How the EPA is Ruining Motorcycles - Honda Transalp Review 

"I dont mean to belittle 800 bucks, that's a week's groceries these days." 😂I laughed, but that hurt a little.

"Hey!!! Has that ECU been modified?!!" - No cop ever.

My emotional despair at learning that Ryan is disappointed by my most anticipated bike is tempered by the fact that I can't afford to buy one. And that I don't have enough skill to be disappointed by it anyway.

This isn't just motorcycles. This is the entire motor vehicle industry as a whole.

Just as I was thinking "so, an ECU flash will fix it?" Ryan confirms it 😁

When I come to power I'm putting Ryan in charge of the entire DOT.

I talked to my old KLR about this and she had never heard of the EPA. Great video as usual.

Well, being a Transalp 600 owner in Europe I can say one thing. I truly DO appreciate the effort you put in getting a (I think) 1988 model. Great bike, I can tell you that!!

Thank you for making the ads entertaining. The Ducati joke at the end was worth the price of admission.

Oh, a fortnine upload. Let me stop everything and watch it real quick.

I have a 2024 Transalp , Love it ! I added a Veridian cruise control for just over 300 bucks ! Love it ! I have changed the air filter it's a little bit of a pain, but not as bad as it sounds, you can do it with just removing the two side panels and the two upper fuel tank bolts , no need to take the dash panels out . The T-7 has virtually the same oil sump you just can't see it because it comes with a skid plate and only has about an inch more clearance on stock models . So buy a skid plate and you won't need to sit on a 2x6 for a seat like the T-7, 😂 Love the TransAlp runs great , rides great , Thanks Ryan for the info

The real question is not "can an ECU flash fix it?" the real question is "Is an ECU flash that can fix it available?" Honda bikes are notoriously hard to flash and few do it, both my 2014 Valkyrie and my wife's 2021 Rebel 1100 DCT (with a 97mph limiter wtf?) could desperately desperately use one, but they are not available. Guhl is the only one who used to flash the Valkyrie/Goldwing platform, but it sounds like he got out of it due to EPA fines. Hey EPA, how about you either make regulations to allow for useable bikes from the factory or make them useable after the fact? This isn't even an environmental issue, a well tuned bike is both efficient and isn't an environmental hazard, so what's the deal? Why can Harley dealerships sell bikes that rattle windows 15 blocks away but Honda has to gimp their powerband on a 700cc midweight you wouldn't hear the next street over to make it quieter?

Bike tests would be so much better if they discussed how easy/difficult /time consuming basic maintenance tasks will be. Bravo for mentioning the air filter and showing the (as yet intact) sump.

1:45 Don't forget to hook up your airbag Ryan :')

Amazing to see the Transalp get some recognition. I've been riding my 93' all around Europe and it's been an absolute Blast. An amazing middle of everything you could wish for in a touring bike.

Thank you for yet another deliciously facetious and entertaining video, full of truth and humour. Most of what you decry on the new Transalp is true of course, and reflects a bike that was 'built down to a price', although it seems North America got a lesser version of the model. Now at 13,300 kms here in Australia (on the white 90 hp version) I can add some economy details for non-owners. Firstly, the tank actually holds 18L if it is filled above the baffle plate, and an adequate 400 kms range is perfectly achievable. Worth knowing that there are 80 kms (50 miles) available after the last fuel bar starts flashing. The worrying sump extension? Yes, it's definitely a concern, but (as Dork in the Road illustrated) the T7 isn't all that much better. A solid bash-plate obviously necessary for rougher off-road work in both cases. Your comparison with the delightful Aprilia Tuareg is worth mentioning in comparison with the Honda, and I test rode them both back to back, but in this country the Tuareg is virtually half as much again ($15,740 on-road compared to $22,500 for the Aprilia) although I understand the Tuareg has been discounted in some markets. But yes, the Aprilia is far more off-road-worthy, but loses out a little on long highway sections (and lack of dealerships). A valid observation that Aprilia don't have a larger 'flagship' adventure model to affect the price and specs of their middleweight, as against Honda's consideration of the Africa Twin in the specs of its 750. But the Transalp is a better bike than it seemed at first, and I am enjoying mine more than I expected to. It is a valid offering for many riders, and combines surprisingly good road manners with the ability to head down any dirt roads that spike your curiosity. I have done about 2,500 kms on dirt roads so far, with many around here. Very easy to live with clutch operation and gearchange, and very comfortable on long days riding. Economy of 4L/100 kms or better. At just under 5' 10" I don't find the windscreen too bad. Of course the bike would have been better with an oil window and an ambient temperature gauge, and I would have preferred less of the electronics and 'rider modes' (I leave mine in Sport) but it is still a very useful model. I am about to attack the notorious air filter job, and fit a K & N, so wish me luck. Disconcerting that Honda do not inspect or clean the air filter at the 13,000 km service... Thanks for the video - keep 'em coming!

