The most practical and balanced adventure bike you can buy right now

Adventure bikes are often referred to as the SUVs of the motorcycle world. It’s also pretty easy to see why. They give us the ability to go off-road, travel and are usually versatile enough to handle the daily commute when called upon. Above all, they represent a certain lifestyle, and marketing departments of almost every manufacturer have started working on this.

Just like their automotive equivalents, not everyone is equal in the world of adventure bikes. Each bike offers a different balance of street and off-road performance. These two traits, which are typically mutually exclusive, must coexist in one motorcycle and almost never result in an even balance. We believe that this particular middleweight comes closest.

In order to provide you with the most current and accurate information, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Honda. While the opinions are ours.

The Honda Transalp is the most practical and balanced adventure bike you can buy right now

MSRP: $9,999

Honda certainly knows a thing or two about making practical motorcycles. Almost since the company’s founding, reliability has been a defining characteristic, closely followed by ease of use. This may seem relatively simple, but some manufacturers certainly still seem to get this wrong. The Transalp is a great example of how Honda makes bikes that are easy to use, practical and trendy.

We initially thought the Transalp would be Honda’s answer to the Tenere 700. But the Yamaha is very different. It leans much more towards the off-road side, sacrificing almost all of its long-distance comfort in the name of off-road performance. The dirt bike saddle remains a point of contention, but the latest Tenere offers more features than ever before and clearly meets the demands of the market.

The only other Japanese alternative in the middleweight space is the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE. It’s both heavier and more expensive than the Transalp, and while it loses most of the spec sheet wars, it’s still a viable alternative. Another more expensive option comes in the form of the Aprilia Tuareg. Although it is expensive compared to the Japanese bikes, it is affordable compared to the other European options and offers the same level of performance as the more advanced bikes.

The Transalp has a new versatile parallel-twin engine

Power: 90 hp

Lately we see more and more motorcycles using a 270 degree parallel twin. It has proven to be the best option for this middleweight class, as it offers an ideal balance between performance, efficiency and production costs. In a world where global emissions controls punish multi-cylinder engines and big singles punish the rider, this is the happy medium.

More than enough power for the real world

So far, Honda’s workhorse has proven reliable, but it’s still fairly new, and even for a brand like Honda, teething problems are not uncommon. The fact that 90 hp is actually quite good for an engine this size is almost a moot point these days. For the middleweight class, it’s all about mid-range performance. That’s what translates into actual usable power at road-legal speeds, and with almost all of its 55 pound-feet of torque available at 2,000 and 6,000 rpm, it’s fair to say it fulfills that part of the brief.

The Transalp has all the right features

The problem with these types of modular platforms is that the engine must work in different types of motorcycles. While the parallel twin offers a fantastic balance in terms of performance, the packaging presents a completely different challenge. Not only do you now need to somehow make it work in a different chassis, but you still need it to work within other constraints. It is for this reason that it falls short in one area: ground clearance. On paper it might not seem like a big deal, but that’s because Honda doesn’t sell this bike with any kind of skid plate.

In our opinion, this is its only real weakness, and it will only be a problem if you do some serious off-roading. Other than that, the suspension travel is perfectly acceptable, the weight isn’t too bad at 463 pounds (dry) and it offers a selection of modern features. It comes with a ride-by-wire throttle, five riding modes, a quickshifter and ABS, which can now be turned off at the rear wheel while you’re on the move.

A modular adventure bike

Honda has priced the Transalp so that there’s room in the budget for just about any accessory that helps transform it into what you need. This is a brave move, because if you were to look at it from a different perspective, you could say that the Transalp is in fact being sold unfinished. In reality, Honda knows what the market wants. Most off-road adventure enthusiasts will almost immediately forego a stock skid plate and street-oriented tires.

Those who spend more time traveling will appreciate the added comfort and extra money that can be spent on luggage. This modular approach is unusual, but it’s fair to say Honda was prepared. There are already several in-house solutions available on the options list, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to give Honda more money as there’s a pretty robust aftermarket for these bikes too. In short: it has already worked.