pricey upgrades as you explained. I probably wouldn't want to change too much if I bought one as I like to 'just get on and ride'. But being 5'7" I'd think about lowering it so I can get both feet flat...especially as I like to tour with gear. Anyway thanks for the interesting video Ian. Andy from Oz 😊
I could not stomach a $3000+ suspension upgrade. But I also don’t ride hard enough to appreciate it. Seems choosing a different bike may be a better plan?
@@ckkrons2338 then if you can stomach a $3,000 more expensive bike then it's pretty much the same. Better suspension benefits riders of all of abilities, and levels. It is expensive, but can be worth it, especially is there isn't another bike you'd prefer.
My thought process on modding a bike out is this: You can always mod any bike, but not all bikes have characteristics that can be fixed with mods. If this Transalp is reliable and simple in the long run, you won’t have to worry about that characteristic. Therefore adding mods just makes it more and more desirable. If you take a bike that’s amazing but it may leave you in trouble out on the road hours from a dealership, then there’s probably not an easy way or any way to fix that…
An hour to get to the air filter. I guess if you are riding alone you can ride a couple of days, but if you are riding behind on a dry dusty road, it's not ideal. The bike will not be reliable, no engine likes to get dusted, no matter if it's "a Honda". So yes, once you get to the air filter it's probably time to do the valves.
This by far and away the best series on a Transalp. You should be proud of this series. One thing to think about, yes it’s a lot of money to spend on upgrades on a motorcycle but how many KTM 350’s and 500’s are out there that people have over $20k in? I think you came close to that in one of your videos. You just keep getting better and better at these video’s and series you have been doing.
Hi from Czech Republic, I have praised you several times in the comments and I have to do it again. I really appreciate the way you review bikes, you go into so much detail and when you say something about a bike, I really believe it you know I respect your opinion/experience. And you just prove it to me every time. I also like the way you make the review real life and not just so it looks good on YT. Thanks for your work and content! I am surprised you do not have more followers but I am sure they are adding up. :)
I bought a Transalp today, thanks Ian for showing me that it is the most suitable model for my needs. I won't dump this much money in mods right away, but over the next few years I will probably do most of them.
Congratulations on the new bike. It’s an amazing motorcycle and fit me like a glove. Alaska it’s was just out of my budget with dealer fees and taxes right now. I wish you many years of great adventures and safe riding.
Ian, you definitely sold me on the transalp and now I’m sold on the tractive suspension. This Honda is turning out to be the comfortable tenere we all wanted.
Ian, I don’t even ride adventure (occasional enduros) and yet am hooked on your channel. So refreshing to watch someone who’s so passionate about the subject and yet remains transparent and - big plus - entertaining, especially when you out there whooping at the thrills. Thank you, big up independent mor cycle journalism, and for goodness sake keep it up!
@@BigRockMotoNow that you have the TransAlp, it would be great to get an updated “Unicorn” video. I’m watching your video from 2 years ago right now. I’m still searching for that perfect unicorn. Maybe it is the TA? Back 2 years ago, you said if you could only own one bike it would be the T7. What’s your pick now? Same? Or maybe the 890? Or TA?
Hello, French Transalp owner here. You provided us the most interesting Transalp content. Thank you very much. I instaled HEED crash bars / skid plate, SW motech hand guards and a WRS caponord windshield on mine. Good looking and protection. It is a very easy / secure, confortable and fun bike. I am very pleased with it. And i can "easily" solo pick it up when it's down.
Thank you, Ian, for this ultra ‘demo-ride’ on the Transalp. You looked thoroughly bushed when making your closing remarks: I know the feeling after a long day in the saddle. I’ve come to realize that one of our biggest hazards when touring is unacknowledged fatigue. If you could encourage your audience to stop at regular intervals and get off their rides for a brief walkabout: it may take longer to reach a destination, but, they would get there in better shape. The ride will be more memorable… rather than one big blurry throttle fest. Cheers! Marko Y.
I installed the same rear shock, but being in Canada I haven’t been able to test it yet. It’s a great relief to know you think it works well. I still have to install the HyperPro progressive fork springs. On a whim I purchased the lower cut seat and with the new suspension I’m pretty much back to what the stock seat felt like. At $270 CAD it feels worth it and feels similar to stock. Enjoy your channel and not specific to only the Transalp content.
Lovin this series, and the channel as a whole. It’s so hard to find neutral long term reviews these days (which I get, it takes more time and resources than most channels are willing or able to devote just for one video).
Ian, Aside from 'dork in the road', you both have me convinced that the Xalp is a good choice. The mods list is helpful to know what can be done to this bike to upgrade and fit just for me and others. The bike sounds very good with that Yoshimura can, I agree. I am a fan of the additional lights attached to the forks as well. The Xalp is a great contender.
I’ve got about $3500 in Ohlins suspension on my Harley Dyna. Best upgrade by far. I basically got a 600+ Lb dirt bike. Super fun to ride on dirt and gravel roads. Blows my mind how different the bike rides. Every bike from here out the first upgrade will be suspension
I followed your example and upgraded the suspension recently. However, I traced the manufacturer to a company called Teknik in Holland...far cheaper. It does change the bike, allowing what is an amazing engine to be matched with a great suspension.
I think people are missing the point, as you said in the beginning you are doing this to show what you can do and how you can spec up the bike, yes I couldn't spend this kind of money on the bike but it's good to see the options and what you can do , thank you
That suspension came from my home town. Literally know exactly where that place is. Ill have to swing by there to grab my suspension if I want it for my Transalp. Solid!
I dropped a Yoshimura on my V-Strom 800DE a few weeks ago. Definitely saves on weight, but the sound is a big improvement as you pointed out. My wife complained that she couldn't hear me leaving and coming home before, which isn't a problem anymore.
If it's a full catless system, you should be able to gain around 10 hp and 10 ft-lb with ECU flash. Which everyone could easily feel the difference with.
@@MotoFishy If a 5% better presence around vehicles saves a life, then sure. I would think that 95% of the life-saving upgrades a motorcyclist can make is RIDER TRAINING.
Instead of $18k on a transalp, it makes more sense to choose a Desert-X or the new 900gs 105hp with the enduro options. Thanks for the video. One of the best channels in YT.
You're firing on all cylinders(pun intended 😉) Ian! Seriously though, I've been enjoying your moto content for quite a while now and it's great to see your progression not only in production value, but also as a rider and just how you've been putting your content together. This transalp series is seriously killing it man. I'm a KTM rider who probably similar to yourself wants the added travel and power bump. But the thought of having a bulletproof reliable T7 or Transalp with their suspensions done(I fully expect the Honda to share the T7's reliability) and the fact that both the T7 and Transalp are gorgeous bikes in my opinion, almost(but not quite!)makes me think of doing it and living without the ktm reliability/anxiety spectre over my shoulder 😂. Keep up the great work brother, stoked for the rest of the series and your content in general!
