had issues.

The maximum power (61 bhp) is more than enough for this sort of trip, two up with luggage, on a mix of sealed and dirt roads. The smooth, controllable power delivery is very important for off road riding and this has proved itself time and again.

The bike is heavy but very controllable so with the combination of a large 21" front wheel and good suspension, can take most things thrown at it.

Some trip stats...

Distance travelled - 42,400 km (26,350 miles)
Days away - 405
Petrol - 84 & 87 Octane mainly
Altitude travelled - 5000 metres max.
Oil changes - 3
Oil filters - 2
Air filters - 0
Valves - checked but not adjusted
Tyres - Heidenau K60 Scouts, 3 sets total
Chain & Sprockets - 2 sets total
Punctures - 0
Problems - Minor electrical issue
Crashes - 0
Dropped - 0

Greasing the floating calipers in Mexico. Not actually necessary as they have gone this far without any cleaning but I thought I would just for fun!!

For maintenance, we took a simple but effective tool kit as you can see below:

And packed up below.

This has enabled us to carry out basic tasks on the bike. Our normal schedule is:

Check tyre condition
Check tyre pressures
Check chain tension
Check oil level
Check brakes
Check bearings
Check tension and lube chain
Check for loose nuts and bolts
Check lights, indicators, brake light and horn

And other jobs if needed:

Repair a puncture
Replace tyres
Change engine oil and filter
Strip and clean brakes
Investigate and repair faults

Amazingly, the engine hardly used any oil between oil changes - every 8000 miles!

We always carry one spare front headlight bulb. We used 3 new ones on the trip.

Unfortunately, our Scott Oiler stopped working fairly early into our trip so we bought a shampoo bottle with a tapered nozzle that twisted open/closed. When filled with engine oil this proved perfect to drip oil onto the chain.

We wanted to take a small pump and decided on a high volume, low pressure Lezyne hand pump. This has proved perfect and so easy to top up the pressure.

We really liked the Heidenau K60 Scout tyres through out the trip on sealed and dirt roads and can highly recommend them - the Altberg boots were very good too!

Our luggage has worked very well:

The Givi top box carried our sleeping bags, mats, cooking equipment, mosquito net and first aid kit. It worked perfectly and gave us a lockable 'safe' for small valuables, either on the bike or in our room.

The Mosko Moto panniers were brilliant and so easy to take on/off each day. If we camped we would leave them on the bike.

The ex-army tank panniers were also brilliant and held 2 litres of water, our guide book, spare oil and funnels.

The Givi tank bag also worked very well. Used normally unexpanded, we had extra room if we needed it. We soon lost the waterproof cover so modified a bin liner to tie over it in the rain.