Get ready as Honda's iconic Transalp makes a comeback to American shores after an absence of 34 years! In 1989, Cycle World hailed this bike as "a superb do-it-all motorcycle, perfect for riders seeking diversity in their riding experiences." However, despite its versatility and praise, the Transalp faced challenges finding its place in the US market. Was it too ahead of its time for American riders back then?
Fast forward to today, and adventure bikes have become the darlings of American motorcycling enthusiasts. The middleweight adventure segment (ranging from 700cc to 1,000cc) has witnessed an incredible fourfold increase since 2018. With this surge in popularity, the US market seems more poised than ever to embrace adventure bikes.
But the question lingers: Is the timing finally right for the Transalp's success in the US, or has the moment passed?
Check out the full story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/honda-transalp-first-ride-review/
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
Fast forward to today, and adventure bikes have become the darlings of American motorcycling enthusiasts. The middleweight adventure segment (ranging from 700cc to 1,000cc) has witnessed an incredible fourfold increase since 2018. With this surge in popularity, the US market seems more poised than ever to embrace adventure bikes.
But the question lingers: Is the timing finally right for the Transalp's success in the US, or has the moment passed?
Check out the full story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/honda-transalp-first-ride-review/
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 What took so long for the Transalp to return to the US?
00:06 And is it too late?
00:07 So the original Transalp was brought to the United States
00:13 from 1989 to 1990.
00:16 We only got it for two years.
00:18 Back then a lot of people were buying sport bikes.
00:20 Adventure bikes weren't really a thing yet
00:22 and the bike wasn't successful.
00:23 But now the middleweight adventure bike is really exploding.
00:27 So the all new Honda Transalp has their new 755 CC
00:32 parallel twin with a 270 degree crank.
00:36 This has been a really nice engine in this motorcycle.
00:39 Good usable bottom end, a really strong mid range,
00:42 and then it revs up really nicely
00:44 all the way till it's red line.
00:46 And it's just been a really nice motor off road,
00:48 on the pavement, good amount of throttle down low
00:51 and it hooks up and has a lot of traction.
00:54 And then once you get into that mid range,
00:55 you can really put the power down, slide a corner,
00:58 get out of the hole on the pavement.
01:00 And it's a really nice well-rounded motorcycle.
01:03 The suspension, it has a Showa 43 millimeter fork
01:06 and a Pro-Link Showa shock in the back.
01:08 7.9 up front, right around 7.5 in the rear.
01:12 Preload adjustment on the front and rear.
01:14 There's no other adjustments on this suspension.
01:17 It's not super aggressive.
01:19 So if you go really fast off road,
01:21 you're gonna blow through the stroke
01:22 and it's gonna be a little bit harsh.
01:25 But when you ride it within its limits,
01:27 it's been, you know, really comfortable ride.
01:29 The Honda Trans Elf has a really nice,
01:31 the electronic sweep, especially for a bike
01:34 that costs $9,999.
01:37 You have the option of four preset ride modes,
01:40 standard, sport, gravel and rain.
01:43 And then you have a fully customizable user mode
01:46 where you can dial in the power, traction control,
01:49 engine braking and ABS intervention.
01:52 I spent a lot of my time on this ride
01:54 in user mode, full power, no traction control,
01:58 ABS disabled on the rear.
02:01 And then just the first setting of engine braking.
02:05 And that gave me the ability to slide the bike,
02:07 do wheelies and really kind of make it my own.
02:10 I did experiment with the other modes,
02:12 gravel mode, off road, just the traction control
02:15 kicked on a little bit too much for me.
02:17 But I know some of the other riders
02:18 who have a little less off road experience
02:21 really appreciated that sort of safety net.
02:23 You can get on the gas, it's not gonna step out
02:25 too much for you and you can feel it kind of cut in
02:29 and let the tire hook back up
02:30 before you get moving down the road.
02:33 The bike also comes standard with an up and down
02:36 auto quick shifter.
02:37 And this thing was slick.
02:38 Banging up shifts, going down shifts, it's really nice.
02:42 It's not notchy, smooth.
02:44 It really makes it a nice addition,
02:46 especially as a standard feature for $10,000.
02:49 And it's something that I think everyone will appreciate.
02:52 The Honda Transalp comes with a 21 inch front wheel
02:55 and an 18 inch rear wheel, true off road riding sizes.
02:58 So not only will that give you a great like options
03:01 for tires, but also when you're doing real off road riding,
03:05 you have those familiar settings that you would
03:08 on a dual sport or a dirt bike.
03:10 So you can roll over rocks and logs pretty nicely.
03:14 The ground clearance is right around eight inches.
03:17 So there's not a whole lot of ground clearance,
03:19 but again, this is a more sort of 50/50 adventure bike
03:23 with a really good touring aspect.
03:25 It's something that I think a lot of riders will appreciate.
03:29 The brake system on the Honda Transalp features
03:31 dual 310 millimeter disc with two dual piston calipers
03:36 up front.
03:37 And then the rear, it's a single piston caliper
03:39 with a 256 millimeter disc.
03:42 The brakes are really nice, responsive, progressive.
03:46 They don't have a super aggressive initial bite,
03:48 but I think that's a good thing,
03:49 especially when you're riding off road.
03:51 There was never a point where I felt like, you know,
03:53 the brakes weren't gonna slow me down in time.
03:56 It does have off road ABS.
03:58 You can't disable the ABS completely on the front,
04:01 but when you go into user mode or gravel mode,
04:04 it'll switch to the off road ABS system.
04:08 So you can disable the rear ABS to do skids
04:10 and stuff like that.
04:12 The front will always stay on.
04:13 There was a couple of times in some wet,
04:15 slippery rock sections where just dragging the front,
04:18 I could feel a little bit of that sort of pressure,
04:20 the lever coming back out.
04:22 But for the most part, it was a really unobtrusive system,
04:26 which is really nice for riding aggressively off road.
04:29 So what took so long for the Honda Transalp
04:31 to return to the US?
04:33 And is it too late?
04:34 Well, the Honda Transalp was unsuccessful
04:37 because people weren't buying it in the US.
04:39 It had a lot longer of a run in Europe.
04:41 And is it too late?
04:42 I say, absolutely not.
04:44 This is a great adventure bike,
04:46 especially at the price point.
04:47 I think a lot of people will appreciate
04:50 the electronic sweep, the comfortable suspension,
04:53 and the very fun, exciting, yet approachable engine.
04:56 We're gonna have to put it in a comparison test,
04:58 especially against the new Suzuki,
05:00 and find out which cycle world feels is better.
05:02 But overall, a lot of people are really gonna like
05:05 this Honda Transalp.
05:06 (wind blowing)
05:09 (wind blowing)
05:12 (wind blowing)
05:14 (wind blowing)
05:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]