FOR the press-riding launch of the new 2023 Honda XL750 Transalp, we headed to Portugal for an on and off-road tour on the new middleweight machine.
With around 160km in total, the off-road riding section consisted of around seven to ten kilometres of trails, which formed part of the Dakar Rally course when the event started in Portugal in 2009.
Honda XL750 Transalp (2023) video review
With quite a small off-road section and a large amount of on-road riding, this launch was more of an intro to the Transalp, but it is still more than enough to realise it is a very capable machine. The on-road handling of the bike is exceptionally good, with Honda fine-tuning the chassis, suspension and weight distribution to create a bike that is hard to beat in this sector.
Take it to the dirt and the Transalp can still do it all, but it’s clear Honda is pitching this bike as a machine for more on-road riding than off. This could be changed, of course, some proper road legal knobblies would help, and we didn’t really have time to drill down into the suspension settings so improvements could also be made there.
Overall though, the new Honda ADV is a resounding success, and it finally propels Honda into the hotly contested middleweight adventure bike sector, where it can now do battle with the likes of the KTM 890 Adventure, Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, Yamaha Tenere 700, and Aprilia Tuareg 660.
If you like the look of the new Honda XL750 Transalp, speak to your local Honda dealer or head to the official website.
You can also check out the full editorial review of the new Transalp by following this link.
