I've gotta be honest with you oppo...

"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
08/05/2019 at 11:30 • Filed to: None

After having it for a month and putting 2100 miles on it; the love for my Africa Twin just hasn’t been what I expected...

Or should I say, HADN’T. Until this weekend that is; when I took it out to do what it was made to do.

We (yes, the bike is people now) went and played in the dirt in Gifford-Pinchot NF!

It took some time to get used to the size and weight, and getting full potential out of it will take a while if I ever can, but I got pretty comfortable after a bit! Started out with some basic gravel roads, with a bit of washboarding at worst, and worked my way up from there.

Before too long I was hitting doubletrack that was just littered with baby heads, balancing my way through sand, and making bro-trucks look silly!

Seriously though, one road I was on was real bad, like anything less than a Jeep would almost certainly bust an oil pan, or get stuck bare minimum. There was a lifted Ford bro-truck and its driver was looking pretty nervous. We crossed paths at a spot where water runoff made the trail super wide, he was crawling along, I “blasted” by at 25mph while standing up and gave him a thumbs up!

The spots I stopped for pictures aren’t even close to the worst of it. They were just the spots where I actually felt comfortable stopping and getting off. This whole area is mostly used by actual dirt bikes and quads, with some horseback riding and hiking thrown in. I stayed on NF service roads the whole time since I’m pretty new to this, but many of them aren’t maintained at all, many of those aren’t mapped, and some of them the forest is trying to reclaim.

There’s a little creek about 20ft behind my tent, and the Cispus River a couple hundred feet to the right. Real pleasant white noise to fall asleep to!

As for why I haven’t really been in love with the bike up until now. Well, it’s a perfectly fine bike at everything I had used it for. Enough power, good enough handling, good enough exhaust note. Perfectly fine and good at everything. But it was never inspiring.

But all of that translates to make it an excellent 500lb dirt bike. Power delivery is predictable and makes it a breeze to put the power down when the going gets tough. The suspension? Well that just laughs at the ruts and potholes that would bend a Raptor frame. 30mph on nasty forest service roads was a walk in the park. I used 8 out of 9 inches of available suspension travel hammering on this thing. Yeah, I checked. And it wanted me to go harder. Turn off traction control, on the fly, drop a gear, and twist that wrist. She’ll bite and pull, and kick up a beautiful rooster tail all at the same time.

This bike is so so so good on dirt. Even with the stock 90/10 Dunlop tires. I can’t wait for them to wear out so I can put something knobbier on. I already know o f some trails I want to hit when I have more traction.

As for the less exciting stuff? She carried more gear than I needed, and she carried it wel l. Averaged 47mpg. And I can comfortably ride for hours without needing to stop.

Who needs an enduro when Honda makes the Africa Twin?

DISCUSSION (33)

Maxima Speed > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 11:39

Awesome dude! Sweet bike, and a beautiful ride.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 11:42

Very cool. You’re making me miss my bike very much and you’re doing something I’d love to do on a bike someday (off road/national forest exploring).

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 11:43

I was going to say that th ose tires are a lot less knobby than what I usually see on a GS or KLR. I love that bike, I hope I can resist and not get into another expensive hobby.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Maxima Speed
08/05/2019 at 11:48

Thanks!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/05/2019 at 11:49

But Montana by motorcycle. How can you resist?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/05/2019 at 11:50

What’s holding you back?

benjrblant > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 11:58

Argh. Makes me miss my F650GS . Hopefully one day I’ll get another moto. )=

bob and john > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 11:59

I keep looking at the ATAS we have on the showroom. so big and off roady and lots of suspension and god dam it, i really dont have a need for one (esp as the CBF does its job) but I want it.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:00

Moolah and life. I just had my first kid and probably have $10-20k to still spend on my house to fix the last few issues with it.

Exploring our national forests and parks via forest service roads is a dream of mine. While I’d prefer to do it by bike, if I want to take the wife and kids along it will end up being by some sort of overlanding rig.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > benjrblant
08/05/2019 at 12:12

Start planning! You can get those pet cheap these days. And the G310gs it's supposed to be pretty good.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:12

I have mountain bikes and one of these.

Kinja'd!!!

benjrblant > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:13

Yes, but I’ve got little desire to own another BMW motorcycle. maintenance was amazingly complex and way harder than it should’ve been.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > bob and john
08/05/2019 at 12:13

They’re so cool. But you could always just get something cheap and used to off road.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/05/2019 at 12:13

But https://2x2cycles.com/product-category/bicycle-carriers/

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > benjrblant
08/05/2019 at 12:14

That’s a big reason I didn't go for a Multistrada. Love my Monster, but it's expensive to own.

bob and john > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:14

my issue is that there is a LOT of street to cover between me an off-road. so it would have to manage some decent road pace too.

HammerheadFistpunch > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:20

sigh. I really want an africa twin.

Manny05x > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 12:45

Very good read and i love the pictures.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > bob and john
08/05/2019 at 13:16

Oh gotcha. That’s tough until you spend a bunch of money. Used Tiger?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > HammerheadFistpunch
08/05/2019 at 13:16

Do you ride?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Manny05x
08/05/2019 at 13:17

Thanks!

HammerheadFistpunch > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 13:30

nope. i can... at least with smaller dirt bikes... but I've never owned one

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > HammerheadFistpunch
08/05/2019 at 13:40

I think you'd love it.

HammerheadFistpunch > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 13:45

just one more toy at this point

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > HammerheadFistpunch
08/05/2019 at 13:59

Can you have enough?

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 14:19

Looks like we spent the weekend in similar environments. I saw a couple of adv motos roll by my camp at various times during the weekend, and hoped that they weren’t going to go as fast as they could, since other road users would likely be quite surprised by the sudden appearance. I’m sure that they had fun, though.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/05/2019 at 14:21

Yeah! I definitely too it was when I didn't have clear view for a good distance ahead. Luckily where I was riding was mostly empty. I only saw a couple other vehicles the whole time when away from established campgrounds.

bob and john > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2019 at 15:24

given my current triumph luck? No

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > bob and john
08/05/2019 at 19:38

That’s fair

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > bob and john
08/06/2019 at 19:03

KTM adventure. Your triumph luck can't bleed over to KTM, right?

bob and john > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/06/2019 at 19:06

I sell KTMs.

never.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > bob and john
08/06/2019 at 19:25

Then there’s always....

Kinja'd!!!

bob and john > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/06/2019 at 20:43

or, you know, an africa twin when they get cheap enough