IF YOU GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING to complain about, they will. And if you don't, they'll likely find something anyway. Take the 2024 Honda Transalp, for example. Honda’s newest middleweight adventure motorcycle is right-sized (750 cc) and right-priced at $13,506 (including freight, PDI and fees). It’s got a goodly amount of tech and a decent enough catalogue of accessories right from Honda, to tackle nearly anything with confidence. So, what’s to whine about? Despite being the first time that the storied Transalp model has landed on our shores (save a brief gap-year trip back in 1989), the North American model has been detuned to make the EPA happy. Specifically, the engine management unit has neutered overall performance to ensure that noise regulations are satisfied. The cost of sonic compliance rings in at around seven-to-ten-horsepower – a sin great enough to damn any praises, right? Not so fast… Weaving my way from the confines of the GTA’s rich tapestry of traffic, the Transalp is much nimbler than I expected it to be. Typically, when an adventure motorcycle wears a 21-inch front wheel
and an 18-inch rear, responsiveness slows down a touch. It's a concession riders allow in the name of off-road abilities, as there is little that a hoop that big can’t clamber over, but it doesn't feel like the trade-off has been made here. Part of the reason behind this is that Honda has engineered the Transalp to be a 50/50 bike, so its off-road prowess has been dulled in order to boost its overall on-road manners. As such, the suspension sits a little lower than what its closest competitors offer -- Yamaha's T700, Aprilia's Tuareg 660 – with travel being limited to 190mm in the rear and 200mm up front. Both the 43mm fork and Pro-link shock in the rear allow for adjustment but the stock set-up seemed to suit my 85kg’s just fine and the low-for-its-class 850mm seat height made for easy flat-footing at stops. Honda claims that chassis engineers were able to shave over 18 kgs of mass from the Transalp during development. The frame uses 2.6mm steel downtubes and plated engine hangers and couples with a steel diamond integrated subframe to achieve this. The toil of development means the Transalp weighs in at 208
“Honda claims that chassis engineers were able to shave over 18 kgs of mass from the Transalp during development. ”
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