First, I thinks it great you are spreading the word on how easy it is and how important it can to the bike. I have had two Hondas for which I upgraded the rear shock. I chose YSS because of price but it was still a dramatic improvement because the stock shock was sprung too light.
I love those lights. What an amazing difference. Only thing that would make it better would be a lower output that turned on with your low beams to help with being seen during the daytime. The blinkers are a nice add on and provide a level of safety with the extra visibility. The exhaust sounds great. I don't own one of these, but if I did I probably wouldn't opt for the suspension only because I wouldn't be doing any hard off road with one. I would pay for it if I would be doing off road. Definitely looking forward to the cruise control install. Bike is looking fantastic.
Honestly, it's such overkill. I added aux lights to my CB500X using cheap Chinese made LED lights. The total install cost me $60. After a little over a year of use, they still work great and they are wired to the high beam circuit, just like Ian recommends... You don't need to spend over $300 USD for aux lights, IMHO.
Well do you have a low beam light you would recommend because the low beams are pretty terrible also LOL Honda could at least have upgraded from a cb500x light LOL just traded mine in for the trans out feel like the headlights were pretty much identical oh well have to find a way to make it work there ought to be some low beams that at least give a little bit of a spread of light without blinding people
You're providing a valuable service to the ADV community by spending your time and money on these builds, thank you. I hope you will also weigh the bike with all of the additions at the end of the final phase to see if all of the extras add up to a significant increase. It's already been mentioned in a few comments that at this cost you're coming in at over the base price of a standard Africa Twin. The 2024 model is estimated to have an MSRP of $14,449 and this gives you tubeless tires, real maps navigation in the display and standard cruise in addition to a possibly better stock suspension and more power. On the German Honda website the 2024 electronic suspension costs an additional 1900 Euros, so ~$2000, and that would be an addition to consider while still remaining under the price of this very nice Transalp build.
Ive been steadily building more & more appreciation for the Transalp 750. Currently riding a Vaquero 1700 but really like the versatility of the Transalp. May make a change in the not so distant future. Thanks for posting all the vids! Have watched many. Appreciate Dork In The Roads vids too
Doing series for various bikes is a great way to go, it pulls us viewers in and gets us invested even more. I hope you’ll eventually do one for the BMW F900GS as well
A bike build is always a personal thing.....mine is protection and lighting, then luggage....then suspension, being older, springs and valving is always plenty for sag...being a MX racer, sag is everything to me. Great work and mods...can't wait for tubeless system to see it work...maybe something for me.
NIce job!! This suspension is adding significant value to the motorcycle. This suspension from Honda would make the Trans Alp a $15,000 motorcycle easily IMO.
Thanks for showing all the different options/ upgrades for the Transalp. "For Me/ IMO", part of the charm/benefits of the Transalp is that offers so much at $10K, and that it can be virtually ridden off the showroom floor and do nothing to it, but enjoy it (well maybe $1,500 +/- in accessories, i.e. soft luggage, wind deflector, cruise control device, maybe front fork springs?!?). If a person needs more, there are other great motorcycles out there for more money.
I love this kind of review. It's a treasure trove of excellent info concerning vendors and their products and you putting these upgrades in order of importance is much appreciated. Sorry, I'm not much of a writer but you know what I'm saying.
My standard answer to this kind of question is: just get the Tuareg and be done with it. But I also understand the appeal of pimping out a bike eben if doesn't make too much sense. Also it's hard to argue with the dealer network issues in the US and AUS. But luckily that isn't an issue here in Europe.
I upgraded my 500x with the level 2 Rally-Raid Tractive suspension kit😋Night & day difference off road but not so obvious on the road, but highly recommend tractive as a quality product👌big elephant in the room with the Transalp though is the lack of ground clearance, even less than my modified 500x. Look forward to seeing the rest of this build take shape from over here in the uk🇬🇧
As always - an excellent video, very exhaustive and also entertaining! But I have to disagree with you regarding if the more expensive upgrades are sensible. I believe that they are, or at least can be! This is my thinking: 1. For me personally, the Transalp is a bike I prefer over the Africa Twin. So if I have money for the latter, and instead buy a Transalp, I save a lot of money AND get a bike that I like better. 2. Modifying it to a bike that I like even better than the standard Transalp, and still keeping the total sum below that of an Africa Twin is a no-brainer! 3. Even if I spend as much money on it as the cost af a new AT, I’ll still end up with a bike that is less expensive to drive! So the question is - how much do you love the bike? Even without modifications, I prefer the Transalp over the Africa Twin. So paying as much as for the AT will still make me a happier MC-owner than had I bought an AT! I don’t dislike the AT at all, it is just to big for me (27” inseam). Actually, even though i prefer the Transalp over the Africa, the Transalp is to big for me too! So I bought a CB300r and adventure-modified it! I have spent more than $4000 om modifications. I built an entirely new stainless steel exhaust system, improving ground clearance by 8 cm, saving 6 kg and adding 7 horsepower together with remapping and modifications on the air box. Higher handlebars, modified left hand controls to get the horn and the signal in the right order (Honda - you should fix this on all your new bikes!!!), alu skid plate, improved suspension, IoM-inspired paint job… The list goes on. And I’d say that everything mentioned is well spent money! So there must be many (slightly larger than me) “normal” people for which a super optimised Transalp is worth well above $17000!
I had a pro (Ben Decker performance, Platte City Missouri) install RaceTech suspension front and rear on my 2017 Honda Africa Twin. Same results you are describing. It completely transformed the handling. The stock suspension was made of pudding. Ben tuned the new race tech suspension to my body weight and the average amount of gear I take on trips and it is perfect. I spent $1,700 a year and a half ago to have him install those pieces and it was the best money I've spent on that motorcycle. Well except for the $10 I spent on a cramp buster for the throttle!
I really hope, that the Honda-engeneers see this video and improve this motorcycle in this direction, because its basically a very good bike! Many thanks for this very good and professional video!
You are a bad bad man giving lots of bad bad influences........... you are responsible for the existentce of 3 of my bikes. Love your channel. Value your opinion. Keep up the good, entertaining work.
I bought a Transalp for my trip to Africa , I’m going to transfer the Transalp into a rally bike. Including bigger fuel tank, rear fuel tanks, arrow exhaust, rally tower, and I haven’t decided on a new suspension yet.
Amazing. No need to apologise for doing the best mods to the Alp. The suspension performance appears to transform the bike. Yeh the cost is great but is the Yam basic version iteration better out of the showroom still? It needs suspension work to make it work too!
Great video! I expect I'll be downsizing from my Tiger 1200 Explorer this year. I'm a XXX Bubba and I plan on doing a suspension upgrade no matter what mid-sized bike. The drive train of the Honda is very attractive and this video shows the frame can handle the upgrade.
I've had my transalp for a few months now and I've been really on the fence about what type of bike I want it to be. Honestly I'd love to put 17 inch alloys on it and make a pseudo sports touring bike to take advantage of the road manners. On the other hand this build is really enticing as I'd love to take it off road in a more serious manner.
