Honda is one of the Japanese manufacturers that understands what people want.
We borrowed the CB500X and the new Transalp and sent the lads for a good long ride…
Words: Séan Hendley & Deon van der Linde
Pics: Deon van Linde
We haven’t really ridden both these bikes a bit here and there since their respective media launches, and finally managed to grab them for more than a day or two recently to give them a proper ride. We have also appointed a new recruit to our team who has very little experience and skills when it comes to off-road and adventure riding, so we used this opportunity to kill two stones with one bird and have a bit of a training day with him.
We Started him off on a great beginner’s adventure bike in the CB500X and eventually upskilled him enough to handle the Transalp in some fairly gnarly dirt. At the same time, we had another longer, harder look at both bikes and worked out if we still feel the same about them.
Deon, the office Roofie, rides a NC750X as his day-to-day machine, but sticks very much to the tar and is built a little bit like a Teletubby in that he is around 1.6 something metres tall, with the majority of that length being in his moderately portly torso with reasonably short little legs and arms attached to that.
He is reasonably good on the tarred stuff, no Valentino, but rides well enough. Put him anywhere near sand, mud or loose gravel and the frown lines appear on his forehead as he starts biting down on his bottom lip.
So, when we found out Honda SA had a couple of demos available, we knew this was a great opportunity to get him up to speed in the dirt.
Our ride took us along some of our local farm roads behind our offices which are quite compacted, but with a couple of nasty ruts. Then we aimed for Bapsfontien through the bush and a couple of Railway service roads. This is where things got a bit tougher with the sand getting softer and deeper, big mud baths started becoming more frequent.
From Kameelzynkraal it was a long wide, fast and flowing trai with lots of loose gravel, some thick sandy patches, some bad rutting and the occasional rocky patch. Long sweeping bends with regular farm traffic, tractors, trucks farm Tannies in big SUV’s, but all mostly fast flowing stuff.
From Oxbow, it was pretty much the same back onto tarmac to Bronkhorstbaai dam for a quick bite to eat and a photo shoot.
The advantage of Bronkies is the fact that the access road has a little bit of a sweeping mountain pass where we could really test both bikes’ road holding in fast flowing bends. Then it was a high speed tar run chasing the setting sun before another little flip along dirt roads and farm tracks back to the office as the sun settled on the western horizon. A great adventure day that totalled around 250 km’s of dirt and tar.
When he got back, Deon had cut his Adventure teeth well and truly and had this to say:
This was yet another first for me, taking an Adventure Bike bundu-bashing. It was a bit tricky to get used to riding on the dirt, cornering and well almost everything is different to riding on the road. Sean was actually very patient with me, a great teacher and got me feeling confident in no time at all.
CB500X
The CB500X is great fun on the roads less travelled. I was very surprised at how comfortable it is to navigate through water, over rocks and up gravely hills.
It was a big jol taking on the deep mud (a little bit dirty, but fun).
On the less bumpy dirt roads, this machine comes to life when you open her up. Standing up while riding makes you feel at ease as you take on the dusty trail. Holes and bumps feel like nothing. It’s a grreat suspension setup – well for a novice like me anyway.
I didn’t try any real rocky stuff and I’m glad that I didnt because the ground clearance is lower than the Trans Alp – and no bash guard is fitted.
Every dirt road has to end eventually and then when dirt meets tar, Oh Boy! Now with the open road in front of us I could really test what the engine can do.
Twisting the throttle, it is almost hard to believe that this is only a 500cc capacity motor. The riding position is very comfortable as you punch it down the road. The brakes are phenomenal with its 2 channel ABS system. So, from my point of view this bike is awesome for the newer riders like myself and for experienced riders as well.
Just like dirt roads end so the fun on the CBX had to end too…
But.
That was not the end of my day of fun, Sean pulled over and we swapped bikes. Now it was my turn to mount the beast they call the Transalp 750.
TRANSALP 750
Still on the tarmac with just a little twist of the throttle the beast pounced into action and darted off down the road. This bike’s acceleration is awesome. Much more than the 500.
If I didn’t have to follow Sean, I am pretty sure I would have lost sight of him in no time at all (not that the CB500X is slow) the TRANSALP is just really fast. What a brilliant bike on the road!
Then things took a turn, a turn back on to the dirt…
Honestly saying I was a bit intimidated going down the dirt with the Transalp after realising what it could do on the road. With my lack of off-road skills being my first day out on an Adventure bike. I grabbed the handles and got down to business.
Personally, I find the windscreen a bit long and find it a little difficult to get used to. Then I stood up and damn – now that felt good!
