Honda XRV750 Africa Twin

[danielburgess]

I know we have our own forum and all, but it will be nice to have a thread of our own here in sgbikes.com

 

Cheers!

[edouard_g]

Just lost mine, here are some good and bad things about the @.

 

Good points:

 

 

• Looks the business.
  
• Lots of accessories to choose from.
  
• Handles better on pot holed twisties then it should or many other bikes.
  
• Garanteed parking by clearing highcurbs with ease.
  
• Launching off curbs with throttle wide open without fear.
  
• Standing on the pegs whilst under way for that vital ventilation of under crofts / Stretching / Drying of raincoat
  
• Can keep up with most bikes (up to speed limit)
  
• Collossal mileage possible without major engine overhauls.
  
• Good resale value (relatively)
  
• Roomy (garranted no leg cramps)
  
• Excellent headlights
   
  

 

 

Bad points;

 

 

• Opening throttle fully without fear.
  
• Peg hits leg when feet on the ground
  
• Thristy Brute.
  
• Heavy with high CG.
  
• 5 gears only.
  
• Voltage regulator issues.
  
• Fuel pump issues.
  
• Alu wheel rot.
  
• No longer produced
  
• Seat a bit hard.
  

 

No fuel gauge.

[danielburgess]

Agreed! But mine has a relatively simple fuel gauge I bought from africaqueens.com

 

Cheers!

[recycled2wheeler]

my 2 cents

 

 

Bad points;

 

 

• Opening throttle fully without fear. cud do wif alil more juice but still has more than enuf to get u out of most jams(considering she's a dakkar..)
  
• Peg hits leg when feet on the ground never had this problem
  
• Thristy Brute. thirsty? by what measure? mine averaged 22-25km/L quite decent by my books
  
• Heavy with high CG. true but she's comfy, takes decent corners & isn't afraid of floods/rivers.. hehe..
  
• 5 gears only. 6 be nice but i'm Ok wif 5, decent ratio
  
• Voltage regulator issues. all bikes oso same, comes with age, wear n tear
  
• Fuel pump issues. thats what said, bought spare but never had to replace.. more than 2yrs. to me, it's part of wear n tear
  
• Alu wheel rot. how does alluminium 'rot'?
  
• No longer produced oh well, ask d Japs.. gawd only knows whats on their minds..
  
• Seat a bit hard. err... for me, not wide enuf for my rear... Corbin's d way to go..
  

 

No fuel gauge. i guess personal preference.. i dun see d need as u hav trip meter to gauge. dun even bother wif gauage on my S4 or my Freewind. not accurate..

Having said all that, I dare say if it wasn't any other reason than to fund my KAtana, I'll still hav my @t now..

[edouard_g]

Before the twin I had Hayabusa, and the consumption was marginally higher 5.1l/100 compared to 4.8l/100 for the twin.

 

Having almost halved the capacity I was expecting a moderate up side in fuel cost to sweeten the loss of over a 110HP-but no.

 

Hence the thirsty term, I guess having only 5 gear did not help matters.

 

 

Next time your tires are off, look under the rubber strip, you might be surprised to see large bumps or blisters of powdery material caused by galvanic corrosion between the wheel and the steel spokes especially the tube valve.

 

Ed.

[recycled2wheeler]

Before the twin I had Hayabusa, and the consumption was marginally higher 5.1l/100 compared to 4.8l/100 for the twin.

 

Having almost halved the capacity I was expecting a moderate up side in fuel cost to sweeten the loss of over a 110HP-but no.

 

Hence the thirsty term, I guess having only 5 gear did not help matters.

 

 

Next time your tires are off, look under the rubber strip, you might be surprised to see large bumps or blisters of powdery material caused by galvanic corrosion between the wheel and the steel spokes especially the tube valve.

 

Ed.

 

Hey Ed,

 

Thanx for d clarification.

 

To me, it's kinds difficult to compare apples to oranges. If you were to use other 750cc road bikes to compare, d consumption shud be bout the same as ur busa @ 17/18km/L.

Having taken capcity/horsepower into consideration, u should also consider power to weight ratio. if memory serves, d @t's dry @ bout 210kg whilst d Busa @ 215kg but it then becomes apple & orange again.