Thanks i was waiting for this bike for a long time now. As for my upgrades: tubeless tires, rear suspension, protection bars,hand guards, pannier and racks and auxiliary lights. I think that would make me happy for my ridding style.
That's a seriously nice upgrade. Would I spend $3k on a suspension upgrade? Nope. Even though I would do trails as you did in this video, I would probably never go above 25mph on them and the stock suspension would probably be fine. Like most people who are considering this bike. I had a Suzuki DR650 with slightly modded suspension nowhere near as good as this modded Transalp and it performed perfectly fine for me. The Transalp and KTM 790 Adventure are my top two picks. I don't see many comparisons between the two and wonder about that. $1000 price difference. But not really when you add the crash protection to the Honda that the KTM already has. I'll ride both when the time comes but wow.... NICE bikes.
Thanks, Ian Your review showing the potential of all of these different bikes is super helpful on with the reliability of a Honda to possibly be a daily commuter or long distance. Bike is helpful to make decisions. Cheers!
As you mentioned, before removing the forks from the bike, loosen the bottom damper rod bolt, and the top cap. Make sure you loosen the top triple clamp pinch bolts, but leave the bottom triple clamp pinch bolts tight to hold the fork tube as you loosen the top cap. Installation is reversed. Just snug these on the bench, and then do your final tightening after everything is installed.
That exhaust really does sound great. The bike looks awesome in black too and that tablet is fantastic. That will be a great machine when it's done and I think others will follow
Thanks for the great series on the Transalp Ian. I bought one back in Dec as soon as I saw one at our local dealer. Have been doing some mods and upgrades and this week it is the cruise control. Hoping to take it out on a tour across the US this summer. Followed your advice on a lot of the mods. The Transalp is a great bike. Somehow just seems so much easier to ride especially for someone like me whose riding skills are so so. It’s more forgiving. Keep these reviews coming!
Awesome upgrades on the Transalp XL750R video Ian, and me being 270lb I had to at least swap out the rear shock for the fully adjustable TracTive rear shock like the one you got but I went up +25mm and went with a KOUBALINKS linkage that got close to the factory height but it did raise it up a little bit because of the spring rate and made the rear travel at 215mm from the 190mm factory rear suspension travel and what a game changer!
You make a good point that to get all these upgrades is probably overkill and you wouldn’t buy this bike in the first place. However getting the cruise control, lights and possibly satnav upgrades are perfect. Alternatively, in a year or two buying a used bike and upgrading the suspension for an off road machine might make sense. Great vids 👍👍
I recently went from a DR650 (with aftermarket springs) to a 701 enduro and wow suspension makes a huge difference. it's my first time riding a bike with good suspension and it almost feels like a cheat code.
If you would have gone with the Cogent front fork DDC's and rear Mojave shock you probably wouldn't have felt the need to spend 14K on that 701. Those 2 mods for less than $1,000 transform the DR into a very competent bike both on the trail and on the road. I did the same thing you did...went with springs first. And In was severely disappointed. Now, with the Cogent stuff installed I can go anywhere a 701 can go for half the price. And have 10X the reliability while I'm doing it.
@1vmxracer fortunately I didn't spend $14k on my 701. I bought it used for an incredibly good price. My DR had just about everything done except the suspension. I really love my DR. But the 701 is just an entirely different beast. Even if both bikes had the same suspension, the 701 feels very different.
@@Michael_Shay No doubt they ARE different. And without you saying in your 1st post whether or not you bought a new 701, i just assumed you did. I hope you got a deal on it.
@1vmxracer 2019 701 with 2k miles for $7,500 with a few value add mods, nothing major. I really love my DR but I wanted something a bit more comfortable on the road, (6th gear, feels better at higher speeds). I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with another DR at some point further down the line. But I think the 701 is the perfect do it all bike for me.
I'm someone who is currently looking for a good travel bike. I'm currently looking at the Transalp, the KTM 790 and possibly some others. My issue with this video is that with these addons you may as well have bought a 'better' bike with more features. Example would be the KTM's with their 6 axis ATC and other things. These shocks alone were over 30% the overall base price and you did the install. Having a shop do the install would be another 1k at least I would imagine. I know I'm probably coming off negative and that's not my goal. Thank you for the review and highlighting this bike in general.
Great upgrade package! That Auspuff sounds nice! Also like the directional signals, get their attention. I have an Öhlins on my old GS, it absorbs everything.
Great build so far Ian. You've nailed all the pain points I had with the Transalp and have turned it into one hell of a middle weight ADV. I'd take this setup over an 890R every day of the week! Regarding the price, it's all relative to the needs and performance expectation of the rider. This industry will never be a cheap one, especially when you like to live on the cutting edge of products and performance! Looking forward to phase three.
I hear lots of good things about the Transalp 750. I hope the new generations will come with more power, better looking front-end and better looking dashboard (utilizing all that real-state in the dashboard area would not hurt either).
I love my transalp, bought it based on yours and dork in the roads videos, i for sure want the suspension upgrades you showcased. I would really like to see those aux lights drop tested. The way they are set up kind of gives me pause, even though i like the idea of it.
Great video Ian, Just picked up my Transalp two days ago and love it. I really enjoy your reviews and your honest opinions. I agree it would be silly putting all that money into this bike, but your review and breakdown lets us pick and choose the items we want. Keep the content coming
For sure - the stock bike is pretty damn good! The only mods I would do would be the crash protection stuff, the tires, the BarkBusters, the skid plate, and the Tractive suspension (because I'm tall and I weigh 230lbs). I would likely save a bit and get Tractive's mechanical adjustment rear shock as, once you get the suspension dialed in, you really only need to adjust the preload when doing 2UP or when touring with lots of cargo.
When you get to the mccruise cruisecontrol. You dont have to take the tank all the way of like in the instructions. I managed to work under it for the plugs that needs to be connected there with it just tilted up. So keep that in mind. It was a big job for sure. Got me to get to look at the filther. Looks good for 9k km. Just some light discoloration and nothing clogged. Next time i will buy a better highend filther. Tank removal is not a huge hassle. Have you done it like me several times it really is not a hassle.
I bought a large milspec Android phone and put DMD2 on that. Since it's the dead of winter here I haven't had a chance to try it, but the phone was right around 100 bucks. Stuck a universal quadlock adapter on it since I have a quadlock mount on all my bikes.
Comparing this build to a Tuareg 660, the BarkBusters, aux lights, and tire upgrades would be done on either bike so they aren't useful for comparison. I'm going to ignore them, along with the other non essential mods. To make a Transalp comparable to a Tuareg 660, only the Tractive suspension upgrades and the Veridian CC are relevant. The Transalp stock bike + Tractive suspension upgrades + Veridian CC price out to $13,700 vs the Tuareg 660 stock price of $12,700. The salient question is whether the extra $1000 USD, to upgrade a Transalp to Tuareg like specs, is better value. Personally, I would pay that premium simply because the lower compression, lower revving Transalp XL750 engine is going to out last the Tuareg 660's engine - not to mention getting Honda reliability. At 6'3" and 230 lbs, a suspension upgrade seems more essential for me, but for someone 5'-8" and 160 lbs is it really all that advantageous?
