RIDE REVIEW I 2024 HONDA XL750R TRANSALP
P84
Initially, the 2024 Transalp
looks vulnerable when thinking
about taking it off-road. The
low-hanging exhaust and other
bits dangling from its relatively
low-slung chassis, with a seat
height of just 33.7 inches, give
the impression that this bike
is road-going only. Thankfully,
Honda has an entire menu of ac
-
cessory packages to suit every
rider's
needs, including one with
all the necessary parts to pro-
tect those otherwise vulnerable
undersides. Most of the bikes
that we
rode came equipped
with the Adventure Collection,
but there are three other acces
-
sory packages available—City,
Comfort
and Touring—to make
ordering what you need for your
style of riding easy and conve-
nient. Since the course for the
press event
was the PA Wilds
BDR-X (a backcountry loop in
Pennsylvania for dual-sport and
ADV travel), I was lucky to get a
bike fitted with their accessory
enduro footpegs, which worked
better than expected for fac
-
tory accessory pegs and were
more than adequate in
keeping
my feet firmly planted over the
roughest terrain we encoun-
tered. All our press bikes were
also
set up with Bridgestone
AX41 tires, which looked beauti
-
ful on the Transalp and really
worked well for the
type of
riding we were doing.
The PA
Wilds BDR-X was
perfect for an introduction to
the new Transalp. By combin-
ing fast-flowing sections of dirt
and
street, the true essence
of what the Transalp is best at
shines through. The optional
hard sections made up of steep
rocky descent and trails filled
with slick tree roots showed
just how off-road-capable the
bike is, although the suspension
would need a bit of attention if
you planned to do much of this
sort of riding. That said, the bike
performed way better than I ever
expected.
(Above) Honda has a whole host of accessories all
ready to go for the Transalp. (Right) Honda is not only
offering the Transalp in America again, but they've also
completely revamped this legendary bike. (Top right)
The Transalp comes with a five-inch, full-color TFT
screen, which is also customizable with four different
display options from which to choose. (Far right) Honda
gave the Transalp a quickshifter, which works flawlessly
and can be adjusted to three different shift levels.
