A new take on an old favorite

The Transalp first appeared as the Honda XL600V. That was back in 1996. Back then the Transalp was a sport tourer that offered go anywhere styling and intentions. By todays standards it was a heavily road-focused machine. Still the common appeal of successive generations of TRANSALP was their light, compact chassis, large fairings for comfort, large-diameter spoked wheels for good running characteristics and comfortable touring performance on both paved and unpaved roads.

Todays Transalp maintains some of that same road leaning design, but is vastly more capable in the dirt. Honda says this bike is designed to be at home anywhere. What we can safely say is this may be Honda’s most capable everywhere motorcycle.

Engine

All around ride-ability is supported by a new 755cc parallel twin engine which delivers a highly competitive 90 horsepowers at 9,500rpm, and 55 ft-lbs of torque at 7,250rpm. More than enough to hang with the best of them in the middle weight adventure bike class. Strong top end punch with ample low to mid grunt, combined with the 270° crank makes it that much more pleasing to twist that grip.

Clutch

Equipped with assist and slipper™ clutch which provides a lighter feel at the clutch lever as well as a slipper function to mitigate impacts from rapid engine braking accompanying downshifting.

Bits and Pieces

Throttle By Wire, 5 riding modes, Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) with integrated Wheelie Control

Dash

5-inch TFT color display which vividly supplies all the crucial information and allows management of all systems. Four combinations of screen display and two background colors are selectable. Connectivity is available for both Android and iOS devices via the Honda Smartphone Voice Control system. Honda Smartphone Voice Control system (HSVCS) provides capability for Phone calls, Navigation (Turn-by-turn), Music, and Text messaging.

Suspension

Showa 43mm SFF-CATM USD forks and rear shock operating through Pro-Link. A 21in front wheel paired to a 18in rear delivers versatility both on or off-road.

Wind protection

The stock windscreen and fairing do a good job of managing the wind. For those planning to spend more time at speed on the tarmac Honda has a tall windscreen available to make your travels even more serene.

Lights

All lighting is LED, the indicators auto-cancel, and Emergency Stop Signal technology warns other road users of sudden braking.

Styling

The overall look is sleek, simple and clean. The Transalp is available later this spring in three colour schemes: Matt Iridium Gray Metallic, Matt Ballistic Black Metallic and a modern interpretation of the classic Ross White Tricolour.

Also of note, the XL 750 Transalp was also awarded the Red Dot Award* for product design. Criteria for winning designs include innovation, functionality, quality, sustainability, safety, marketability among others. a testanment to the by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen.

Who is the Transalp for?

Size weight and power are well balanced in the new Transalp. Suspension is not as tall or adjustable as some of its middle weight competition. While it’s smoothness and power are going to help you eat up road miles with ease. So, this adventure bike is going to appeal to ADV riders that spend more time logging road miles and don’t venture too far off the beaten path. Which is exactly how a lot of middle weight adventure riders ultimately use their adventure bikes. Something, that Honda no doubt figured out, as they set out to build the everywhere bike for everyone.

MSRP $TBD
Horsepower 90hp
Torque 55 ft-lbs
Curb Weight 208 kg

Wheelbase 61.5 inches 1,561 mm
Ground clearance 8.35 inches 212 mm

Front suspension 43 mm SHOWA 7.87 inches of travel 200 mm

Rear suspension SHOWA 7.48 inches of travel 190 mm

*The Red Dot Award was founded in 1955 and has become one of the most respected design awards worldwide. The award is administered by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany.

Honda 750 Transalp