Transalp is a great bike. Suspension travel is not, it needs more. Watching your videos made me understand that the Aprilia Tuareg is an amazing bike, much closer to what you mention as a unicorn.
Your absolutely crazy! I don’t mean that as an insult. that looked like a very challenging, highly exhausting ride. Great Content. Would the Norden have handled that better?
Thanks for the great video. I have a question regarding the suspension. How often do you need to make the new upgraded suspension's maintenance compared with the OEM suspension? This applies to all the so called "performance" suspension upgrades : do the service maintenance intervals will increase significantly on an upgraded suspension? I would really like to upgrade mine but I am concern that I'll have to do the maintenence of the fork much often. Greeting 👍
I also managed to make my wheels tubeless with the outex tubeless kit. So that is another thing of the check list that was missing on the bike. Now i have cruise control and tubeless. For the price. It is worth it.
Personally, I feel the expensive suspension is well worth it, when you consider my amazing Tuareg. Honda will get me there and back. I might consider getting two for my son and I. Also, other reviews said how much fun the bikes are. Life is short, experience fun.
So, $3500 for adjustable suspension. I paid $12,600 otd for my 800DE Adventure which came with fully adjustable suspension. After spending $17k, is the TAlp better than the 890R or Tourag 660? And once your done, what are you going to do about the low end torque? Yes it has enough torque to move the bike but there is a lot of throttle and cluch modulation to do so. The TAlp still won't have the grunt of the 890R or 800DE for true ADV riding. The content and honesty of the video were awesome as usual.
Great content Ian. I love the Transalp, the looks, and the feel of the bike and engine are great. At the end of the day it was just too much for my current budget with dealer fees and taxes so I settled on a RE Himalayan which was exactly half the price OTD. As far as the cost of the mods and is it stupid to do. It depends on the owners live for the bike. If you’re the type of person who buys a bike or car and you keep it for many years or decades then yes it’s worth it especially since your going to have to replace wear and tear items like a suspension. Does everyone need the one you chose? Probably not especially if they do mostly street touring so something in the middle would make more sense. Regardless great video showing the options you have and what can be achieved.
Just in the lighting section now. I think, for ultimate visibility to others, you need to be able to run your Aux lights with low beam. Even in the daytime. If you aux lights have high/low, then the high should be linked to the factory high beams, and DTL with low-beam. YMMV (obviously).
You will love DMD. I've been using DMD or DMD2 since 2019 and will not use anything else. For offroad navigation there is NOTHING better, turn by turn navigation is a new feature and showing significant promise. I would suggest looking at the nav bar mounts as it puts it in a more accessible location and doesn't get in the way of a tankbag or something similar.
That Yoshi exhaust looks and sounds great. The stock exhausts reminds me of the Verys x-300. It's a shame you've never got your hands on one of those for testing as they have quite a strong community following.
fair play, TBH if i bought the TA and wanted to keep it i would definitely do the sussers, any bike that doesn't have great sussers should be treated by owners as better suspension transforms bikes, i know many will see it as cliché because they never did it but it is true
Tractive is good, but darn, for 3k that's a ton of money. No doubt it's going to make this thing ride like a dream! Even if 99% of riders don't even know what half of those adjustment are 🤣
Great video. I’m loving the Transalp more and more. I’m shocked how bad the factory lights are on a brand new bike. You would think the mfrs. would do better by now.
This upgrade session has been great. I like the way you show the mods without taking us through every detail, torque setting and misstep. The modification and installation overview is just right. Do you use an official Honda TransAlp shop manual for reference? or just the instructions from the upgrade equipment suppliers? or both?
I think he knew the 800DE is a better bike and wanted to see what he could do with the TAlp. Didn't take him very long to figure out the garbage suspension. Just my opinion.
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Is this just far too much money to dump into a $9,999 bike? Sound off below.
TRANSALP BUILD:
⚡Veridian Cruise Control: veridiancruise.com/product/honda-xl750-23-transalp/
(USE CODE BIGROCKMOTO FOR A 12% DISCOUNT!)
⚡Yoshimura Exhaust (RevZilla): imp.i104546.net/jr6NgM
⚡Yoshimura Exhaust (3D Cycle Parts):tinyurl.com/43atb72d
⚡3D Cycle Parts Light Kit: tinyurl.com/3rnvzmfv
⚡DMD Navigation: www.drivemodedashboard.com/
⚡Tractive Suspension (Ted Porter's Beemershop): www.beemershop.com/category/xl750-transalp-4992.html
⚡Barkbuster Handguards: tinyurl.com/yc5mv3hn
⚡Motoz Adventure Rallz Tires: pacificpowersports.com/ USE CODE BRM2024
⚡Outback Motortek Crash Bars and Skid Plate: tinyurl.com/5fjmb7h2
⚡Altrider Footpegs (coming soon for the Transalp): altrider.com
⚡Antigravity Battery (ATZ-10): tinyurl.com/yk2vh95k
⚡Tusk Olympus Tank Bag (sm): bit.ly/3yfaQbi
⚡Sedici Dry Bags: imp.i104546.net/JzW41r
⚡Puig Wind Visor: imp.i104546.net/ORazYN
⚡Tusk Tubes: tinyurl.com/ms5ezbap
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Definitely doesn't sound as nice as a T7. I'll blow you out the water on a stock T7 haha....Rider mod
pricey upgrades as you explained. I probably wouldn't want to change too much if I bought one as I like to 'just get on and ride'. But being 5'7" I'd think about lowering it so I can get both feet flat...especially as I like to tour with gear. Anyway thanks for the interesting video Ian. Andy from Oz 😊
Is that with db killer or without in the video?
I could not stomach a $3000+ suspension upgrade. But I also don’t ride hard enough to appreciate it. Seems choosing a different bike may be a better plan?
@@ckkrons2338 then if you can stomach a $3,000 more expensive bike then it's pretty much the same. Better suspension benefits riders of all of abilities, and levels. It is expensive, but can be worth it, especially is there isn't another bike you'd prefer.
I just want to thank you for your disclaimers, Ian. It's a breath of fresh air to see a reviewer being as transparent as you are.
I appreciate that!
My thought process on modding a bike out is this:
You can always mod any bike, but not all bikes have characteristics that can be fixed with mods.
If this Transalp is reliable and simple in the long run, you won’t have to worry about that characteristic. Therefore adding mods just makes it more and more desirable.
If you take a bike that’s amazing but it may leave you in trouble out on the road hours from a dealership, then there’s probably not an easy way or any way to fix that…
Can’t fix a poorly placed air filter. Nightmare out in the wild.
Maybe while your down there replacing that air filter go a little more and adjust the valves?@@niceguyrides
An hour to get to the air filter. I guess if you are riding alone you can ride a couple of days, but if you are riding behind on a dry dusty road, it's not ideal. The bike will not be reliable, no engine likes to get dusted, no matter if it's "a Honda". So yes, once you get to the air filter it's probably time to do the valves.
