2020+ CRF 1100L Africa Twin Owners Thread

19,000km/12,000mi on an 1100 AS Standard. Probably 4,000km of that on gravel/dirt. Every imaginable weather scenario, terrain, altitudes from sea level to to 8,000ft on and off road. 1up, 2up, fully loaded both scenarios (including one 6,000km 12 day, 2up camping trip across BC, Yukon, Alberta in mostly awful weather)

So far the only two things to slow this thing down:

1. Clogged air filters around 17,000km really choked off power. Once replaced, back to beast mode.

2. Failure of the electronic suspension information system after riding for about 5 minutes through the rain-pocalypse. It took two key turns to get the TFT back, but the bike started no problem. Once back, no information or adjustability was displayed, however system could be heard spooling up and down when changing riding modes and we finished the remaining 5,000km of the trip with zero issues aside from not knowing what was happening with the suspension. Honda took two weeks to not solve it, by which time I was leaving on another 4000km trip with large wilderness FSR sections. By the 2nd day of that trip a guy on the Africa Twin forums solved the problem. I stopped in a town, borrowed a paper clip, rammed it into the jumper, and turned the system back on in a few minutes. Once back, despite the battery being pulled for days, every piece but the wiring harness being swapped (including the TFT), all the settings were as I had set them for the original trip.

An excerpt from a message I sent to a user on the bike...

"Especially with the electronic suspension, this bike is the only bike I've ever ridden that you can pull from one surface extreme to another, take a few seconds to push some buttons, hit the road and feel 100% confident that you have the right bike for that exact moment between your legs. I can rip like an angry teenager riding a Ducati on methamphetamine, I can ride it like an old guy on a gold wing, its a thumper, a dual sport, a sport bike and it looks damn fine doing all of it. I also trust it. Trust is huge on big trips.

I remember reading about your problem somewhere. This one is in the back of my head should that come up. Have been in that menu to try and turn on the fog light option (which of course isn’t there on NA bikes, that’s another story) and say how you could enable and dust the suspension systems. I’m really not surprised the dealer couldn’t figure that one out....they love changing parts.

You need a new dealer first of all

The jumper was added without notifying dealerships. Honda USA, Canada and Japan tech lines had no information on it back in June. More of a Honda engineers vs Honda worldwide issue than a dealership issue.

This problem and solution was already known since march 2020

Maybe to you, but definitely not to this forum, AfricaTwinforum.com, or Honda USA, Canada and Japan. And if its the case that you knew in March, thanks a lot for helping out there Jimbo. I love when people on forums are helpful. I really dislike when they are just plain, ol' fashioned ass**les.

Had the same problem in March on my bike , unluckily i did not read about you & the same issue till today.

Well my friend "I knew" is very different than "everyone knows".

Missing something as i did not wrote " i " or " everyone "
By the way : problem , like other before (CC , e-preload on users modes , clutch switches and so on ), was reported as usually at honda directly .
That´s why seems to me pretty strage .

Sorry if this has already been answered somewhere but, is the jumper fix a temporary solution or did you have to leave it in? I have a CRF1100 standard DCT that, so far, has not given me any problems after 5,000 miles but I like to be prepared if something goes wrong.

If any of you can point me to the post or link that describes exactly what this jumper does, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

This is the thread I started on it. The fix and associated info are on page two.

https://www.africatwinforum.com/threads/atas-es-suspension-issue.37765/#post-329430

Short answer. You jump the connector (there is an official bit from Honda apparently), power on, go to settings, find equipment tab (not available without jump), inside are options, including ES. Switch ES on. Turn bike off, remove jumper, done. I haven't had the issue since.

The jumper just enables the service screen which is normally “grayed” out. Make the jump, turn key on and go into the service menu and toggle on the suspension option (which for some unknown reason turned itself off), exit menu, turn off key and remove jumper. It should in theory never change. This is also how you’d enable heated grips on the standard bikes, or the quick shifter on the non-DCT versions.

Sorry for hijacking

The "jumpers"is simply what honda call SCS connector (honda spare parts number 070MZ0010300) will be used to enter in dealer mode an change few impostation (foglight , qs , heated grips and so on) and for tests

The SCS connector is also used to clear historical DTC in memory to diagnose current problems.
It's a relief you can do this by shorting two wires (make sure you know which), without paying for the 'official' SCS connector.

yes and no , cause the 1100 are euro 5

This is what the recommended SCS tool looks like for 2016/2017 model AT
- just 2 wires shorted
The connector in newer AT have changed a bit, but you are still shorting 2 wires.

I don't know what "euro5" has any significance to the discussion?

The SCS (service check short) connector of the 1100 it´s completly different , you can sure short the cables to programm the accessories but it´s got more functions due the euro5 specs ( IUPR , IMU and so on ) but less function itself , like you cannot clean MIL in the ECU , as the system is now an OBD Stage2
Euro 5 is significant in this discussion cause we talking about a CRF1100 ; euro5 parameters are worldwide .

Good to know. But it still retains basic functionality with the same SCS tool- no change in writing nor use
From the 2020 Service manual: