Honda Transalp and Africa Twin
From GummyCarbs
The Honda Africa Twin is a 650cc (RD03) or 750cc (RD04, RD07) cousin of the 600cc Honda Transalp. The earlier Africa Twins are very similar in construction to the Transalp, and many parts can be put onto a Transalp. Potential improvements include a larger fuel tank, an aluminum swingarm, taller suspension, and a rear disk brake.
Africa Twin Models
There are several models of Africa Twin. The important thing to remember is that RD07 parts are cannot be used on Transalps. Many RD03 and RD04 parts, however, bolt straight up to a Transalp. The following chart shows years and models. Note that only models relevant to the US-spec Transalp are shown:
- PD06 XL600V Transalp, produced 1987 - 1997. Imported into the US in 1989 and 1990.
- RD03 XRV650 Africa Twin, produced 1988 and 1989.
- RD04 XRV750 Africa Twin, produced 1990 - 1993.
- 1990 RD04L
- 1991 RD04M
- 1992 RD04N
- 1993 RD04P
- RD07 XRV750 Africa Twin, produced from 1994. The RD07 is radically different from the RD04 and its parts cannot be used on a PD06 Transalp.
Year Africa Twin Transalp 1988 RD03 XRV650 1989 RD03 XRV650 PD06 1990 RD04L XRV750 PD06 1991 RD04M XRV750 1992 RD04N XRV750 1993 RD04P XRV750 1994+ RD07
For a full breakdown of Transalp models (PD06H, J, K, etc) see Deti's page.
For a full history of the Africa Twin (RD03, RD04L, M, N, P) see this page (Japanese).
Fuel Tank
RD03 and RD04 fuel tanks, which are identical apart from color scheme, will fit directly onto a Transalp frame. An RD07 has an entirely different frame, so its tank will not fit a Transalp.
Interference
Without the support bracket, the RD03/RD04 tank's petcocks may interfere with the Transalp engine's oil lines. This does not seem to be an issue with later Transalps, which may use a different oil routing more similar to the NT650 Hawk.
Blackbert says that the right-hand petcock hits the clutch cable mount, and the left-hand petcock hits the coolant line. The right petcock is larger due to a drain plug, so swapping it fixes the clearance problem on the right-hand side, but leaves the left side unfixed.
Support Bracket
Ladder106 replies that the Africa Twin tank requires a support, which is shown here.
This item may be listed on [http//www.ebay.de Ebay Germany] as "Verkleidungshalter" (translates as "Fairing bracket"). Currently, I don't know if this is different from "Kühlerhalter" ("cooler holder") which certainly appears to be identical.
It appears in the XRV650K microfiche as
XRV650K "PIPE COMP., COWL MOUNTING" 64209-MS8-000
Fuel Pump
The Africa Twin tank needs a fuel pump in order to pump the last few gallons.
Stock Africa Twin
The Africa Twin's OEM fuel pump is electric, and it's prone to failure due to internal electrical contacts which arc and destroy themselves. The pump itself can be hardwired and controlled by an external relay, which prevents the arcing problem.
Substitute Pumps
Many people run vacuum-operated fuel pumps.
Another alternative is an electric fuel pump from Spruce Aircraft and Supply.
Swingarm
The Africa Twin has an aluminum swingarm which is is longer than the steel Transalp swingarm. It can be fitting with relatively few problems. Notably, the drum brake stopper has to be ground to fit the Africa Twin swingarm (assuming an Africa Twin disc rear wheel hasn't been used as well), and a 124 link chain is needed.
- Translated "Transalp with Africa Twin swingarm" (from transalp.de).
Interchangeability
These parts diagrams indicate the compatibility of many of the swingarm parts between the Transalp and the RD04 Africa Twin. Green indicates that the part numbers are the same, while red indicates that the parts differ. Yellow indicates that the part numbers are different, but the parts may be compatible nonetheless.
Rear Brake With Africa Twin Swingarm
The stock drum brake housing can be machined to fit into the slot on the RD04/RD07 swingarm.
Alternatively, an Africa Twin rear wheel can be used to get a disc brake. This post provides the following information on rear brake disks:
Model Rotor Dia. Internal Dia. Bolt Center Dist. Bolt Dia. PD06 240mm 105mm 125mm 10.5mm RD03 240mm 105mm 125mm 10.5mm RD04 256mm 144mm 166mm 10mm RD07 256mm 144mm 166mm 10mm
He finishes with:
brake caliper brackets are absolute interchangable between RD03, 04 and 07 regards their place against swingarm. If you have 240mm disk, use bracket from RD03, otherwise from RD04, 07 regardless which AT swingarm you have. I tested that caliper from PD06 '94 fits in RD03 and RD04 caliper bracket perfect, I guess, same with RD07 bracket.
Buying Parts
Ebay
Ebay is a good source for used Africa Twin parts. I recommend Ebay Germany since shipping prices from Germany are reasonable, and German sellers have proved very helpful. UK sellers have either refused to ship, or charge exorbitant rates, and Italian sellers want nothing to do with me.
Payment
Traditionally, German Ebay sellers accepted only SWIFT money transfers. Ask your bank if they can perform an international money transfer. Get a copy of the transfer form, and look for "SWIFT" in the routing number area.
More recently, some German Ebay sellers have begun accepting PayPal. This makes the process much simpler and faster.
Make sure to get a shipping quote before committing to purchase!
Substitution
Honda reuses parts whenever possible across models. It's worth finding part numbers on the microfiche and looking them up online. Ron Ayers has an excellent parts lookup facility.
Petcock
According to this page, "the left AT petcock is the same as the petcock for a 1990 NT650 Honda Hawk" ($55 at BikeBandit.com).
Microfiche
The Honda parts microfiche for Africa Twins is an absolute necessity. I have made PDF copies of pages which are particularly relevant: