Kwacky's ongoing Africa Twin Adventure Sport review

[Kwacky]

Ride into work this morning on the big AT.

It's tall. Transit van wing mirror level tall

Despite the height, width and weight it's easy to filter on.

That can sounds lovely.

You can get 21 litres in the tank when the fuel warning light comes on.

The short screen really works well. The air gets pushed to the side so your head doesn't get a wobble on at speeds.

It's nice to have brakes. The brakes on the Versys are pretty weak but the AT stops very quickly, which is even more impressive given the weight.

This morning's journey was 34.6 miles which took 46 minutes including 2 minutes 6 seconds idle time. I've turned off the option which records your speed

[Kwacky]

There's a switch on the left. On the Versys, it's the "pass" switch to flash your headlights.

On the AT it's to change your traction control. I need to watch that

The horn is crap as well so I'll get a soundbomb for it.

[D41]

I think every bike horn is crap by design, aren't they??

Even Ducati exotica come with sommit only a Hornby train could love.

[Kwacky]

Yep. Seeing as we're do vulnerable you would have thought the makers would ensure we can be heard

[StMarks]

Yep. Seeing as we're do vulnerable you would have thought the makers would ensure we can be heard

Isn't that what the un-baffled Scorpion is about.

[Kwacky]

Nah, that's for my pleasure

[D41]

Yep. Seeing as we're do vulnerable you would have thought the makers would ensure we can be heard

I'll bet it's like rearview mirrors on cars.....there's one company that does them for about 90%+ of all new cars in the world.

[Kwacky]

23.75 litres this morning. The bike said I had 17 miles left in the tank, which is about right. 278 miles on the clock between fill ups.

I had a couple of slides this morning where the TC kicked in but the TC is set at 6 out of 7. I'll drop it down a bit when I'm more comfortable on the bike.

I forgot I put it on the main stand on Friday when I got home. Getting such a big bike off a main stand gets the heart going on an early Monday morning.

[C00kiemonster]

23.75 litres this morning. The bike said I had 17 miles left in the tank, which is about right. 278 miles on the clock between fill ups.

I had a couple of slides this morning where the TC kicked in but the TC is set at 6 out of 7. I'll drop it down a bit when I'm more comfortable on the bike.

I forgot I put it on the main stand on Friday when I got home. Getting such a big bike off a main stand gets the heart going on an early Monday morning.

Your happy with it though?

That range is brill - will save you stopping so much each month. Hows the mpg compared to the versys?

[Kwacky]

I am happy with it but it's being wasted at the moment using it to commute. I'm really glad I decided to keep the Versys for the daily grind.

I'm not relaxed enough on it at the moment. With the house move and the shit weather I've not had a chance to go for a ride for the sake of it and spend some time learning how to use it. Weaving a tall bike through traffic in the dark when it's raining is not much fun and I'm still a bit cautious when I'm corning. That said when I have been able to get on the back roads I'm a bit more relaxed and the ride flows better. Probably because I'm not looking around for the next car to try and take me out.

I'm glad I had the slides this morning and I felt the TC at play. I know what it feels like now and it's made me a bit more relaxed.

It is massively different to anything I've owned before. It's one of the reasons I bought it. I think it's too easy to hop from one bike to the next if they're similar. I don't think you test yourself or learn anything (that's not a dig at anyone who has owned the same bike for a few years ) so it's going to take me time to switch from being able to just riding it to gelling with it. I plan to own it for a while so there's no rush to feel as if I should be doing the Dakar by January.

It took me some time to learn how to best ride the Versys and I can have a real giggle on that now, whereas it felt a bit slow and heavy when I first got one.

But I am very impressed with it and have no regrets about buying it. That sound alone makes it worth owning.

[Kwacky]

As for MPG I need to check. The Versys is around the 58-60mpg mark. I think the AT is about 52 mpg, but I'm still running it in and I'm still blipping the throttle far too often

[Kwacky]

If you slam the brake on really hard the hazard lights flash

[Cavetroll87]

If you slam the brake on really hard the hazard lights flash

SMIDSY?

[Kwacky]

Nah, me testing the bike out. Not far from home there's a big straight on a quiet country road so I put the bike through the gears then near the end slammed on the brakes to see how quickly it can stop.

[C00kiemonster]

If you slam the brake on really hard the hazard lights flash

Good idea i reckon. Lots of cars do it too i think.

[D41]

If you slam the brake on really hard the hazard lights flash

ABS kicking into action??

[Kwacky]

Dunno. I didn't feel it and I wasn't looking at the dash for the light.

I'll try against tonight

[D41]

I tried a 675 a few years ago, and on my panic-brake test the lights started doing something daft like that. When I asked about it, that was the explanation I got.

[Kwacky]

It's booked in for the first service. I hit 600 miles tomorrow.

[Kwacky]

Adjustable foot gear lever on order. The shift tip can be set into 1 of 6 positions. The stock one is a bit short for those of us with proper sized feet.