This by far and away the best series on a Transalp. You should be proud of this series. One thing to think about, yes it’s a lot of money to spend on upgrades on a motorcycle but how many KTM 350’s and 500’s are out there that people have over $20k in? I think you came close to that in one of your videos. You just keep getting better and better at these video’s and series you have been doing.
Hi from Czech Republic, I have praised you several times in the comments and I have to do it again. I really appreciate the way you review bikes, you go into so much detail and when you say something about a bike, I really believe it you know I respect your opinion/experience. And you just prove it to me every time. I also like the way you make the review real life and not just so it looks good on YT. Thanks for your work and content! I am surprised you do not have more followers but I am sure they are adding up. :)
I bought a Transalp today, thanks Ian for showing me that it is the most suitable model for my needs. I won't dump this much money in mods right away, but over the next few years I will probably do most of them.
Congratulations on the new bike. It’s an amazing motorcycle and fit me like a glove. Alaska it’s was just out of my budget with dealer fees and taxes right now.
I wish you many years of great adventures and safe riding.
Great stuff! Hope to do some of this upgrades on mine, regards from Portugal.
Lamb Chop and Life of Smokey helped me on pulling the trigger on a KTM SAR 1290 and I kind of really don’t like it so much.
Once again, this foolishness whereby throwing money at a bike will make you better/faster rider….
Well if you're going to buy the mods anyway, might aswell buy them today!
So you can enjoy then longer
Ian, you definitely sold me on the transalp and now I’m sold on the tractive suspension. This Honda is turning out to be the comfortable tenere we all wanted.
check the Adreani suspension too :) - better price
Ian, I don’t even ride adventure (occasional enduros) and yet am hooked on your channel. So refreshing to watch someone who’s so passionate about the subject and yet remains transparent and - big plus - entertaining, especially when you out there whooping at the thrills. Thank you, big up independent mor cycle journalism, and for goodness sake keep it up!
Wow, thanks!
@@BigRockMotoNow that you have the TransAlp, it would be great to get an updated “Unicorn” video. I’m watching your video from 2 years ago right now. I’m still searching for that perfect unicorn. Maybe it is the TA? Back 2 years ago, you said if you could only own one bike it would be the T7. What’s your pick now? Same? Or maybe the 890? Or TA?
Great video as always…. Am I the only person who is getting serious garage envy?? 😮
Hello, French Transalp owner here.
You provided us the most interesting Transalp content.
Thank you very much.
I instaled HEED crash bars / skid plate, SW motech hand guards and a WRS caponord windshield on mine.
Good looking and protection.
It is a very easy / secure, confortable and fun bike. I am very pleased with it.
And i can "easily" solo pick it up when it's down.
I admit I wasn't a fan of this bike until I saw one in person this past weekend. Beautiful bike and it looks like a lot of fun. Stay safe everyone.
Thank you, Ian, for this ultra ‘demo-ride’ on the Transalp. You looked thoroughly bushed when making your closing remarks: I know the feeling after a long day in the saddle. I’ve come to realize that one of our biggest hazards when touring is unacknowledged fatigue. If you could encourage your audience to stop at regular intervals and get off their rides for a brief walkabout: it may take longer to reach a destination, but, they would get there in better shape. The ride will be more memorable… rather than one big blurry throttle fest. Cheers! Marko Y.
I installed the same rear shock, but being in Canada I haven’t been able to test it yet. It’s a great relief to know you think it works well. I still have to install the HyperPro progressive fork springs. On a whim I purchased the lower cut seat and with the new suspension I’m pretty much back to what the stock seat felt like. At $270 CAD it feels worth it and feels similar to stock. Enjoy your channel and not specific to only the Transalp content.
I've made the same suspension modifications and its such a great bike now. I totally recommend this upgrade!
Lovin this series, and the channel as a whole. It’s so hard to find neutral long term reviews these days (which I get, it takes more time and resources than most channels are willing or able to devote just for one video).
I can say for sure that the sound came through on the video , love that sound .
Ian, Aside from 'dork in the road', you both have me convinced that the Xalp is a good choice. The mods list is helpful to know what can be done to this bike to upgrade and fit just for me and others. The bike sounds very good with that Yoshimura can, I agree. I am a fan of the additional lights attached to the forks as well. The Xalp is a great contender.
I’ve got about $3500 in Ohlins suspension on my Harley Dyna. Best upgrade by far. I basically got a 600+ Lb dirt bike. Super fun to ride on dirt and gravel roads. Blows my mind how different the bike rides. Every bike from here out the first upgrade will be suspension
I followed your example and upgraded the suspension recently. However, I traced the manufacturer to a company called Teknik in Holland...far cheaper. It does change the bike, allowing what is an amazing engine to be matched with a great suspension.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Ian. Here in Aust a T7 is 20k and the TA750 is 15k AUD. Massive price difference. So you just helped me make my decision. TA750 it is....
Hi, just wanted to ask how would you deal with the air filter problematic of the TA750 in Austaralia ? Just curious.
I think people are missing the point, as you said in the beginning you are doing this to show what you can do and how you can spec up the bike, yes I couldn't spend this kind of money on the bike but it's good to see the options and what you can do , thank you
The Transalp’s quality, warrants these upgrades for sure. With these upgrades it makes this bike a super reliable double threat!
That suspension came from my home town. Literally know exactly where that place is. Ill have to swing by there to grab my suspension if I want it for my Transalp. Solid!
I dropped a Yoshimura on my V-Strom 800DE a few weeks ago. Definitely saves on weight, but the sound is a big improvement as you pointed out. My wife complained that she couldn't hear me leaving and coming home before, which isn't a problem anymore.
Why does your wife need to know when you're coming home. Time to change it up player.
@@expatbiker6598 In her mind if she can't hear the bike other drivers can't hear it. Loud pipes save lives
The 800DE is a great bike and it comes with adjustable suspension.
If it's a full catless system, you should be able to gain around 10 hp and 10 ft-lb with ECU flash. Which everyone could easily feel the difference with.
@@MotoFishy If a 5% better presence around vehicles saves a life, then sure. I would think that 95% of the life-saving upgrades a motorcyclist can make is RIDER TRAINING.
Instead of $18k on a transalp, it makes more sense to choose a Desert-X or the new 900gs 105hp with the enduro options. Thanks for the video. One of the best channels in YT.
I agree
You're firing on all cylinders(pun intended 😉) Ian! Seriously though, I've been enjoying your moto content for quite a while now and it's great to see your progression not only in production value, but also as a rider and just how you've been putting your content together. This transalp series is seriously killing it man. I'm a KTM rider who probably similar to yourself wants the added travel and power bump. But the thought of having a bulletproof reliable T7 or Transalp with their suspensions done(I fully expect the Honda to share the T7's reliability) and the fact that both the T7 and Transalp are gorgeous bikes in my opinion, almost(but not quite!)makes me think of doing it and living without the ktm reliability/anxiety spectre over my shoulder 😂. Keep up the great work brother, stoked for the rest of the series and your content in general!