Since there are other 90 hp bikes with similar sized engines that don't do this throttle reduction, the problem isn't the EPA's rule, it's Honda's decision to solve it this way instead of re-engineering the muffler to pass the sound test. Every problem mentioned in the video was a financial decision by Honda, either to protect Africa Twin sales or to save money by changing the throttle map table in the software instead of creating new hardware.

"I don't mean to belittle $800, that's a weeks groceries these days"..... I know ur Canadian but why u gotta go for the throat like that man.

I have a 2023 Transalp 750, rode it around 7000 km (4350 mi) by now. It is my first bike and I love it, easy to handle, comfy for a tall guy like me, reliable and its long transmission ratio enables relaxed touring on the roads which I enjoy. The Transalp was never meant to be a hardcore offroad bike or a sports bike.

Yup, that's the same reason the ZX4RR is so neutered. Feels great now that I'm able to actually use full throttle throughout the rev range with an ecu flash thanks to TST.

Before anyone asks how the ecu controls the throttle with a cable system... it uses a set of secondary throttles that are electronically controlled. This type of restriction is very common these days as is Aftermarket ecu tuning. This tuning will keep the throttle open wider, longer, adjust fuel, spark and void your warranty.

So close to getting a motor cycle! Thanks Fortnine for the quality. This channel is every level fun.

I’m so glad to see Ryan again! He’s half the half the reason I watch this channel.

Just changed air filter on my Tuareg… 5 minutes flat. Kudos to the Aprilia design team. (My last such ease of change was on my DRZ400.)

It’s surprising how entertaining and informing this channel is. Don’t stop even though it’ll be impossible once you become bigger. Like a coy fish in the backyard, you’re a big fish in a little pond.

Who else watches these videos religiously? I swear they never miss

Amazing as always...we're ready for the V-Strom 800!

Nice to see an f9 video on the Transalp on the same day my 87 clocked 100,000km for the first time. Who needs to buy a new one when the originals run forever

I feel like the baked in ads in fortnine videos are the best. They don't feel like their just reading press material. Or they just do it for the money. Great job guys.

Even as a cyclist (I have a motorcycle, too), thank you for not posting another bicycle video. This is the type of content we subscribe for!

Every time, again and again I'm stumped at how good the writing is on these videos, well done

You are pulling no punches. I LOVE your reviews. Excellent video as usual.

Best yt channel since the invention of the wheel. Please make a full review of the old Honda Transalp 1987-94.

Bought the original 1987 Transalp last summer and it still is a really capable machine! I'm trying to remove excess weight from it for some hardcore offroading this summer.

I felt like I just learned so much in 9 1/2 minutes. Ryan, you truly are one of the best motorcycle channels, if not one of the best channels overall on YT. I could only hope and dream to produce 1/8 the level of quality content that you do on day! Keep grinding, and shiny side up man! -Mark 😎🤙

Another great video, thanks. What you say is all true, the Tuareg is great machine, but the problem is in Aprilla's dealer network. It's very sparse compared with the likes of Honda, Yamaha, KTM and so on. Last month when looking through Craigslist I found three new Tuaregs (2023) for sale from the local dealer. And they were being discounted. My biggest shock was that we still had an Aprilla dealer nearby. I thought it went out of business years ago. On the other hand, I couldn't find a Transalp in stock at any of the dealers near me. In fact, when I questioned one of them about the Transalp he informed me that they sell as soon as they come in.

I still don’t understand the tubed tires in new adventure bikes. The simple thought of having to bring around the tools to remove a wheel and the tire on the roadside is enough to make me loose interest in the whole bike, no matter the brand or the price. And i didn’t even take safety in consideration. Suzuki literally had tubeless spoked rims for the vstrom 650 and still released the more expensive vstrom 800 with tubed tires. Why.

Pleasant surprise seeing an F9 vid on a weekday!

I hate to see Ryan dunking on my next bike! But as always his criticisms are valid. My takeaway from this video: step 1: Take that extra $800 in savings and throw them towards the optional skid plate and crash bars to mitigate the oil sump issue. step2: Flash the ECU to achieve proper peak power. If you plan on riding 80% road and 20% light dirt as I plan on doing, then it's still the best bike for the money imo.

I've had my TA for a couple of months. It's my first bike in 40 years. The last being a 80' CB750F and a '78 KZ1R. I love my TA. More power than I will EVER need. Twisties galore. I'm in the NE, so I'm waiting for summer before I get out on the trails.

