TRADEMARK filings in the USA have revealed that Honda has re-acquired the name Transalp, further adding weight to the idea that the adventure motorcycle is about to make a return.
We first reported on the apparent return of the machine back into the Honda range last year, when in November Young Machine released a computer-generated image showing how the bike could look.
New Honda X-ADV Review 2021 - on and off-road review
And it looks as if the hunch was right, as Honda has now trademarked the name in one of the biggest adventure motorcycle markets, the USA.
What we still don’t know is how the bike will look or what engine will be powering it. Honda already has a flagship adventure model though, in the form of the CRF1100L Africa Twin, which is a technical tour da force, complete with more gadgets and safety systems than you can shake a muddy stick at. Based on this alone, most motorcycle media outlets are placing this bike a little further down the ADV pecking order.
The Transalp was always the dependable smaller sibling to the Africa Twin, with all the off-road adventure styling you wanted, but in a less focussed mud-plugging package. Basic, dependable but with a reputation for being rugged was the previous Transalp’s modus operandi.
With those points in mind, Honda already has a powerplant that would seem to fit the design brief perfectly, in the form of the DCT compatible 750cc parallel-twin found in the NC750 and X-ADV models.
It’s compact, extremely economical and can be brough to the market in both DCT and manual versions. It’s also eminently tuneable for a variety of situations and has enough tech built in to make it viable in the modern world – without treading on the toes of the daddy of the range, the Africa Twin.
