The Honda XL750 Transalp Review - Engineered for the open road and beyond! - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

Bike Reviews Are Back! Join Tom as he dives deep into the heart of the off-road world with the legendary Honda XL750 Transalp!  Innovation meets practicality in the design of the XL750 Transalp. From its cutting-edge technology to its ergonomic design, this bike is a testament to Honda's commitment to delivering an unrivalled riding experience. We'll explore the advanced features that make this motorcycle stand out from the crowd, providing both comfort and control whether you're navigating city streets or conquering off-road terrain.  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!   ----- Social Media -----  Follow us on social media by clicking the link below to elevate your social media experience by connecting with us! https://menandmotors.start.page  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2024

Transcript

00:00 Welcome back to Menor Motors and today you join me with something a little bit different

00:06 than cars, it's the Honda XL750 Transalp. First impressions of this bike are rather

00:12 good, I really do love the colour scheme, especially with this matte black paint, the

00:17 black wheels and the black engine components, it really does set it off, especially with

00:22 that jacked up ride height, it just has that off-roading presence that just looks fantastic.

00:27 This is the base model of the XL750 Transalp and it costs £9,499, however you can spec

00:35 that up with a few added extras, but if you want to take a view of the Boggo model, this

00:39 is basically it and I think it's more than enough bike for that sort of money. And to

00:43 be fair, it's a good price when you position it in the market against other competitors

00:48 for adventure bikes. The Transalp is based on the Honda Hornet and it pretty much shares

00:53 the same engine, running gear, electrics and chassis, albeit the chassis is a little bit

00:58 different, it's a bit more beefed up just to take in that extra strength needed on surroundings

01:03 such as this, especially when you're not on tarmac. It's powered by a 750cc, 270 degree

01:10 crank 8 valve twin engine which produces 95bhp, 55ft-lbs of torque and a top speed of 135mph.

01:20 I should also add it weighs in at 208kg, which is a bit on the heavy side for a bike, but

01:25 when you compare it to other models, it sits right in the middle and when you're on it,

01:29 it doesn't feel heavy at all. If you're buying a bike like this, you're not going to be chasing

01:33 speed so those figures aren't going to blow you away, but what I can tell you is, it's

01:37 more than enough to propel this bike forward in a straight line, on some nice corners on

01:42 tarmac and especially on bumpy tracks such as this. It really is a nice power to weight

01:47 ratio and you can't complain. The gearbox is 6-speed and as standard, you get an anti-slipper

01:52 clutch. Now, I want to address the elephant in the room because when you look at this

01:56 bike, it's evident that something isn't symmetrical and that is the wheels. The rear wheel is

02:01 18" and the front wheel is 21" and there's a massive reason for that and that is comfort

02:08 and a cushioned ride. Having a bigger wheel at the front just simply takes all the vibration

02:12 out of your arms when you're on bumpy tracks and it does lead to that ultimate comfortable

02:16 feeling when you're pushing the bike to its limits. Whilst we're on the subject of wheels,

02:21 I do have to say the disc brakes are absolute dinner plates. You get twin 310mm brakes on

02:28 the front and a single 256mm disc brake on the rear. You get twin pot calipers on the

02:34 front and a single pot on the back and it comes with abs, which is something that I'm

02:39 clearly lacking and by abs, I mean ABS. You do get it on the front and back and it can

02:44 be fine-tuned and tweaked if you don't like how reactive it is and how much it kicks in,

02:49 which we have found when riding it on gravel, it does tend to take over a bit too much.

02:54 But, one of the beautiful things with this bike is it's very, very adaptable. You have

02:58 a series of different driver modes, which I'll talk you through in a moment and you

03:02 can really trim it down and tweak the throttle response just for it to ride exactly how you

03:06 want it to. On the front, you get upside down 41mm forks and putting that with a combination

03:11 of a big wheel on the front, it really does lead to a cushioned ride, which ultimately

03:15 means more time spent in the saddle, which is what you want to do with a bike like this

03:20 if the weather doesn't get in the way, of course.

