Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) launched its first one-litre engine capacity motorcycle CRF1000L Africa Twin in the country in May this year and the adventure-tourer motorcycle has been getting a relatively good response.
And that is the reason now for Honda not bringing the manual variant of the Africa Twin to India.
Honda launched the flagship adventure-tourer in India in six-speed DCT automatic transmission variant and was rumoured to bring the manual transmission variant at a later date.
Now a report of CarandBike, quoting Y S Guleria, Senior Vice President - Sales and Marketing, Honda India, reveals that the company has no plans to bring the manual variant to India.
The current version evoked a good response among bike lovers in India and the company likes to tap on that positive wave in the country.
"In the existing variant, we do have the option of installing a gear lever as well, but primarily, it's a totally different experience, unlike any other off-roader in the country, and that is what has clicked for us. So, we would like to promote only this, give those traditional, manual gear users such a vehicle, to experience it, and feel the difference," the publication quoted Y S Guleria as saying.
The price of the Honda Africa Twin has gone up post GST (Goods and Service Tax) implementation and is now priced at Rs 13.06 lakh. Honda received 50 bookings for the Africa Twin in about two months.
Africa Twin from Honda's global line-up is powered by a 998cc, parallel twin liquid-cooled engine with 270-degree crank and uni-cam. The engine develops 94bhp at 7,500rpm and 98Nm of torque at 6,000rpm.
It has been globally offered in six-speed manual and six-speed DCT automatic transmission versions. The Africa Twin comes with Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC), which offers the rider three levels of control and on/off ABS to the rear wheel.