Yeah you just HAVE to flash every motorcycle nowadays. I have a powercommander on my mt07. It transformed my bike...that was already good. 💯

I think honda is well balanced with price and functionality. I've traveled around Europe and Scandinavia on a motorbike, and I've never worried about the lack of a cruise control or a color display, etc. I guess I'm starting to be an old and old-school biker, and I don't always understand younger people's desire for extra electronics. When I was younger, I was looking for a feeling of freedom and speed, and I didn't need color lights in the bike display any more than in the mirrors.

Funny timing. Just bought a 1998 XL600V for my dad this weekend. If all goes well, we're going on a round trip through Europe this summer.

I have a '94 Transalp and i love it. Did a 5000km tour last summer.

FortNine literally never misses 🙌 Incredible stuff...X4's 8K looks pretty damn good if we say so ourselves 😏

Yesss, finally the XL750 Transalp review! I used to have an XL600v in black like that.. sold it last year 😢

respect for the fact that you did a smooth sponsor transition with a progress bar, i didn't skip it, even though i'm a gopro fan :))

It was great to ride where this video took place! I made my first trip into Canada and spent a day and night riding around Vancouver on my 23 1250GSA. Such a beautiful place

Thank you for doing this research. Digging into the details of the EPA ruling helps me understand this a lot better.

I purposely watch the entire ads on a F9 video without skipping to make sure this absolute masterpiece of a channel keeps going for years to come.

Best in-vid-ad I've seen, nice job. (your content is always first rate as well)

glad your back to bike reviews

I've been waiting for the 4x. Not to buy it myself, but to see new funky clips

I bought a Transalp last fall in Canada and I agree with most of your observations. The power of the engine is way more than I need and the gearing is very good which gives you around 4000 rpms at 115 kmph. My only complaint with the fueling is the jerkiness at low speeds. The Metzler Karoo Streets are probably the noisiest tires I've ever had on a motorcycle, I am hoping they calm down as they wear. I never sweated the Tube Tires until I started hearing all the negative comments. I have been riding over 40 years and have yet to get a flat....touch wood.

Indian River Drive. What a road to cruise a bike on. Love the switch backs at the end.

5:45 thank you for confirming what I always felt. The stubby clip ons on sports bike feels heavy and rigid for two reasons, you are putting more weight of your upper body in it due to sporty posture, and the leverage is way less due to shorter distance between your arms. I am a fan of sports tourer with not too much aggressive posture and wide single piece handlebar, simply because they are the true all rounder. You can take them for long tour without breaking your back and wrists, at the same time, they can be highly agile and nimble due to that extra leverage of the handle bar and lightness from a lot less aggressive posture.

Hey Ryan, your channel inspired me to get back into riding - you are a master of your craft. And after doing a lot of research 6 months ago, I went and bought a '24 Transalp.🤣 I can't say I disagree with your arguments here, especially regarding the EPA, and Honda holding back features - very frustrating especially as a 'Murican with a $10K bike budget. But I think some folks miss the point of this bike, and it all depends on how you frame it in relation to the competition. It was never meant to be the best tourer, or the best dirt bike, or the best street bike, but it was meant to do all three competently, with a slight emphasis on street over dirt. By singling out its least desirable characteristics (which may be make or break to some, but I don't need cruise control or 1 extra inch of ground clearance) and then comparing it to bikes which do that one thing better, but then leaving out the other things they don't do as well, I think you might have done a disservice to what is an excellent all-around bike, one that doesn't try to occupy extremes, and one that capably can handle most of what a moderately experienced rider like myself is able to throw at it. I think the vast majority of riders out there considering this bike would have an absolute blast with it for a very long time, and would also enjoy the extra $2,300 they would have spent on that Aprilia, which does look pretty awesome, don't get me wrong!

It would be interesting to see a video about the "New" V-strom 1050 as he used to own 1000 before 🤔

The graphics and editing on this channel always amazes me!

With the full 90 hp here in Europe, i can say that the transalp is just amazing on the west coast norwegain twisties! Agile and loads of power, plus comfort to ride for hours. The sump is stupid though and the windshield is hard to deal with if you are above 180 cm. Would love an adustable windshield.

“An Africa Twin that was abused as a child”. This is why I watch Ryan’s videos

I own a 2024 transalp in the states and feel like it does everything as advertised at a great price. The oil sump is weird and the exhaust routing is questionable so I did have to get a skid plate to feel safe off road but overall love the bike great commuter and weekend warrior.

Whatever setup you're using for a helmet microphone is nothing short of stellar

Those bike shadow edits at 0:48 are slick. Great video as always!

My dad had an 89 transalp. Red, white, blue. 100k miles. Comfortable. Reliable. Beautiful. Great sound. I WAS excited about the new one. What a disappointment.

And that's why I bought a Tuareg

I have a '92 Transalp. The new one seems like a great bike to drive to Mauretania, but I'd still keep the old bike in case I also want to get back home.