03:23 From factory, the Transalp is a very customisable bike. Like I said, this is the base model,

03:29 but you can add some lovely crash bars on here with some low-mounted spot lamps if you

03:33 enjoy a bit of night riding or when the sun's going down. You can add saddle bags to the

03:37 rear, you can add some heated grips onto the bike and you can have some wind deflectors

03:41 onto your wrist, which is something I would probably add if I was buying one of these

03:45 because the hands just get so cold this time of year when riding if you haven't got heated

03:50 gloves. But, if you could add them to the bike, I really do think it's worth it and

03:54 there are many different ways you can configure it.

03:56 Fuel tank capacity is 16.9 litres and for that, you get roughly around 249 miles of

04:02 range. That's if you don't thrash it, of course. And whilst we're on the subject of

04:06 fuel, I might as well mention the MPG. But before I do, get in the comments below and

04:11 guess the figures of what you think the MPG is on this bike because I was absolutely amazed.

04:17 The MPG is 67 miles per gallon, which is absolutely amazing because it works out at roughly 10

04:24 pence a mile to run. And let's face it, 10 pence a mile when you're on a bike like this

04:29 on lovely country roads and lovely weather, it just leads to smiles per gallon for a very,

04:34 very competitive price. And it does make me think, why don't more people use bikes to

04:39 get from A to B? Because it's cheap, it's fun. The only thing is, it is slightly dangerous,

04:44 but in open areas, unless you're an absolute imbecile in the way you ride, there's very

04:49 little that can happen.

04:50 Now, as time's moved on with motorbikes, we've started to see a decline in analogue speedos

04:55 and dials and they're getting replaced with LED screens, something which I didn't really

04:59 think I'd bond well with. But the fact that you can change it and tweak it to how you

05:04 want really does scream excellence. Now, if I just turn this on, you get a lovely little

05:09 Transalp animation that comes on the screen. You've got the speedo, the revs, it tells

05:14 you what gear it's in. And then the best thing is, there's a button here that says mode.

05:19 And when you flick through the modes, you have five different driving modes. One of

05:23 them, which I think is the best. But as I just cycle through, you've got standard, rain,

05:28 gravel, user. Now, this is the best one, I think, because you can actually tweak all

05:33 the settings in the user mode. And what that means is you can change the harshness of the

05:39 throttle response. You can change when the ABS kicks in. You can just pretty much tweak

05:43 it to exactly how you want. Now, certain modes do feel better in certain environments, but

05:49 I think as you learn to live with this bike and the more you ride it, you'll start to

05:52 enjoy it a bit more when you tweak it and set it up to exactly how you want.

05:56 Now, I should probably talk about seat height. It's 33 inches or around 850 mil, which is

06:02 a little on the high side. But for someone like myself, that's six foot three, it really

06:07 is a nice position. If I get on, you can see I can quite easily flat foot this bike, especially

06:14 if I'm sat forward and it does feel nice and comfortable. Now, I can move that around very

06:19 easily, but I think somebody that's probably around five foot eight, you might be on the

06:23 balls of your feet. But for someone like me, it's perfect. And you feel comfortable and

06:27 stable when you come to a stop. Whilst I'm on here, I must say the seat is very comfortable

06:33 and the travel on these forks is just absolutely fantastic. And again, you can really see how

06:39 cushion this ride is. One thing I may mention is if you're a little on the heavier side

06:44 like myself, obviously when you are on the seat, the lower the bike sits into the ground.

06:48 So for once, adding weight to yourself might be a perk. That's not health advice, by the

06:54 way, because I'm not a doctor, but I just thought it might be worth mentioning. The

06:59 visor looks kind of pointless, but it does actually do its job. It keeps the wind from

07:03 hitting your chest, albeit you still see it in your face unless you do tuck behind the

07:07 handlebars. But it does serve a purpose. The extra wide fuel tank and fenders also protect

07:12 you from the wind. However, like I said before, if I was having one of these bikes, I would

07:16 definitely spec it with heated grips on the handle, wind deflectors because your hands

07:20 do take the brush of it. I mean, yesterday when I was out on the bike, you could barely

07:24 move your fingers after a ride, but was four hours in the saddle. And I tell you what,

07:29 comfortable, pain free, ache free, lovely thing to ride. One thing I do want to talk

07:34 about is this headlight. It's super bright and it does look the part. However, I do feel

07:39 that Honda have been a little bit lazy just taking this off the CB750X and just slapping

07:45 it straight onto the Transalp. A bit of different design could have been added in there, but

07:50 again, it's only a little niggle. It's only preference. And I'm very sure with time as

07:54 it moves on and facelift models come out and the newer shapes, this will probably change.

