Really wish they brought the hornet 750 asap, It was 6999$ at launch (5.8Lakh +import+taxes) even at 7.5 lakh it would kill in the 450-900 class. Cus it's cheaper to maintain than a Ducati or street triple better performance than the kawasaki 650s and Aprillia 450. Lighter and better in traffic than the Z900. Newer than the KTM790.
Thanks for your test. Just a small point: the KTM parallel twins are slightly different architecture to the Honda, Suzuki and others. The KTMs have a 285 degree crank offset, where most others have the 270 degree, like the Honda, Suzuki, Aprilia etc. Some interesting videos from Fortnine and others on the comparison. As to the vibrations? I couldn't see how many kilometres you have covered, but I have found (now with 16,700 kms on mine here in Australia) that the vibrations reduce as you do more miles on the Transalp. I too have Ducatis, and have had for fifty years, and like you I find the Honda surprisingly good as an alternative design. Much cheaper and less demanding than a Desert X. The Honda is certainly a leap forward from my old 1995 Cagiva Elefant 750 (air-cooled Ducati engine) although the old Elefant is (ironically) much lighter, and lower in the seat height. The economy on the dirt roads I ride very often here on the Honda is remarkable, usually down around 3.4L/100 kms at the lower speeds (80 - 90 kmh - we have a lot of kangaroos here) and around 3.9 - 4.1 on open sealed roads (100 - 120). With the tank filled right up it can go 400 kms on a tank. Of course using the revs as you were for the video will use much more! Checking the speedo against a GPS it reads 106 kmh when it is actually just 100, like so many recent vehicles.
A number of pros and cons for tubeless as against tubed, and this depends on the damage to your tyre in the case of a puncture. It is not as simple as tubeless being better in every way for a bike that goes off the bitumen - far from it. (How many dirt bikes have tubeless wheels)? Like most of its competitors, this cheaper model still has tubes, and clearly this was an economic decision - the same as Yamaha and Suzuki made, to keep the price of the bike low, and we all understand how closely the Japanese makes follow each other in these specs. Tubeless spoked wheels have other problems tubed wheels do not if they are damaged or distorted. In Australia the Aprilia costs almost half as much on top of the Honda, and of course the Ducati dearer again. Likewise BMW, Triumph and KTM. It all comes down to how much you are prepared to spend on a bike which will inevitably fall over if used off-road, or whether you are prepared to 'go Chinese' to get these specs for a reasonable price. As to the footrests - the alternative wider footrests are great for off-road and standing up, and are not too dear. As the first Transalp purchaser in my state (South Australia) these footrests were included in the price, and appear very well made. Much wider, and excellent grip. I suggest you try the bike over some distance before you can it. It was designed to do bitumen and dirt roads, not as a dedicated 'dirt bike', and is excellent in its designed use. Very smooth, easy handling, and remarkable fuel economy.
@@shanepereraedu You're welcome. As to the adventure or dirt bike question? 'Adventure bike' is a marketing term more than a segment, although it has become a generic term for larger bikes which can be viewed one of two ways. They are either able to do both tar and gravel, or they're not that good at either! They were called 'dual-purpose' bikes back when my Elefant was new, but that term now means smaller off-road bikes. But I find the adventure name a bit juvenile, like we're all 12 years old, and off for an adventure...
Sounds like a very versatle daily rider, can do off road, can do motorways, comfortable, not too complicated, great engine and gearbox, and last but not least it’s a Honda so should go forever if looked after.
