Honda Africa Twin CRF1100L Review and Rating
Updated: Sep 2
The Honda Africa Twin CRF1100L is a full size adventure bike for riders who want one machine for highway miles, gravel and the occasional genuine dirt road. Honda sells four versions in the United States for 2026: the standard Africa Twin at $15,199, the standard with the DCT automatic at $15,999, the Adventure Sports ES at $17,799 and the Adventure Sports ES DCT at $18,599, all plus $775 destination. Every one uses the same 1084cc Unicam parallel twin.
It is the wrong bike if you are short. The standard model's seat sits at 34.3 inches high and 33.5 inches low, tall even by class standards, and the bike weighs 510 pounds with fuel before you add luggage. It is also the wrong bike if you want the fastest thing in the segment. Honda's European figure is 75.0 kW, about 100 horsepower, against 145 for a BMW R 1300 GS.
Standard or Adventure Sports ES, the Only Decision That Matters
Since the 2024 revision these two are genuinely different motorcycles rather than trim levels, and picking wrong is the most expensive mistake available here. The standard bike keeps a 21 inch front wheel on a 90/90-21 tire, a 45mm Showa SFF-BP fork with 9.1 inches of travel, a Pro-Link shock with 8.7 inches, 9.8 inches of ground clearance and a 5.0 gallon tank. It is the off-road bike.
The Adventure Sports ES drops to a 19 inch front on a 110/80-19, cuts travel to 8.3 inches front and 7.9 inches rear, adds Showa EERA electronically adjusted damping, and carries a 6.6 gallon tank. Ground clearance falls to 8.7 inches, and ADV Pulse notes the seat foam is over half an inch thicker with an eight percent larger seating area. It is the touring bike.
Both share the engine, the frame, dual 310mm front discs on radial four piston calipers, a 6.5 inch TFT touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Bosch six-axis IMU, six ride modes, three-mode ABS including a rear-off setting, and cruise control as standard.
Standard Africa Twin: 510 lb curb weight, 34.3 in or 33.5 in seat, 5.0 gallons.
Adventure Sports ES: 535 lb curb, 33.7 in or 32.9 in seat, 6.6 gallons.
DCT adds roughly 25 pounds and $800 on either model.
All four trims carry a one year transferable, unlimited mileage warranty.
The Engine, and the Figure Honda Will Not Print in America
Honda's US spec sheet lists displacement, bore and stroke, compression and throttle body size for the Africa Twin, and no horsepower or torque at all. Honda UK publishes the same engine at 75.0 kW at 7,500 rpm and 112 Nm at 5,500 rpm, which converts to roughly 100 horsepower and 82.6 lb-ft. Use those numbers knowing they are European homologation figures for an identical motor, not a US dyno result.
The 2024 revision is why the current bike feels stronger than the 2020 to 2023 machines. ADV Pulse reports compression rose from 10.1:1 to 10.5:1 alongside changes to valve timing, intake ports, ECU mapping and the exhaust, and that peak torque climbed about seven percent and now arrives at 5,500 rpm instead of 6,250. Moving the torque peak down 750 rpm matters more on a heavy bike than any headline power figure.
The layout is a 1084cc liquid-cooled parallel twin with a 270 degree crank and Honda's Unicam single overhead cam valvetrain, 92.0mm by 81.5mm, fed by PGM-FI through a 46mm throttle body. It is a deliberately unexciting engine that pulls from very low revs, which is what you want when the front wheel is on loose gravel.
Seat Height, Weight and Whether You Actually Fit
This is the Africa Twin's biggest practical barrier. The standard bike's two position seat gives 34.3 or 33.5 inches. The Adventure Sports ES, despite being the heavier bike, is lower at 33.7 or 32.9 inches because of its shorter suspension travel and smaller front wheel. Riders under about 5 foot 9 should sit on both before assuming the off-road model is the friendlier one.
Honda does offer accessory low seats. Honda UK lists an 825mm low seat for the standard model, which is 32.5 inches, and ADV Pulse reports the Adventure Sports ES low seat drops it to 32.1 or 31.3 inches. Those are meaningful reductions, but they cost seat comfort on long days.
Weight is the other half of the problem. At 510 pounds for the standard manual and 535 for both the standard DCT and the Adventure Sports ES, this is not a bike you casually pick up alone on a slope. The mass carries well once moving, but a tall seat and a heavy bike compound each other at walking pace.
DCT or Manual
The Dual Clutch Transmission is the Africa Twin's genuine point of difference. No European rival in this class offers a true automatic, and Honda has been refining this one since 2016. For 2024 Honda revised the hydraulic control for a more gradual take-up at low speed and retuned the shift logic around the engine's extra torque, so downshifts arrive earlier.
