Off-road touring on the Honda Twin DCT
When I was invited to the second myFiets Biertoer weekend tour, and I was told that I would riding a Honda Africa Twin, it didn’t take me long to answer.
It would be the first time I would be doing a bike tour on something other than my own bike – a BMW F800 GS Adventure. I flew to Johannesburg from my home, the Western Cape. Réhann picked me up at the airport and shortly after we reached his house, Diete Engelbrecht of ADA delivered “my” steed for the weekend: a CRF1000L DCT in “tri-colour” livery, my favourite white, gold, red and blue.
I had ridden the DCT before, but not for a relatively relaxing weekend that this was going to be. For those who don’t know, the DCT designation stands for dual-clutch transmission. Yes, this Africa Twin is an auto! And I couldn’t wait to ride on the dirt roads of the Eastern Free State.
That Friday morning we got the departure point early. We were at World of Yamaha, head office of Yamaha South Africa. It was the departure point for the 2018 myFiets Biertoer. Of course, the irony was not lost on me: a BMW rider on a Honda having coffee and muffins at Yamaha’s head office…
I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got comfortable with the DCT. The hardest is getting used to not having a clutch or gear lever. But it did make peak-hour riding easier, especially since I am not used to it at all.
