If you wanted to do a different thing and the tools didn't work then you have to get new tools. Thank God you got the manual tranny! (IMHO of course) An Africa Twin with a DCT is such a "b!#$% bike" maneuver. A bike made for actual "adventure" should always have the tools to do adventure and a clutch lever is a BIG part of that. DCT should come with a purse and garters. Enjoy your trip! Personally, while I haven't found an Africa Twin that has been wore in by a doctor/surgeon that had no right to own it and want's nothing for it (so I can beat the shit out of it) I always wanted one. The day will come. But first the day will come that I put 70/30's and upgraded suspension on a FJR and am forced to leave it in the Appalachians. Enjoy the ride and be thankful you got an amazing bike that doesn't have the DCT. Excellent choice.
Did a thing…
I’ve always enjoyed road bikes and their capabilities in the twisties. Living in an area where we have an abundance of excellent roads to carve up has been an absolute blast and my 2013 FJR is such a thrill.
Lately I’ve started exploring country roads and have enjoyed just getting lost out and away from people and traffic/etc. The thing about being out of cell phone range is that you never know when you’ll hit a dirt, gravel road or water crossing. Well, the FJR has done it all, dirt, gravel, and even a water crossing, although it was not the most comfortable ride, physically and mentally. And then it happened, due to a heavily loose gravel road, I had to turn around and the bike gently tipped over while trying to turn around. T-Rex crash bars to the rescue, no damage to the bike.
This is when I realized that maybe the FJR is not the bike that’s the most suited for the riding I started doing and would like to do more of. So, I started looking, and came across and unbelievable deal on a 2021 Africa Twin Adventure Sports (manual transmission) and pulled the trigger on it. Unfortunately there was a spoke nipple missing (unknown to me until I was changing tires) on one of the rear wheel spokes (spoked wheels ugh, I know), which took a couple of weeks to come in. Well, today was the day. Took her out and… Wow! What a capable bike. I wasn’t expecting it to be so stable in sweepers, but it’s so damn stable and predictable.
For now I’ll be keeping the FJR because it’s just a different bike with a different purpose and I still love riding it, but I’m looking forward to hitting some of those dirt and gravel roads on the Africa Twin.
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Lately I’ve started exploring country roads and have enjoyed just getting lost out and away from people and traffic/etc. The thing about being out of cell phone range is that you never know when you’ll hit a dirt, gravel road or water crossing. Well, the FJR has done it all, dirt, gravel, and even a water crossing, although it was not the most comfortable ride, physically and mentally. And then it happened, due to a heavily loose gravel road, I had to turn around and the bike gently tipped over while trying to turn around. T-Rex crash bars to the rescue, no damage to the bike.
This is when I realized that maybe the FJR is not the bike that’s the most suited for the riding I started doing and would like to do more of. So, I started looking, and came across and unbelievable deal on a 2021 Africa Twin Adventure Sports (manual transmission) and pulled the trigger on it. Unfortunately there was a spoke nipple missing (unknown to me until I was changing tires) on one of the rear wheel spokes (spoked wheels ugh, I know), which took a couple of weeks to come in. Well, today was the day. Took her out and… Wow! What a capable bike. I wasn’t expecting it to be so stable in sweepers, but it’s so damn stable and predictable.
For now I’ll be keeping the FJR because it’s just a different bike with a different purpose and I still love riding it, but I’m looking forward to hitting some of those dirt and gravel roads on the Africa Twin.
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Good choice on Africa Twin
I can relate, had two FJR's, last year sold my last one, the '17 ES
and bought a '22 AT Adventure Sports ES DCT
ATAS is great on and off road, imho Africa Twin's electronic suspension and cornering lights are better then on my '17 FJR ES. Of course ATAS is more nimble, lighter and 100bhp which I find plenty enough. (less speeding tickets)
DCT transmission is simply BRILLIANT when ridden in "full Manual / paddle shifting" and or "Sport 1,2 or 3" modes, where the bike is holding the lower gears longer and keeping the engine under higher Rev's for spirited riding in twisties.
And of course when riding in any of the "auto modes", one can always "upshift and downshift" by using a "+ or -" paddles, at any time, or if you just twist the throttle, bike will downshift by one or two gears, as needed.
U-turns and slow maneuvering is super easy, and did I mention you will never "stall the engine" which is a cause of many mishaps on parking lots or trails.
And no more looking for Neutral or missing a gear, and no more tired clutch hand in "stop and go" traffic jams.
DCT shifting is pronunced enough to feel the shifting, yet much smoother then standard bikes, no more bumping helmets between the rider and pillion.
DCT is so good, Honda currently offers the system in five of their models, and the DCT outsells standard transmission on some Honda models, like GW for example. Rumors are other brands are testing some form of DCT / Auto systems for their future models, even some Electric bikes may come with "dct or standard tranny"
Did I mentioned how I LOVE my DCT?
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