For several months now, there have been various rumors circulating about the 2024 model of the highly acclaimed CRF 1100 Africa Twin. These rumors range from forced induction, to direct injection, to a possible street-legal version with a 19-inch front wheel. Let’s try to understand what we can expect concretely, because one thing seems certain: we will soon see a new Africa Twin and it won’t just be the colors changing.
Helping us formulate some hypotheses once again are registration documents. For example, our colleagues at Motorrad analyzed those from the Swiss Federal Department and noted that while the maximum power remained unchanged (102 hp at 7,500 rpm), the maximum torque increased from 105 Nm to 112 Nm. This is enough to suggest some not very significant changes in the engine.
The Africa Twin was originally proposed as the ultimate maxi enduro and could only have a 21-inch front wheel, to be more precise, the classic 90/90-21. It seems that in the future, not only could it be wider, going up to 110 mm, but the diameter could also increase to 19 inches, thus having a 110/80-19 tire on the front wheel. This is the classic size of touring enduro bikes, so we can expect the Africa Twin 1100 to be more of a road and long-distance motorcycle than an off-road one.
This could be for the standard version of the CRF 1100, while the Adventure Sports may still have the 21″. Or there may be a third version with the 19″, of which unfortunately we have no evidence. Obviously, we don’t even know if the rims are alloy or spoked, if they are tubeless or not, but, once again, from the homologation sheet discovered in Switzerland, we found out that the wheelbase is obviously 5 millimeters shorter (therefore, 1,570 instead of 1,575), but that the vehicle height is one centimeter higher. This can be explained by a different and more protective windshield. We also learned that the total weight increases by three kilos, with a ten kilo difference between the version with and without DCT. The increased weight can be explained by the superior equipment, such as front and rear radar, cameras, adaptive cruise control, collision and blind spot warning. All of these are solutions that Honda, gladly, already has available for the upcoming Africa Twin. To know for sure, however, we have to wait for the official presentation, which will probably take place at EICMA but, given current trends, could even arrive sooner. Who knows…
