For some months now, various rumors have been swirling about the 2024 model of the much-loved CRF 1100 Africa Twin. They range from supercharging, through direct injection, to a possible street-legal version with a 19-inch front wheel. So let’s try to figure out what we can expect in concrete terms, because one thing seems certain: we’ll soon see a new Africa Twin and it won’t just be the colors that change.
Helping us to formulate some hypotheses are, once again, the registration documents. Our colleagues at Motorrad, for example, analyzed those of the Swiss Federal Office and noticed 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 to the engine.
The Africa Twin was proposed from the outset as a true maxi enduro and could only have a 21-inch front wheel, to be precise, the classic 90/90-21. It seems that, in the future, not only could it be wider, to 110 mm, but the diameter could also be increased to 19 inches and thus have a 110/80-19 tire on the front wheel. This is the classic size for endurance touring bikes, so we can expect the Africa Twin 1100 to be more of a road and long-distance bike than an off-road bike.
This could be for the standard version of the CRF 1100, while the Adventure Sports could continue to have the 21. Or there could be a third version with the 19″, of which we unfortunately 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 find that the wheelbase is obviously 5 millimeters shorter (so 1,570 instead of 1,575), but that the height of the vehicle is one centimeter higher. This can be explained by a different, more protective windshield. We also learn that the total weight increases by three kilos, with ten kilos difference between the version with and without DCT. The greater weight can be explained by the superior equipment, such as front and rear radar, cameras, adaptive cruise control, collision warning and blind spot warning. These are all solutions that Honda is happy to make available for the next Africa Twin. To know for sure, however, we’ll have to wait for the official presentation, which will probably take place at EICMA but which, given current trends, may even come sooner. Who knows?