The case for it is traffic and technical off-road work at walking pace, where not managing a clutch frees a lot of attention. The case against it is $800, about 25 pounds, and the fact that riders who use the clutch deliberately lose a tool they rely on. There is no substitute for riding both.
One caution from owner data: MCN's owner reviews for the 2020 on Africa Twin include a reported issue with the DCT gearbox. That is a single case among fifteen reviews rather than a pattern, but it is the only mechanical complaint raised, so ask about DCT service history on a used bike.
What Owners Report and What It Costs to Run
MCN's owner section for the 2020 on Africa Twin shows 4.8 out of 5 for reliability and build quality and 4.6 out of 5 overall across fifteen owner reviews. Fifteen is a small sample, but no recurring failure clusters in it. MCN lists annual servicing at 140 pounds, which is low for a litre-class adventure bike.
MCN records average fuel consumption of 57 mpg, but that is an imperial gallon, so roughly 47 US mpg, and quotes a 230 mile tank range from the standard bike's 18.8 litre tank. On the Adventure Sports ES tank the same consumption gets you past 300 miles. Insurance is the sting: MCN places the Africa Twin in UK group 17 of 17, the top band.
The one durability item with history is corrosion on the spoked wheels. MCN reports early Africa Twins suffered badly from rusty spokes, addressed with a redesigned wheel and stainless spokes. Worth knowing: from 2024 the standard model runs tubeless tires, which the Adventure Sports had before it, so a puncture no longer means pulling a wheel and fighting a tube at the roadside.
Two Recalls to Check by VIN
Both open NHTSA campaigns are worth checking before money changes hands, and both are free to fix.
Campaign 24V-882 covered 4,205 machines, including 2022 and 2024 to 2025 CRF1100 Africa Twins. Improper software in the fuel injection electronic control unit could miscalculate traction control settings when Wheelie Control was enabled, and Honda's filing states the engine may hesitate or accelerate improperly, increasing crash risk. The remedy is an ECU reflash.
Campaign 25V-583 is larger and more recent, covering 7,492 machines across the 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025 model years. The left handlebar switch harness can corrode through oxidation, causing loss of the horn or the ability to switch from low to high beam. Dealers replace the switch assembly free of charge. Owner letters went out on 3 November 2025 with remedy availability expected by 30 January 2026, so a bike sold in early 2026 may still be unrepaired.
Common Questions
Is the Honda Africa Twin reliable?
Its reliability record is the best in the full size adventure class on the evidence available. MCN owner ratings sit at 4.8 out of 5 for reliability and build quality across fifteen reviews of the 2020 on bike, and the CRF1100L platform has been in service since 2020 with no widely documented pattern failure. The two open NHTSA recalls are an ECU reflash and a corroding handlebar switch, neither a wear-out problem.
Should I buy the standard Africa Twin or the Adventure Sports ES?
Choose the standard bike if you ride dirt and the Adventure Sports ES if you ride pavement, because the 2024 revision made them genuinely different. The standard runs a 21 inch front wheel, 9.1 inches of fork travel and 9.8 inches of ground clearance on a 5.0 gallon tank. The Adventure Sports ES runs a 19 inch front, shorter travel, electronic damping and a 6.6 gallon tank, and it is the lower seat of the two at 33.7 inches.
How does the Africa Twin compare to a BMW R 1300 GS?
The BMW is faster and far more expensive, and the Honda is the better value by a wide margin. BMW lists the R 1300 GS at $20,395 plus $1,095 destination with 145 horsepower, against $15,199 plus $775 for a standard Africa Twin making about 100. That is roughly $5,500 for 45 horsepower, shaft drive and a more sophisticated chassis. Honda answers with DCT, a 21 inch front wheel and a cheaper service bill.
Should You Buy One
Buy a standard Africa Twin if you genuinely ride unpaved roads and want a bike you can keep for a decade, and buy the Adventure Sports ES if you are honest that ninety percent of your miles are tarmac. Buy either with DCT if your riding is commuting, touring or slow technical dirt. Because 2026 brings only colour changes, a discounted 2024 or 2025 leftover is mechanically identical and often the smarter purchase.
Skip it if you are under about 5 foot 9 and unwilling to fit a low seat, if you need class-leading power for loaded two-up touring, or if you want shaft drive. The Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE is the closest rival on intent, though at $16,449 plus $700 destination and a $750 surcharge it costs more, weighs 554 pounds and sits taller at 34.6 inches.
On gear, this bike asks for armoured textile. Look for CE rated armour at shoulders, elbows, back, hips and knees, a laminated or drop-liner waterproof shell if you tour, and treat unarmoured leather as weather protection rather than crash protection.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5. The Africa Twin does the difficult things well: it is reliable, cheap to service, capable off pavement, and it offers an automatic nobody else in the class does. It loses half a point for seat height, weight and the lowest power figure in its segment.
