|
Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
Stanley Goodsell looks back – and forward at the versatile bike in its latest reincarnation
This fabulous bike first saw the
light of day 20 years ago. It was
introduced as a 600cc twincylinder
four-stroke do-anything-goanywhere
machine, and it does just
that, with confidence and ease.
Whether zipping along main roads,
enjoying country roads or negotiating
unmade green lanes, this bike makes
you feel confident and relaxed. It’s so
easy to ride and handle, which makes
it an ideal first proper motorbike for
beginners, ie, someone who has just
passed their test.
When riding a Transalp I’m
always reminded of a mountain goat,
jumping this way and that and never
putting a foot wrong. These handling
qualities are in no small measure
thanks to the shallow angle of the
front forks. In general, the steeper the
front fork angle the quicker a motor
cycle reacts to any handlebar
movement. For an inexperienced
rider, these rapid reactions make a
bike jumpy and nervous, even
dangerous. Not the Transalp which is
steady, stable, nimble, safe and sure.
However it possesses bags of
potential and capacities which can be
drawn out and taken advantage of by
riders of all levels.
The early Transalp was endowed
with a modest amount of power,
50bhp (now in France bikes are
limited by law to 101+/- 5bhp).
Classic 1998 model with twin front discs and topbox
The 1999 upgrade saw the engine
capacity enlarged to 650cc with an
attendant modest increase in power
(5bhp). Disc brakes superseded the
old drums, giving the bike some good
stopping power.
Another welcome and well
overdue addition was a fuel gauge.
This put an end to the chore of taking
off the filler cap, peering into the
gloom and shaking the bike. If you
were unlucky, like Ewan McGregor in
‘The Long Way Round’, you could
get an eye full of petrol:
not a good start to a day out. Of
course, the other way of gauging the
fuel situation was to reset the trip at
every fill-up.
This bike uses just over 5l/100km,
so needs a refill every 200 to 220km.
Once the tank is filled with leadless
95 the total weight is 230kg. This,
coupled with a high saddle, means
that any off-roading has to take place
on a dry, fairly even surface. If you do
drop it, even on firm ground, getting
that weight back up on to its wheels is
not easy (a fact well demonstrated by
Ewan McGregor).
The 2007 upgrade further biased
the Transalp towards on-road use: the
front wheel diameter was reduced to
19” (48.3cm) and the saddle lowered
by 1cm. At the same time the option
of ABS brakes and CBS combined
braking was added. The latter is a
braking system whereby pressing on
the rear brake pedal also has an effect
on the front brake. These systems are
being installed on motorcycles to
reduce the stopping distances during
emergency stops and to try to
circumvent ‘cyclist’s syndrome’.
This is where an inexperienced motor
cyclist fails to brake hard enough with
the front brake due to a fear of going
over the handlebars. This can happen
on a bicycle but not, of course, on a
motorbike. In fact, when correctly
used, a motorcycle is braked 70%
front and 30% rear. Ideally, in heavy
braking the rear brake should be
actioned a fraction of a second before
the front. This has the effect of
steadying and settling the bike ready
for the main braking effort.
In addition to all this extra
stopping power Honda has increased
the engine capacity again to what is
now called the Transalp 700 and takes
the power to 60bhp. And a bigger fuel
tank gives this bike about 275km
between fill-ups.
Second-hand prices hold up well,
typically from €3,000 for a 2001 to
€6,000 for a 2007. New €7,000 or
with ABS CBS €7,600.
www.transalp.org (amateurs’ forum )
|