First, I thinks it great you are spreading the word on how easy it is and how important it can to the bike. I have had two Hondas for which I upgraded the rear shock. I chose YSS because of price but it was still a dramatic improvement because the stock shock was sprung too light.
I love those lights. What an amazing difference. Only thing that would make it better would be a lower output that turned on with your low beams to help with being seen during the daytime. The blinkers are a nice add on and provide a level of safety with the extra visibility. The exhaust sounds great. I don't own one of these, but if I did I probably wouldn't opt for the suspension only because I wouldn't be doing any hard off road with one. I would pay for it if I would be doing off road. Definitely looking forward to the cruise control install. Bike is looking fantastic.
Hell yea the lights are badass ! Ordered !
They are must have for sure whata difference! Night and day- haha for sure !!!!
Honestly, it's such overkill. I added aux lights to my CB500X using cheap Chinese made LED lights. The total install cost me $60. After a little over a year of use, they still work great and they are wired to the high beam circuit, just like Ian recommends...
You don't need to spend over $300 USD for aux lights, IMHO.
Well do you have a low beam light you would recommend because the low beams are pretty terrible also LOL Honda could at least have upgraded from a cb500x light LOL just traded mine in for the trans out feel like the headlights were pretty much identical oh well have to find a way to make it work there ought to be some low beams that at least give a little bit of a spread of light without blinding people
Thanks for showing all the mods. It is useful and informative to choose the mods that makes sense on an individual basis. Cheers 🏍️
Glad to help!
You're providing a valuable service to the ADV community by spending your time and money on these builds, thank you. I hope you will also weigh the bike with all of the additions at the end of the final phase to see if all of the extras add up to a significant increase.
It's already been mentioned in a few comments that at this cost you're coming in at over the base price of a standard Africa Twin. The 2024 model is estimated to have an MSRP of $14,449 and this gives you tubeless tires, real maps navigation in the display and standard cruise in addition to a possibly better stock suspension and more power. On the German Honda website the 2024 electronic suspension costs an additional 1900 Euros, so ~$2000, and that would be an addition to consider while still remaining under the price of this very nice Transalp build.
I have this suspension on my tiger 800xc. Massive upgrade for sure. Even did a motorcross track session. B level track.
I have the tractive ultimate upgrade on my 2014 KTM 1190 adv R. It is transformative in every way. Worth every penny.
Ive been steadily building more & more appreciation for the Transalp 750. Currently riding a Vaquero 1700 but really like the versatility of the Transalp. May make a change in the not so distant future. Thanks for posting all the vids! Have watched many. Appreciate Dork In The Roads vids too
Doing series for various bikes is a great way to go, it pulls us viewers in and gets us invested even more. I hope you’ll eventually do one for the BMW F900GS as well
A bike build is always a personal thing.....mine is protection and lighting, then luggage....then suspension, being older, springs and valving is always plenty for sag...being a MX racer, sag is everything to me. Great work and mods...can't wait for tubeless system to see it work...maybe something for me.
NIce job!! This suspension is adding significant value to the motorcycle. This suspension from Honda would make the Trans Alp a $15,000 motorcycle easily IMO.
Thanks for showing all the different options/ upgrades for the Transalp. "For Me/ IMO", part of the charm/benefits of the Transalp is that offers so much at $10K, and that it can be virtually ridden off the showroom floor and do nothing to it, but enjoy it (well maybe $1,500 +/- in accessories, i.e. soft luggage, wind deflector, cruise control device, maybe front fork springs?!?). If a person needs more, there are other great motorcycles out there for more money.
I love this kind of review. It's a treasure trove of excellent info concerning vendors and their products and you putting these upgrades in order of importance is much appreciated. Sorry, I'm not much of a writer but you know what I'm saying.
My standard answer to this kind of question is: just get the Tuareg and be done with it.
But I also understand the appeal of pimping out a bike eben if doesn't make too much sense.
Also it's hard to argue with the dealer network issues in the US and AUS. But luckily that isn't an issue here in Europe.
I upgraded my 500x with the level 2 Rally-Raid Tractive suspension kit😋Night & day difference off road but not so obvious on the road, but highly recommend tractive as a quality product👌big elephant in the room with the Transalp though is the lack of ground clearance, even less than my modified 500x. Look forward to seeing the rest of this build take shape from over here in the uk🇬🇧
After putting on all of these mods, it will be slightly above the price of a stock Transalp in Norway. Very exited about the rest of the series.
As always - an excellent video, very exhaustive and also entertaining!
But I have to disagree with you regarding if the more expensive upgrades are sensible. I believe that they are, or at least can be!
This is my thinking:
1. For me personally, the Transalp is a bike I prefer over the Africa Twin. So if I have money for the latter, and instead buy a Transalp, I save a lot of money AND get a bike that I like better.
2. Modifying it to a bike that I like even better than the standard Transalp, and still keeping the total sum below that of an Africa Twin is a no-brainer!
3. Even if I spend as much money on it as the cost af a new AT, I’ll still end up with a bike that is less expensive to drive!
So the question is - how much do you love the bike?
Even without modifications, I prefer the Transalp over the Africa Twin. So paying as much as for the AT will still make me a happier MC-owner than had I bought an AT!
I don’t dislike the AT at all, it is just to big for me (27” inseam). Actually, even though i prefer the Transalp over the Africa, the Transalp is to big for me too!
So I bought a CB300r and adventure-modified it! I have spent more than $4000 om modifications.
I built an entirely new stainless steel exhaust system, improving ground clearance by 8 cm, saving 6 kg and adding 7 horsepower together with remapping and modifications on the air box. Higher handlebars, modified left hand controls to get the horn and the signal in the right order (Honda - you should fix this on all your new bikes!!!), alu skid plate, improved suspension, IoM-inspired paint job… The list goes on.
And I’d say that everything mentioned is well spent money!
So there must be many (slightly larger than me) “normal” people for which a super optimised Transalp is worth well above $17000!
Very cool build.
I had a pro (Ben Decker performance, Platte City Missouri) install RaceTech suspension front and rear on my 2017 Honda Africa Twin. Same results you are describing. It completely transformed the handling. The stock suspension was made of pudding. Ben tuned the new race tech suspension to my body weight and the average amount of gear I take on trips and it is perfect. I spent $1,700 a year and a half ago to have him install those pieces and it was the best money I've spent on that motorcycle. Well except for the $10 I spent on a cramp buster for the throttle!
This is truly a Jack-of-all-trades bike. Love it.
It looks like you moved. A bigger yard and garage. Congratulations 😊
I really hope, that the Honda-engeneers see this video and improve this motorcycle in this direction,
because its basically a very good bike! Many thanks for this very good and professional video!
You are a bad bad man giving lots of bad bad influences........... you are responsible for the existentce of 3 of my bikes. Love your channel. Value your opinion. Keep up the good, entertaining work.
