Red White and Blue

As many have lamented, Honda’s decision to market the Transalp 750 in black livery in the United States is puzzling. In fact, like many riders I know, generally, I don’t buy black bikes if any other color choice is available.

As a born and bred dirt bike racer, I have spent countless hours applying graphics kits to my race bikes, so the solution to this problem was obvious for me. Being that the Transalp has been on the market for a couple of years, the options for a complete high-quality graphics kit are numerous. With this project bike, I decided that my preference would be to find a bright, simple design mostly white, with a pop of color.

After a thorough search, I came across some images of an Upshift graphics kit in red white, and blue. So I reached out to the gang at Upshift. They let me know that their graphics kits are marketed under the moniker of TMBR Moto. After a quick tour of their website, the kit was on order and reached me in just a few days. The graphics kit is meticulously packaged. I was impressed by the quality and color of the graphics, all pieces were thick and bright.

If you plan on applying this graphics kit for yourself, here are a few simple tools and supplies that will make the process easier and improve the final result:

• Heat Gun

• Vinyl sticker surface prep cleaner

• Vinyl application fluid

• Guitar Pick

• Wool Mat

• Utility Knife

• Touchup Paint (optional)

You will need to remove the OEM graphics to start, and once all surfaces are clean, you can expect to spend a few hours applying the graphics to the bike.

Honda could have saved us all a bunch of time by making this color scheme available from the factory. But seeing the final result of this kit, I’d say it’s a good thing that they didn’t. This bike looks bolder and brighter than the OEM white bike. So, all in all, I’m glad it worked out this way!