Take 2 for Honda Transalp

Its easy-going nature may have been its downfall. For reasons which defy explanation, it seems local riders would much rather have something designed for a race track than a bike which is actually designed for our real roads. Nevertheless we have developed a modest but steady market for dual-sport motorcycles locally - witness the success of BMW's R1150GS - and Honda's decided to give it another go.

Wot's this then?

There's been remarkably little change to the machine since we last saw it, which is fine by me. It was good then and really didn't need much alteration. These days you cop a slightly larger engine, altered bodywork and a host of other updates scattered about the machine.

Versions of the 6-valve V-twin liquid-cooled, four-stroke, engine have been around for ages, in both shaft and chain-drive forms. Bikes like the VT500E through to the XLV750 have had variations on the theme.

In this case you score a well-developed 647cc powerplant claiming 52ps at 7500rpm and 5.6kg-m at 5500rpm. Transmission is 5-speed with a wet clutch and chain final drive.

Seat height is 843mm - reasonably low for this class, but still a challenge for shorter riders - while it carries 19 litres of fuel. You can add a Givi-made topbox and pannier kit.

Suspension is the conventional fork up front and monoshock rear. Braking is handled by twin discs and two-piston calipers on the sharp end and a disc with single-piston caliper on the rear. Wheels are laced alloy rims, with a 21-incher on the front and 17-inch out back.

Wot's it like?

Something the Transalp has in common with its touring cousin, the Deauville, is that the raw power numbers don't really tell the whole story. We're not talking of harem-scarem performance, but the Transalp gets along at a very respectable pace, with a top speed on the high side of 170km/h and a willingness to work as hard as you like all day long. The powerplant is running a relatively mild state of tune and this, added to Honda's usual build quality, means you're unlikely to break it.

We found it had plenty of urge to make life fun on winding roads and there's enough in reserve to lope along the freeway at a respectable clip. An extra few horses wouldn't go astray, but we're not whinging. Gearshift is reliable, if a little long in the throw compared to a sports bike, while the clutch is light and faultless.

The suspension feels fairly basic, but coped admirably with the weird and wonderful mix of roads we threw it at, including a fair bit of dirt. Steering is medium-speed and caused no complaints, except the front end tended to be a little twitchy on gravel, which we suspect was down to tyre choice. The twitchiness was harmless and the bike tracked fine once you learned to ignore it.

Like most of its class, the Transalp is very comfortable, even after a full day in the saddle, and its miserly consumption (regularly better than 20km/lt) means you should get a decent range out of the fuel tank.

Something which may help the sales of the Transalp is that it's currently in a class of one. At the moment, your only other alternative when it comes to mid-sized dual-sport bikes is a host of single-cylinder machines which are good in their own right, but not as easy-going as a twin when it comes to covering big distances.

Price is $12,990 (plus ORC), which we reckon is terrific value.