I bought a Transalp for my trip to Africa , I’m going to transfer the Transalp into a rally bike. Including bigger fuel tank, rear fuel tanks, arrow exhaust, rally tower, and I haven’t decided on a new suspension yet.
The suspension mod made this video unique, not too many moto bloggers make such a commitment. Also props to all the sponsors supporting the channel!
Amazing. No need to apologise for doing the best mods to the Alp. The suspension performance appears to transform the bike. Yeh the cost is great but is the Yam basic version iteration better out of the showroom still? It needs suspension work to make it work too!
Great video! I expect I'll be downsizing from my Tiger 1200 Explorer this year. I'm a XXX Bubba and I plan on doing a suspension upgrade no matter what mid-sized bike. The drive train of the Honda is very attractive and this video shows the frame can handle the upgrade.
I've had my transalp for a few months now and I've been really on the fence about what type of bike I want it to be. Honestly I'd love to put 17 inch alloys on it and make a pseudo sports touring bike to take advantage of the road manners. On the other hand this build is really enticing as I'd love to take it off road in a more serious manner.
Thanks i was waiting for this bike for a long time now.
As for my upgrades: tubeless tires, rear suspension, protection bars,hand guards, pannier and racks and auxiliary lights. I think that would make me happy for my ridding style.
That's a seriously nice upgrade. Would I spend $3k on a suspension upgrade? Nope. Even though I would do trails as you did in this video, I would probably never go above 25mph on them and the stock suspension would probably be fine. Like most people who are considering this bike. I had a Suzuki DR650 with slightly modded suspension nowhere near as good as this modded Transalp and it performed perfectly fine for me.
The Transalp and KTM 790 Adventure are my top two picks. I don't see many comparisons between the two and wonder about that. $1000 price difference. But not really when you add the crash protection to the Honda that the KTM already has. I'll ride both when the time comes but wow.... NICE bikes.
LOVE IT. I made very similar mods to my T7 - Full Yoshi, Rally Raid, lights, and more. Would love to see THAT comparison.
Thanks, Ian
Your review showing the potential of all of these different bikes is super helpful on with the reliability of a Honda to possibly be a daily commuter or long distance. Bike is helpful to make decisions. Cheers!
As you mentioned, before removing the forks from the bike, loosen the bottom damper rod bolt, and the top cap. Make sure you loosen the top triple clamp pinch bolts, but leave the bottom triple clamp pinch bolts tight to hold the fork tube as you loosen the top cap. Installation is reversed. Just snug these on the bench, and then do your final tightening after everything is installed.
That exhaust really does sound great. The bike looks awesome in black too and that tablet is fantastic. That will be a great machine when it's done and I think others will follow
Thanks for the great series on the Transalp Ian. I bought one back in Dec as soon as I saw one at our local dealer. Have been doing some mods and upgrades and this week it is the cruise control. Hoping to take it out on a tour across the US this summer. Followed your advice on a lot of the mods. The Transalp is a great bike. Somehow just seems so much easier to ride especially for someone like me whose riding skills are so so. It’s more forgiving. Keep these reviews coming!
Awesome upgrades on the Transalp XL750R video Ian, and me being 270lb I had to at least swap out the rear shock for the fully adjustable TracTive rear shock like the one you got but I went up +25mm and went with a KOUBALINKS linkage that got close to the factory height but it did raise it up a little bit because of the spring rate and made the rear travel at 215mm from the 190mm factory rear suspension travel and what a game changer!
Nice work!
You make a good point that to get all these upgrades is probably overkill and you wouldn’t buy this bike in the first place. However getting the cruise control, lights and possibly satnav upgrades are perfect. Alternatively, in a year or two buying a used bike and upgrading the suspension for an off road machine might make sense.
Great vids 👍👍
I recently went from a DR650 (with aftermarket springs) to a 701 enduro and wow suspension makes a huge difference. it's my first time riding a bike with good suspension and it almost feels like a cheat code.
agreed
If you would have gone with the Cogent front fork DDC's and rear Mojave shock you probably wouldn't have felt the need to spend 14K on that 701. Those 2 mods for less than $1,000 transform the DR into a very competent bike both on the trail and on the road. I did the same thing you did...went with springs first. And In was severely disappointed. Now, with the Cogent stuff installed I can go anywhere a 701 can go for half the price. And have 10X the reliability while I'm doing it.
@1vmxracer fortunately I didn't spend $14k on my 701. I bought it used for an incredibly good price. My DR had just about everything done except the suspension. I really love my DR. But the 701 is just an entirely different beast. Even if both bikes had the same suspension, the 701 feels very different.
@@Michael_Shay No doubt they ARE different. And without you saying in your 1st post whether or not you bought a new 701, i just assumed you did. I hope you got a deal on it.
@1vmxracer 2019 701 with 2k miles for $7,500 with a few value add mods, nothing major. I really love my DR but I wanted something a bit more comfortable on the road, (6th gear, feels better at higher speeds).
I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with another DR at some point further down the line. But I think the 701 is the perfect do it all bike for me.
I'm someone who is currently looking for a good travel bike. I'm currently looking at the Transalp, the KTM 790 and possibly some others.
My issue with this video is that with these addons you may as well have bought a 'better' bike with more features. Example would be the KTM's with their 6 axis ATC and other things.
These shocks alone were over 30% the overall base price and you did the install. Having a shop do the install would be another 1k at least I would imagine.
I know I'm probably coming off negative and that's not my goal.
Thank you for the review and highlighting this bike in general.
Great upgrade package! That Auspuff sounds nice! Also like the directional signals, get their attention. I have an Öhlins on my old GS, it absorbs everything.
Great build so far Ian. You've nailed all the pain points I had with the Transalp and have turned it into one hell of a middle weight ADV. I'd take this setup over an 890R every day of the week! Regarding the price, it's all relative to the needs and performance expectation of the rider. This industry will never be a cheap one, especially when you like to live on the cutting edge of products and performance! Looking forward to phase three.
Thanks 👍
The electronic cruise control is going to be huge views as that is my want, excellent job as usual Ian.
I hear lots of good things about the Transalp 750. I hope the new generations will come with more power, better looking front-end and better looking dashboard (utilizing all that real-state in the dashboard area would not hurt either).
I love my transalp, bought it based on yours and dork in the roads videos, i for sure want the suspension upgrades you showcased. I would really like to see those aux lights drop tested. The way they are set up kind of gives me pause, even though i like the idea of it.
Great video Ian, Just picked up my Transalp two days ago and love it. I really enjoy your reviews and your honest opinions. I agree it would be silly putting all that money into this bike, but your review and breakdown lets us pick and choose the items we want. Keep the content coming
For sure - the stock bike is pretty damn good! The only mods I would do would be the crash protection stuff, the tires, the BarkBusters, the skid plate, and the Tractive suspension (because I'm tall and I weigh 230lbs).