I’ve added electronic cruise to mine and it does make a big difference. Love it. Also it’s true a lot has to come off the change the air filter but the dash isn’t part of it. The tank easily slips past the dash plastics as you tilt it back 👌.

Trans Alp people. I am here for you. I'm so sorry that this episode singled you out. I too was a victim of two celebrity motorcycle "experts". They threw my bike under a bus and did their best to make me feel like I didn't make a sound decision. I still have 4 years of payments to pay off the motorcycle so there was no running from it. I think that motorcyclist maybe the most insecure, opinionated bunch in a ultimate "1st World Problem". Perhaps many think like this: "this is a crazy thing to be doing with my life. I need to be 100% sure that what I am doing is the right thing. I must do as much as possible to solidify my decisions as being positive for my life" Only someone who ridden a plethora of motorcycles would be able to find the fault in yours. Ride your ride and have fun... no body knows what they are talking about when it comes to picking out the right bike for you. Be safe, be forgiving, be a prayer in the wind.

Hey Ryan, we met at the S2S Adventure Motorcycle Show. you are more than welcome to have fun with my Tuareg ;)

Always excited to see Ryan in a long form video.

Happy to see you giving the Tuareg a shout out. It really is a fantastic bike and out-performs the T7 in pretty much every metric. If only people can deal with it being Italian-made 😂

so the same air filter removal set up as my 89 Nx250. Never change Honda, never change...

in Europe, despite the greater power, the engine also seems sluggish. the situation is different with the Suzuki 800de, much more vigor. the Suzuki product seems more refined, lively engine, good suspension, traction control works in offroad (it doesn't work well in Honda gravel mode), detachable subframe, easy access to the air filter. I'm waiting for the test

Thank you! You’ve vindicated my argument. I’ve caught so much flack from some in the motorcycle community on another platform when I questioned why the Transalp doesn’t have cruise control. This is exactly what I thought, it’s supposed to be a middle weight continental cruiser that can take any path, so why not include cruise control.

Glad to see ya back Ryan!

Oh my, a good reason to be a European (well a brit) its a great bike here Hope to see you back at the ABR festival again

In a tiny second, you were riding the new gs… knowing how meticulously is every second of your video prepared i guess it was a real tease. Bravo for this masterpiece review 👏🏻

Glad Ryan is back!!!

Finally a new review. We missed them... a lot!

I love my 24 Transalp I don’t care how much everyone else complains about it. It’s an awesome bike it’s really good on the road and comfortable

Babe wake up, new F9 just dropped

The "Why Files" channel on here has a new episode about how the EPA has completely ruined engines since the 1970's, causing more problems than they have solved. Very eye opening, mind bending episode.

For those of you interested there is an aftermarket cruise control for the trans Alp. Also they make a really nice bash plate for the bottom to protect that sump. I was really thinking about getting one of these and I still kind of am but for my needs The top trim level Africa twin seems to be a better fit for me.

Does remember those days when fortnine was a serious chanel about motorcycling...transalp is an amazing bike not like the ktm that pays you whitch breaks every month...its a PRIVILEDGE you can have the honda on thi price

I'm so happy to be living in the EU. And I'm sorry for all the people that only get the weaker version. I hope you can still enjoy it 😊

Good to see back😊. I almost gave up on FortNine.

Oh my, I'm here on time for a fortnine drop, the roads will bless my tyres today.

If that oil sump was any lower, I could till my garden with it.

LOL, Ryan literally is such a boss. Killing it as always my friend!

we missed you in these kind of videos more please

THIS is what we missed. No clickbait, no e-bikes, and a presenter that actually has an iota of charisma. Welcome back, F9✌️🏍

I was in France last week and tried the new hornet there. The engine has no top end either. Everything happens between 4000 and 6500 rpm, then meh till redline. Very disapointing for a streetbike but i think it would be great for a trail bike.

I have a 90s Transalp 600, and I borrowed a Transalp 750 for several days to test it to see if a upgrade was something for me. I concluded it wasn't. I prefer the old one. Less horsepower, but I love the way the old one makes the power. The old V engine is a gem, runs smooth and sufficient power where needed. The old one is more comfortable also, especially with my Corbin seat.

0:01 that was a hot take very quick and I am HERE for it Also, to the tune of "Blame Canada", in C flat minor, "Blame EPA" "BLAME EPA"

I even watched the ad. Thank you for being the best motorcycle stuff on the internet.

"itd be like if honda styled the new NSX after the civic" wait, it kinda does just look like that.

As always, good stuff. You're catching up to Itchy Boots with subscribers. Well done.

Fascinating that this bike gets a HP cut in the US, but the CRF450L gets half its power sucked away in the EU

please, do a review on the new CF Moto MT450