Honda CRF1100 Africa Twins are being recalled as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) due to a fault with the engine control unit (ECU) that causes the bike’s dual-clutch transmission (DCT) to stall the engine, causing a loss of drive power which could result in an accident.
The recall was issued on September 1, 2022, and it is attributed to a software error. Up to 1,561 units are affected by the recall under American Honda Motor Co. Africa Twin units that were produced between 2020 to 2021 with the Honda DCT system might stall and lose power for no reason.
According to the NHTSA, “A software error in the engine control unit (ECU), may disconnect the controller area network (CAN) communication and release the clutch, which can result in an engine stall or a loss of drive power.”
Owners of the Africa Twin may experience the bike stalling randomly at stoplights due to the software error. While coming to a stop, the DCT could just engage the clutch of the motorcycle and jerk forward, causing the engine to stall which could potentially lead to a tip-over, and that’s small potatoes compared to what can actually happen if the ECU throws an error while the bike is moving.
On the more dangerous side of things, the ECU could throw the error while the bike is moving or coming to a stop which could potentially cause a rider to panic and hit the brakes rather hard, and because there is no way to manually disengage the clutch, the engine has no choice but to succumb to the friction of the clutch and stall.
American Honda Motor Co. dealers should be able to remedy the issue with the units. Dealers will have to reflash an updated software for the affected units’ ECUs, and owners can avail of this service free of charge. Notification letters are expected to be mailed by October 31, 2022. However, owners may also get in touch with Honda customer service at 1-866-784-1870. Africa Twin owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153).