07:59 One great thing are these side lights. They stay on all the time. And when you ride in

08:03 at night, it just looks really stealth with the big LED light shining through the front

08:08 and the two little orange lights. And if you do put the indicator on, you can see basically

08:13 change. Lovely bit of design. Now I know you're itching to find out what it sounds like, so

08:18 I'll show you. As standard, you get a lovely little purr. A few people have said this is

08:24 quite a quiet bike. I don't think that's the case. If I do give it a little rev, I don't

08:30 think you can moan at that. It sounds lovely. The red line on this bike is 10,000 RPM and

08:47 you do get that lovely induction noise, especially when you get up in the higher range of revs.

08:52 Anything between 6,000 to 10,000, you do really feel it pick up. And that's where it's most

08:57 reactive with the horsepower. And you tend to pick up an extra 20 after about 6K on the

09:03 revs. On the brakes, you get six different settings and that's to go a lot easier on

09:08 the wrist because we know as men, we have a habit of being quite hard on the wrist.

09:12 And that's the last thing you want to be doing when you ride in a bike. No innuendo is meant

09:16 there. But you can tweak the reach on the brakes. So basically, if you've got too much

09:20 of a far reach, you can tweak it in. So you're straight on the bike point of the brakes.

09:24 And it is just, again, a more customisable thing and you can tweak it with the way it

09:28 rides. Clutch is very, very soft and it is cable operated. And you know what? I really

09:34 do think it's brilliant. And with all that said, I think it's about time we took it for

09:39 a road test.

09:52 Starting off on the Transalp is an absolute dream. The clutch is smooth and extremely

09:57 light on your fingers and it picks up speed fast. Like I said earlier in this video, it

10:02 really is a comfortable bike and with soft suspension, it does feel fun when accelerating,

10:08 especially with the forwards and backwards rock when changing gear. Gear changes are

10:12 smooth and like most bikes, comes with a lovely clunk to confirm that you've gone into gear.

10:21 The sound isn't on the loud side and it isn't on the quiet side either. It is a nice touch

10:26 and it does sing out a lovely note, especially when you're getting into the higher revs.

10:31 Given it was a wet day with greasy road conditions, the bike did feel rather planted, even with

10:36 partial knobbly tyres. Don't get me wrong, if you push it, then of course you will slip

10:41 and slide around, but it does fill you with confidence that this bike is aimed at all

10:44 feathers. And let's face it, especially where I live in the north of England, it's always

10:49 moist.

10:53 But where this bike really comes to life is off the beaten track, even in a downpour.

11:00 With the utilisation of different riding modes such as gravel, this is where the Transalp

11:04 makes riding on loose slippery surfaces fun and safe. It feathers and feels the traction

11:09 control and the ABS as and when it thinks you need it. However, if you think it's too

11:14 much, you can go full ASBO mode and turn off all the riding aids.

11:19 Today, the weather is grim and there is no better way of putting the Transalp to the

11:23 test than muddy puddles, green lanes, hills and dirt tracks. The massive upside down forks

11:30 really cushion the ride and help you gain control on technical terrains. And don't forget

11:35 guys, they say the best views come from the hardest climbs, and the climbs are a hell

11:39 of a lot easier when taking the Transalp off road.

11:43 Now the Transalp can cope with light off road work, but it isn't going to take you as far

11:47 as a scrambler or an enduro would. But it does allow you to explore other terrain, rather

11:53 than just tarmac, and chase down those landmarks in the distance.

11:57 In summary, it's a great all-rounder, and for the price, can you really complain?

12:12 So to summarise, I think this is a fantastic bike, and for 9.5 grand, you can't really

12:17 complain. It's a good all-rounder, and it's something you should really consider buying

12:21 if you're in the market for one. Let us know in the comments what you thought of this,

12:25 and if you want to see what Men & Motors thought of this over 8 years ago, click up here, and

12:29 if you want to see my friend Jim getting a bit fiddly with a dolphin, click down here.

12:33 In the meantime, hit subscribe, and we'll see you all very soon.

12:37 [Music]

The Honda XL750 Transalp Review - Engineered for the open road and beyond!

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