NEW 700 TRANSALP

[mr moto]

with the official unveiling due at the paris motorcycle show at the end of the week, one of the euro bike mags has let the cat out of the bag   here is the first pic of the new for 2008 700cc engined alp  
i cannot wait to see and sit on it at the show this coming saturday   and if honda can keep the price to around the current transalp,s £5000.00 i think they are going to sell by the truckload . and maybe honda has noticed the success of the wee strom in america , and has designed a bike to take sales from suzuki ?
 i will ask at the show if it is destined for the american market .

[Rincewind]

 i will ask at the show if it is destined for the american market .

Thanks, I look forward to hearing their response, though I would be surprised if they brought it to the US.  

And take pics at the show!  

I like this design - with the round headlight, it looks a bit nautical, almost like from a James Verne book.  

[squeezer]

I really like the looks of that.

And I wish Japanese bike makers would start realizing that many of us in the U.S. really do use our bikes for transportation, not just butt jewelry, and that these things have a market here.

[garry]

Hmmm.... That could be a serious Wee Strom competitor if it comes to the states. The Versys made it here (eventually). Maybe the market for versatile middleweights is now worth pursuing?

[bizarro]

It would be nice to see that bike here.

[Zerosum]

Wait... how does this fit in with the Varadero?



I'd rather have one of them, personally.  I mean, what's with the spokes on the Transalp?

[jude]

I'd rather have one of them, personally.  I mean, what's with the spokes on the Transalp?

Picked off extremebiker...

The reason spoked wheels are used is their ability to take on off-road gunning. The spoked design allows an amount of flex to aid in the absorption of impacts that would crack one-piece wheels. If the rider breaks a spoke or two he can go on riding.

Repairing the wheel is a cinch. You have to simply replace the broken spokes and re-truing the wheel, rather than replacing it entirely.

[Corbeau]

moreoever, spokes = a tube inside the tire, much easier to repair in case of puncture.

OK, so help me out, you Honda-Euros (or Euro-Honda riders): There's the (new) Transalp. There's also a Varadero. And I've heard of the Africa Twin. Are they all twins? Parallel or V?

Nevermind. A quick check of Honda.fr tells me the Africa Twin is not in the picture and that the Transalp is a 650 while the Varadero is a 1000, both V-twins. And there's this weird 125cc Varadero. (two very small cylinders, V-twin, also available w/ factory topbox)

And I saw a CBF1000a7, Travel Edition (please pronounce it as a Frenchman would).      

[garry]

moreoever, spokes = a tube inside the tire, much easier to repair in case of puncture.

I would say the exact opposite. I can plug a tubeless tire and be on the road in 10 minutes. You won't have the rear wheel off the bike and be cursing at your tire irons in 10 minutes, let alone have a new tube installed. Tubed tires do offer options if your tire if FUBAR and couldn't be plugged.

[Mac]

I wonder if the new transalp will be fuel injected like the yamaha 660?

[JamesG]

Looks neato.  So of course we won't get it here...

[DannyZRC]

that lump is heavy and weak, which means that is what it will be relative to the wee.

spoked wheels are a lame throwback to a time when a TA could actually offroad, and they're just needlessly raising the cost and complexity of the bike for style's sake.

tubeless is much quicker and easier to fix, and you can still throw a tube into a tubless if your tire is fubar and can't be made to hold air.

[Zerosum]

that lump is heavy and weak, which means that is what it will be relative to the wee.

So is that the same venerable 52* V-twin found on the Dueville and Bros/Hawk?  Looks like it.

I didn't know the Varadero was a 1000cc... so it uses basically the same 90* V-twin mill as the VTR1000.  I was hoping it was using a "VTR650" type of motor, but I guess no such motor exists.

[kevrider]

yes, it has EFI.  also ABS.  here is a pdf brochure with a spec sheet at the bottom.

yes, it is the same 52 degree twin from the Hawk/Bros/Shadow/Africa Twin...... dead reliable.  this version was introduced on the Deauville a while back.

yes, compared the the wee, it will be heavy and slow.  wet weight is about the same between the two, that is with more gas in the wee.  also the wee will have 5-10 more HP.  not a big deal to me, as i ride an '89 with maybe 40-45 HP at the wheel.  the power gain from that to this '08 will much more significant than the 20 lbs gained.  throw in the ABS, EFI and lack of two decades of wear, and it looks like a winner to me.  

there are places i have been on my TA that would have caused some dismay were my wheels cast of aluminum.  these were unfamiliar roads and  spoked rims are more reassuring in that situation.  maybe a wees rims would have been fine, but i'd rather let someone else test them.

i have only flatted twice on a motorcycle.  fixing my TA with a new tube was more work, but it worked.  fixing my VFR wheel with a plug was less work, but it didn't work.  

OTOH, the VFR let it's air out of the rear gradually at interstate speed and i was able to calmly head to the shoulder.  the TA's front blew out at interstate speed on a narrow country road between rock-filled ditches and my life flashed before my eyes as fought to control the machine.  

spoked and tubeless would be ideal.

of course, it's all moot.  AmHon believes CBR/VTX/CRF are all they need.  i prefer twins to singles, but the KLR might be my next Transalp.  i don't like the wee.

[mr moto]

back from the paris show, and the new alp look,s much better in the flesh than in the pic,s . it is also very comfortable to sit on . but make no mistake ! this is designed as a do it all bike, perfect for commuting to work or riding off on a two week tour . 19 inch front wheel, ABS an option, and a full touring kit are also available . it will not set the world on fire but it will sell in great numbers over here in euroland . and i did ask about an american release . the answer ? not at this time   here are some pic,s of the basic, and the touring version .

[kevrider]

promo videos here.

[Rincewind]

and i did ask about an american release . the answer ? not at this time  

Thanks anyway for asking.    Nice show pics.  

[Schneegz]

moreoever, spokes = a tube inside the tire...

I don't understand why this is the case with motorcycles.  My mountain bike has spoked wheels and tubeless tires.  Why is it that all motorcycles with spoked wheels have tubes?

[miles]

I don't understand why this is the case with motorcycles.  My mountain bike has spoked wheels and tubeless tires.  Why is it that all motorcycles with spoked wheels have tubes?

Not the case.  There are spoked tubeless wheels out there, but just like your UST rims, the key is that they spokes don't poke all the way through the double walls of the rim.  BMW has had that setup for years.

[zarly]

moreoever, spokes = a tube inside the tire, much easier to repair in case of puncture.

Not necessarily. (GS and KTM Adventure)