Too many factors(especially condition of bike) to list but for starters, which model u riding? wats ur Rear tyre size? spocket sizes? 43/45? Based on ur calculations of 4.8L/100km, full tank before reserve give you bout 375km. Mine used to do average 400km. I've checked with Fearful & he say his 5yr old does atleast 420km before hitting reserve. YES, there are some who can't even hit 350km but again too many variations to look into.

Yeah, It would be better with a 6th gear but...

I will admit that @t stock rims do stain up with alittle 'corrosion' over time but Large bumps or blisters of powdery material caused by galvanic corrosion?? Yikes... I have not come accross this during my reign. Last peep into any @t rims was a punture recovery we did onroute to GP acouple of weeks back. Apart from d usual dirt, didn't see anything of the sort... Just learned sumting new...

 

cheers!

[edouard_g]

Maybe I was unlucky with my rims, the bike was very low miles when I got it it. they looked fine on the outside... The other thing I hear is for city bike the fuelling jets get larger as the bike ages from constant opening and closing the throttle (to keep to with the 1000cc crowd) and can contribute to higher fuel consumption (i hear)

 

looking for other bike now. Considering the FJR but a bit cramped in the legs (nothing will beat the twin there I know). there was a Caponord for sale earlier which fit the bill but missed out... The fazer 1000 was an other but feel like i'm sitting on a unicycle (6'.2" & 95Kg)

 

The best would be the KTm Adventure the bike Honda should have made to replace the twin. but price is high and the seat looks even more tortuous than the twin.

 

Ed.

[recycled2wheeler]

Maybe I was unlucky with my rims, the bike was very low miles when I got it it. they looked fine on the outside... The other thing I hear is for city bike the fuelling jets get larger as the bike ages from constant opening and closing the throttle (to keep to with the 1000cc crowd) and can contribute to higher fuel consumption (i hear)

 

looking for other bike now. Considering the FJR but a bit cramped in the legs (nothing will beat the twin there I know). there was a Caponord for sale earlier which fit the bill but missed out... The fazer 1000 was an other but feel like i'm sitting on a unicycle (6'.2" & 95Kg)

 

The best would be the KTm Adventure the bike Honda should have made to replace the twin. but price is high and the seat looks even more tortuous than the twin.

 

Ed.

 

Based on what u metioned esp u being 6'2", I'd probably go down d GS1100/1150 route. Preowned ofcoz...dun want to sleep outside my house.

KTm Ad is nice but word has it that it looses out on comfort wich is a criterior for me as i progress with age.. wished i was like MORK, get younger as u age...

 

anyways, good luck with ur search for ur next bike...

[Huruhara]

Hey Ed,

 

 

Too many factors(especially condition of bike) to list but for starters, which model u riding? wats ur Rear tyre size? spocket sizes? 43/45? Based on ur calculations of 4.8L/100km, full tank before reserve give you bout 375km. Mine used to do average 400km. I've checked with Fearful & he say his 5yr old does atleast 420km before hitting reserve. YES, there are some who can't even hit 350km but again too many variations to look into.

 

 

 

Wow!!!Ur bike could last till 400km.Power lah!My could only go up to 360-370 b4 it choke..choke...choke n time to hit the reserve switch...

[danielburgess]

I am getting horrendous fuel consumption, I get 300km before reserve, so if the tank is 23L-5L of reserve, that's 300/18 = 6L for a 100km.

 

But I ride the older RD07 and not the newer RD07A with the Throttle Position Sensor and other gizmos.

[edouard_g]

Hey Ed,

 

"Too many factors(especially condition of bike) to list but for starters, which model u riding?" ...

 

Mine was RD07A 05 Made in 1999.

 

Ed

[edouard_g]

Some useful info for Twin Buyers /Sellers.

 

NOTE:

1. This graph was produced on 05 but since the graph is of Dp/Dt it is still useful. (the purple dots are recent data and still fit on curve.)
   
2. Accessories and crash if any, are not accounted for (values over average may be due to many Xtras or unrealistic expectation, Under average may be due to crash or other reasons; eg COE expiring).
   
3. Data are that of asking prices and not transacted but still represent fair value (I think)
   
4. HOW TO READ: If your bike 5.5 years old calculate as follows: 2005.5 - 5.5 = 2000. Read graph @ 2000; Price ~10K
   

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/edouard_g/ATusedValues.jpg

[edouard_g]

Whats' the story with your Twin? See below...

