Honda Reveals 2027 CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports: 119 HP Dirt Weapon
1,131cc & 119 hp + Under-seat fuel cell and 260mm Dakar clearance + Honda finally strips the touring bulk to build the hardcore off-road Africa Twin riders begged for.
Part of Throttle Times’ live coverage of EICMA 2026.
Honda has officially pulled the wraps off the 2027 CRF1150L Africa Twin family at EICMA 2026 in Milan, and the real headline is not merely a displacement bump—it is the arrival of the all-new Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports. For a decade, desert riders and Trans Euro Trail regulars have watched the Africa Twin creep toward long-distance tarmac touring, gaining weight, radar sensors, and 19-inch front wheels. The Enduro Sports reverses that trajectory with unapologetic off-road intent, stripping away excess touring plastics and borrowing directly from Honda’s factory Dakar racing engineering.
1,131cc Unicam Twin Delivers 119 HP and Low-Slung Mass
The 2027 Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports features an enlarged 1,131cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine producing 119 hp (87.5 kW) at 7,500 rpm and 119 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm. Honda achieved the displacement hike by boring the cylinders out from 92mm to 94mm while retaining the 81.5mm stroke, paired with a higher 12.1:1 compression ratio and lighter magnesium engine covers. The power delivery focuses heavily on immediate low-rpm traction, yielding a 12% torque surge between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm.
More importantly, Honda tackled the tall center of gravity that has long challenged riders when muscling an Africa Twin through tight rock gardens. Taking inspiration from the historic NXR750 Paris-Dakar prototype, Honda’s engineers reconfigured the fuel storage into a split arrangement, positioning the lower 7 litres of the 19-litre fuel cell directly beneath the rider’s seat. The redesigned aluminum subframe and revised main steel semi-double cradle frame shave 1.4 kg while dropping the roll center, making the machine pivot with unexpected agility.
“Our objective with the Enduro Sports was simple: strip away every gram that does not serve traction, balance, or impact resistance in the dirt,” said Tsutomu Otani, Large Project Leader for Honda Adventure Models. “By lowering the fuel mass and fitting competition-derived mechanical suspension, we have created an Africa Twin that feels thirty kilograms lighter on the trail than the scale suggests.”
Dakar-Spec Mechanical Legs and 260mm Ground Clearance
The 2027 Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports rides on fully mechanical, multi-adjustable 45mm Showa inverted cartridge forks with 240mm of travel, paired with a Showa remote-reservoir rear shock delivering 230mm of wheel travel. Ground clearance is elevated to a commanding 260mm—a full 40mm taller than the tarmac-biased Adventure Sports model.
Rather than installing the radar-assisted Honda SENSING RIDE suite or electronic semi-active valving found on its touring siblings, Honda opted for purely manual suspension clickers on the Enduro Sports. Dirt purists who have suffered sensor failures after river crossings will welcome the decision: there are no electronic wires running down the fork stanchions, and preload and damping can be tuned with standard hand tools. The machine rolls on heavy-duty DID dirt-spec tubeless wire-spoked wheels measuring 21 inches up front and 18 inches at the rear, shod factory-standard with aggressive block-tread rubber.
Side-by-Side Technical Comparison
| Specification | 2027 Honda CRF1150L Enduro Sports | 2024 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin | KTM 1190 / 890 Adventure R Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine Layout | 1,131cc Unicam 270° Twin | 1,084cc Unicam 270° Twin | 889cc LC8c DOHC Twin |
| Power Output | 119 hp (87.5 kW) @ 7,500 rpm | 102 hp (75 kW) @ 7,500 rpm | 105 hp (77 kW) @ 8,000 rpm |
| Peak Torque | 119 Nm @ 6,000 rpm | 112 Nm @ 5,500 rpm | 100 Nm @ 6,500 rpm |
| Wet Weight | 228 kg | 231 kg | 214 kg |
| Suspension Travel | 240 mm F / 230 mm R | 230 mm F / 220 mm R | 240 mm F / 240 mm R |
| Ground Clearance | 260 mm | 250 mm | 263 mm |
| Wheel Sizes | 21-inch F / 18-inch R Spoked | 21-inch F / 18-inch R Spoked | 21-inch F / 18-inch R Spoked |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 19.0 L (Split Under-Seat) | 18.8 L | 20.0 L |
| European Base Price | €16,890 (est.) | €15,375 | €15,990 |
The Rider’s Trade-Off: True Dirt Agility vs Highway Wind Protection
Creating a genuine 228 kg rally machine from a liter-class platform required uncompromising compromises. To maintain freedom of movement when standing on the serrated off-road footpegs, Honda fitted the 2027 Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports with an ultra-stubby rally windscreen and an 885mm seat height that adjusts upward to 905mm. Wind buffeting at 130 km/h on European autoroutes will be significantly higher than on the standard Africa Twin, and riders under 180 cm will find footing precarious at red lights.
Furthermore, Honda omitted the Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) option entirely on the Enduro Sports model, specifying exclusively a slick 6-speed manual gearbox with an assist-and-slipper clutch and an optional bi-directional quickshifter. For long-distance slab touring, the Adventure Sports remains the relaxed choice. But for traversing rocky mountain tracks where lightweight rally concepts like the Yamaha Ténéré 4 Concept usually dominate rider wishlists, the Enduro Sports gives full-size adventure riders a weapon that finally respects the dirt.
The 2027 Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports arrives in European dealerships in March 2027, wearing HRC Extreme Red Tricolour livery with gold anodized rims, with pricing expected to start at approximately €16,890.
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Official source: https://hondanews.eu/eu/en/cars/media/pressreleases/592890/27ym-honda-crf1150l-africa-twin-enduro-sports-1
Reporting via: rideapart.com, motor.nl
