Honda seems to be ready to imitate the Euro competition, with an offroad-oriented Africa Twin expected to debut at EICMA.
Of course, BMW has done this for years: the GS line has, broadly speaking, two iterations, a street-friendly version and an adventure-ready version, complete with wire wheels, skid plate and other armour, and various other rugged-looking bits.
Triumph does it as well, with two variations of the Tiger line: one for street, one for dirt (ostensibly). Ducati’s even got into the act recently, with tough-looking versions of the Multistrada and Scrambler lineup marketed at those who wish to flog their bike more vigourously off-road.
Although the Africa Twin was originally marketed as a good all-rounder, aimed at the adventure bike rider who wanted both street comfort and dirt usability, Big Red is now said to be bringing a machine to market with more capability once the tarmac ends. Of course, Honda has teased such a machine at past shows, and it would make sense to have a value-added product to add some beef to the lineup, but little R&D expense.
Expect to see the new machine debut at EICMA next week, where the original prototype was displayed.