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/edouard_g/Honda_VIN_Table.jpg

 

 

Body Code No. / Model Suffix / Year Manufactured / Engine Size

 

1. RD03 XRV650 J 1988 650
   
2. RD03 XRV650 K 1989 650
   
3. RD04 XRV750 L 1990 750
   
4. RD04 XRV750 M 1991 750
   
5. RD04 XRV750 N 1992 750
   
6. RD04 XRV750 P 1993 750
   
7. RD07 XRV750 R 1994 750
   
8. RD07 XRV750 S 1995 750
   
9. RD07 XRV750 T 1996 750
   
10. RD07a XRV750 V 1997 750
    
11. RD07a XRV750 W 1998 750
    
12. RD07a XRV750 X 1999 750
    
13. RD07a XRV750 Y 2000-2002 750
    

 

Mine was 00044 probably the first of the 99 bikes out of that factory.

 

Ed.

[recycled2wheeler]

not sure bout ur scale but mine was a 11/96 RD07a. not sure bout serial nbr, neber bothered but i still got d log card... somewhr...

[Smack76]

Hi guys, can i know what brand of tyres mostly african twin using?

[edouard_g]

Most ppl use Metzeler Tourance. Good road holding but don't think about leaving the road in the wet even to cross a grassy median strip, you'll be spinning in every gear and at low speed any bumps higher than an ant will stop the bike.

 

I tried to get some TKC80 but impossible to find, Metzeler Karoo also impossible. your only choice is Tourance or something like it from pirreli or Michelin.

 

eD.

[recycled2wheeler]

Hey Smack,

 

nice middie... as Ed mentioned, Common tyres fo @t are metzler Tourance, Pirelli Scorpion, Dunlop trailwings, Michellin Anakee, Avon etc. Then again, it all depends on riders requirements. For me, it be Tourance & Scorpions..

my 2 cents.. Tourance 85% road, 15% back roads. Due to thread design & d fact dat @t weighs afair bit, don't waste time in mud. Same with scorpion & Avon. d clowns dat i hang with use trialwings to play in mud, not d best choice i think but readily available.

Again, just my 2cents..

 

cheers!

 

R2W

aka TiKuZ

[Huruhara]

Currently,I'm using bridgestone battlewing.dry & wet surface holding quite good.

[danielburgess]

I'm using Bridgestone trailwings.

 

Cheers!

[babyain]

hi guys I'm intending to get an AT but the size of this beauty is gonna kill me literally.I'm still thinking of modifying the mainstand and side stand. ANyone have any idea where i can do cheap welding and modification?

[recycled2wheeler]

hi guys I'm intending to get an AT but the size of this beauty is gonna kill me literally.I'm still thinking of modifying the mainstand and side stand. ANyone have any idea where i can do cheap welding and modification?

 

Kudos to u... one of the other reasons why I gave up my @t. Weight & COG.. & d fact dat age's catchin up but thats no excuse...

Stylo/milo go SK.. Depending on complexity, anywhr/one that has welding equipment shud be able to do what i think u're lookin into. Try An at Mezzo's... that's whr i go...

[Smack76]

Hey Smack,

 

nice middie... as Ed mentioned, Common tyres fo @t are metzler Tourance, Pirelli Scorpion, Dunlop trailwings, Michellin Anakee, Avon etc. Then again, it all depends on riders requirements. For me, it be Tourance & Scorpions..

my 2 cents.. Tourance 85% road, 15% back roads. Due to thread design & d fact dat @t weighs afair bit, don't waste time in mud. Same with scorpion & Avon. d clowns dat i hang with use trialwings to play in mud, not d best choice i think but readily available.

Again, just my 2cents..

 

cheers!

 

R2W

aka TiKuZ

 

Currently my KLE is using Dunlop Trail max, any comments on it?

[Smack76]

Brothers.........can sengkuang fabricate the engine guard? Is the material good and will it corrode? thinking of going there to get my crash bar done.

[danielburgess]

SK does a good job, they did the crash bars for the BBDC rides if I am not wrong.

[edouard_g]

hi guys I'm intending to get an AT but the size of this beauty is gonna kill me literally.I'm still thinking of modifying the mainstand and side stand. ANyone have any idea where i can do cheap welding and modification?

 

Side stand is ok. Main stand is not great but if you pull the bike towards the rear rather than lift, its a bit easier

 

ed.