I would likely save a bit and get Tractive's mechanical adjustment rear shock as, once you get the suspension dialed in, you really only need to adjust the preload when doing 2UP or when touring with lots of cargo.
When you get to the mccruise cruisecontrol. You dont have to take the tank all the way of like in the instructions. I managed to work under it for the plugs that needs to be connected there with it just tilted up. So keep that in mind. It was a big job for sure. Got me to get to look at the filther. Looks good for 9k km. Just some light discoloration and nothing clogged. Next time i will buy a better highend filther. Tank removal is not a huge hassle. Have you done it like me several times it really is not a hassle.
I bought a large milspec Android phone and put DMD2 on that. Since it's the dead of winter here I haven't had a chance to try it, but the phone was right around 100 bucks. Stuck a universal quadlock adapter on it since I have a quadlock mount on all my bikes.
great idea - makes sense
Comparing this build to a Tuareg 660, the BarkBusters, aux lights, and tire upgrades would be done on either bike so they aren't useful for comparison. I'm going to ignore them, along with the other non essential mods.
To make a Transalp comparable to a Tuareg 660, only the Tractive suspension upgrades and the Veridian CC are relevant.
The Transalp stock bike + Tractive suspension upgrades + Veridian CC price out to $13,700 vs the Tuareg 660 stock price of $12,700.
The salient question is whether the extra $1000 USD, to upgrade a Transalp to Tuareg like specs, is better value. Personally, I would pay that premium simply because the lower compression, lower revving Transalp XL750 engine is going to out last the Tuareg 660's engine - not to mention getting Honda reliability.
At 6'3" and 230 lbs, a suspension upgrade seems more essential for me, but for someone 5'-8" and 160 lbs is it really all that advantageous?
Transalp is a great bike. Suspension travel is not, it needs more.
Watching your videos made me understand that the Aprilia Tuareg is an amazing bike, much closer to what you mention as a unicorn.
Those sequential lights do look good on the flashers. You do a nice job walking the line with the sponsorships. 👍
DMD is in Portugal Ian and yes it is amazing.
Your absolutely crazy! I don’t mean that as an insult. that looked like a very challenging, highly exhausting ride. Great Content. Would the Norden have handled that better?
Thanks for the great video. I have a question regarding the suspension. How often do you need to make the new upgraded suspension's maintenance compared with the OEM suspension? This applies to all the so called "performance" suspension upgrades : do the service maintenance intervals will increase significantly on an upgraded suspension? I would really like to upgrade mine but I am concern that I'll have to do the maintenence of the fork much often. Greeting 👍
Thanks Ian for the great upgrade options, looking forward to seeing the cruise control install.
Coming soon!
We always learn something from Big Rock Moto. Thanks Ian
I also managed to make my wheels tubeless with the outex tubeless kit. So that is another thing of the check list that was missing on the bike. Now i have cruise control and tubeless. For the price. It is worth it.
Wow what a dream TA !
Hi Ian, your honest reviews are of great help.
Super useful if planning possible upgrades.
Many thanx.
Lamps from Italy.
Personally, I feel the expensive suspension is well worth it, when you consider my amazing Tuareg. Honda will get me there and back. I might consider getting two for my son and I. Also, other reviews said how much fun the bikes are. Life is short, experience fun.
So, $3500 for adjustable suspension. I paid $12,600 otd for my 800DE Adventure which came with fully adjustable suspension. After spending $17k, is the TAlp better than the 890R or Tourag 660? And once your done, what are you going to do about the low end torque? Yes it has enough torque to move the bike but there is a lot of throttle and cluch modulation to do so. The TAlp still won't have the grunt of the 890R or 800DE for true ADV riding. The content and honesty of the video were awesome as usual.
I agree. Vstrom is a better buy.
Great content Ian. I love the Transalp, the looks, and the feel of the bike and engine are great. At the end of the day it was just too much for my current budget with dealer fees and taxes so I settled on a RE Himalayan which was exactly half the price OTD.
As far as the cost of the mods and is it stupid to do. It depends on the owners live for the bike. If you’re the type of person who buys a bike or car and you keep it for many years or decades then yes it’s worth it especially since your going to have to replace wear and tear items like a suspension. Does everyone need the one you chose? Probably not especially if they do mostly street touring so something in the middle would make more sense.
Regardless great video showing the options you have and what can be achieved.
I just don’t like loud exhaust, that’s just me. I like to ride through an area very quietly.
Thank you for this episode. I am considering the Tractive stuff for my 23 Tiger 900RP.
Thank you for the review Ian. Would like to see you do the single track with the upgrades as well.
Thanks Ian. I look at loads of motorbike videos and yours is definitely the best.
Thanks 👍
Just in the lighting section now. I think, for ultimate visibility to others, you need to be able to run your Aux lights with low beam. Even in the daytime. If you aux lights have high/low, then the high should be linked to the factory high beams, and DTL with low-beam. YMMV (obviously).
Great video! Now I'm curious to know what out-of-the-box bike (perhaps with replaced tires)
is equivalent to your modded Transalp.
You will love DMD. I've been using DMD or DMD2 since 2019 and will not use anything else. For offroad navigation there is NOTHING better, turn by turn navigation is a new feature and showing significant promise. I would suggest looking at the nav bar mounts as it puts it in a more accessible location and doesn't get in the way of a tankbag or something similar.
Thanks, I agree, it seems amazing
That Yoshi exhaust looks and sounds great. The stock exhausts reminds me of the Verys x-300. It's a shame you've never got your hands on one of those for testing as they have quite a strong community following.
fair play, TBH if i bought the TA and wanted to keep it i would definitely do the sussers, any bike that doesn't have great sussers should be treated by owners as better suspension transforms bikes, i know many will see it as cliché because they never did it but it is true
Tractive is good, but darn, for 3k that's a ton of money. No doubt it's going to make this thing ride like a dream! Even if 99% of riders don't even know what half of those adjustment are 🤣
3800, not 3k
@@1vmxracer $1695.00 x2 = $3390.00. You can also do one end only, the shock makes the most difference.
@@1vmxracer Plus labour, at least another $500
Great video. I’m loving the Transalp more and more. I’m shocked how bad the factory lights are on a brand new bike. You would think the mfrs. would do better by now.
I had a tractive suspension done for my bike. It is the best! I am glad you did this and are going to review it further.
This upgrade session has been great. I like the way you show the mods without taking us through every detail, torque setting and misstep. The modification and installation overview is just right. Do you use an official Honda TransAlp shop manual for reference? or just the instructions from the upgrade equipment suppliers? or both?
For the money, it is hard to beat the Transalp. I also like the Yamaha Tracer 07 and 09. Honda and Suzuki also make some really nice scooters.
Couldn't agree more!
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing the suspension upgrades experience.
Great info with the suspension upgrades although I kinda wish you had done this type of series with the Suzuki 800DE
I think he knew the 800DE is a better bike and wanted to see what he could do with the TAlp. Didn't take him very long to figure out the garbage suspension. Just my opinion.