Honda has just announced the price for the new XL750 Transalp for the UK market, with the standard model coming with a price tag of £9,499 for 2023.
This puts the mid-weight bike in between the CRF1100L Africa Twin (£13,049) and the CB500X (£6,699) and CRF300L Rally (£6,499) in Honda’s adventure bike lineup.
In terms of the competition, the new Transalp is priced to sell, beating out rivals such as Suzuki’s new V-Strom 800DE (£10,499), the Yamaha Ténéré 700 (£10,100), BMW F 850 GS (£10,750), the road-focused Triumph Tiger 850 Sport (£10,095), and KTM 890 Adventure (£11,499).
Honda’s new Transalp is ready to rumble
Honda is already known for providing excellent value across its range of bikes, but the sub £10,000 price of the Transalp is a gloves-off approach in the crowded medium capacity adventure bike market segment.
The 2023 XL750 Transalp comes equipped with much of the same hardware and technology found in its rivals, with the 755cc parallel-twin engine putting out 90.5bhp and 75Nm of torque, a 208kg wet weight, 21-inch/18-inch front and rear spoke wheels respectively, a 16.9L fuel tank capacity, and an 850mm seat height.
In terms of tech, it comes with a 5-inch TFT display, anti-wheelie, ABS, traction control, smartphone connectivity, and five riding modes.
Battle of the middle-weights
Of its competitors, its perhaps only the V-Strom 800DE which is better equipped with tech, coming standard with a bi-directional quickshifter, three riding modes and four traction control modes, further travel suspension and adjustments (220mm at both ends vs. the Transalp’s 200mm front/190mm rear), and low RPM assist to counteract stalling.
But the 800DE’s 230kg heft is closer to the BMW F 850 GS (229kg wet), while the Transalp is much lighter and more comparable to the Ténéré 700’s 205kg weight, while boasting more engine power.
All in all, Honda has made the XL750 a genuinely competitive option in this mid-capacity adventure segment, and considering the rising cost of living and lagging consumer spending, should see Big Red shift more units.
Yamaha, KTM, and BMW have led this market segment for the last few years, and with Suzuki launching a brand new V-Strom in this engine capacity range as well, perhaps Honda has been spooked and is eager to sidestep Yamaha and Suzuki with price. In any case, it looks like we’ll see plenty of new Transalps on the roads by the end of the year.
Of course, we need to wait until the XL750 Transalp is launched to see how it actually performs as an adventure bike, but given Honda’s track record, it’s hard to see it falling short.
Honda XL750 Transalp full specs
- Price: £9,499
- Capacity: 755cc
- Horsepower: 90.5bhp
- Torque: 75Nm
- Transmission: Chain drive, 6-speed, assist/slipper clutch
- Fuel tank: 16.9L
- Front suspension: Showa 43mm USD SFF-CA forks, 200mm travel, preload adjustment
- Rear suspension: Showa monoshock, 190mm travel, preload adjustment
- Front wheel/brakes: 21-inch spoke wheel, dual 310mm discs with 2 piston Nissin calipers
- Rear wheel/brakes: 18-inch spoke wheel, single 256mm disc, single-piston caliper
- Seat height: 850mm
- Wet weight: 208kg