I found it very comfy standing up right. Way better than the CB, all though the CB I found to be easier to handle in the dirt the Tranalp is still fun, but slightly scary.
All in all, what a blast I had on both these Honda’s. My conclusion is that i would prefer the 750 on the road, but I’d take the 500 for on – and off.
Maybe just until I’m more experienced anyway.
All in, I had no idea how much fun it is riding in the dirt. I don’t want to sound like a softy but I’m mighty grateful that I started on smaller bikes.
Such good fun.
Séan was Deons Journeyman for the day and was at the media launches of both bikes and thus the right person to do a follow up review on both, and he had this to say:
Firstly, let’s chat about the Transalp.
I was quite enthralled with this bike at the launch, with power and torque figure only slightly less than its bigger sibling the Africa Twin, but coming significantly lighter, narrower and nimbler but with similar height it was a revelation to ride.
The Transalp is naturally quick, compliant and agile in the dirt that I barely noticed any of the obstacles that would have had me clenching my butt cheeks on a bigger heavier bike. I was readying myself to be disappointed on the tar with the lower power figures, but on good wide-open tar we all easily matched the standard Africa Twins restricted top speed and tilting into the corners around Redstar Raceway we easily ground down the foot pegs.
Admittedly, I do think mechanical sympathy would come into play on long fast journeys, where the 1100 Africa Twin easily cruises at its top speed and the Transalp has to work to stay there which does become tiresome and will fatigue the rider, especially if carrying a pillion.
Have my thoughts changed?
Well, Yes, they have. Swinging a leg back over the Transalp felt like coming home after a long journey and sinking into your favourite couch, it just feels right.
At the launch and in subsequent follow up articles the suspension of this bike has taken quite a lambasting from the press, and yes, it is soft.
But this is not an extreme adventure ala Dakar racer.
It is a really capable soft roader and personally I quite like the plush ride. For me the entire package works together so well, whipping over ruts at speed is a synch, for me where the Transalp really shone was in the thick sand and the mud. The power delivery is smooth and linear, no aggressive peaks that get snatchy, the weight and balance thereof is superb and easily controllable. Keep your speed up, lean back slightly and lighten the front wheel a bit, extending the rake and sand comes and goes almost unnoticed. Gird your loins and do the same with mud, and the experience is similar.
Stay active in your riding position, adjusting for obstacles, in others stand up and look up and you won’t drop through the stroke of the suspension easily.
Weight your inner foot peg, lean away from the bike in a turn and you will stay planted and true through the sweeping bends.
Tighter stuff needs a bit more rider input, a lot less speed and more judicious control of the bike…. It’s a tight corner in the dirt after all.
I really do enjoy the standing position of the Transalp, at 2 metres tall I struggle to find bikes I don’t have to hunch over when standing.
The problem with that is that it changes the weight balance of the bike to a more forward weight bias which in turn compresses the front forks a bit more and changes the rake of the forks. Dirt bikes and adventure bikes have a much more generous rake than road bikes to make them more stable in the dirt. Compressing the forks shortens them and pulls the rake in a little bit which in turn makes the handling a bit more aggressive and increases the tendency to push up softer surfaces in front of the wheel making it more likely to dig in. Both the Twin and the Transalp seem to have considered and made provision for the taller rider in this department.
My standing position on both bikes is very natural and confidence inspiring and I can spend hours standing on the pegs.
Riding back on the tar route we chose back to the office did confirm my initial thoughts about mechanical sympathy coming into play regarding rider fatigue.
She runs up to 190 KPH quite quickly with a max clock speed of 200, but she’s happiest at the 170 odd KPH mark.
Tucked in behind the screen I had to work the quick shifter quite hard cresting hills and trying to maintain speed, fuel consumption also went for a ball of chalk.
The Transalp was a really nice place to be and I reckon cruising at a ton and a half would be easily done all day along and with much less frequent stops at the local fuel pumps along the route.
To conclude – YES! I still rate the Transalp very highly and would be hard pressed to pick between it and the Africa Twin.
The CB500X
On the CB500X is where my brain goes a little bit wobbly.
This is one tough little bike that can be hammered all day long and keep you giggling in your helmet from the time you hit the starter button to when you park it.
I fell in love with this bike at the media launch and riding it again on this ride just reaffirmed that.
I am happy to go along to any new motorcycle launch, but some are anticipated with more excitement than others. A little parallel twin 500cc semi off road bike didnt sound like much fun.
Boy were we wrong.
Light weight, excellent torque, low seat height, narrow, nimble, agile with really flippen excellent suspension, comfortable riding position. It took all of us less than a few kilometres to realise Honda had produced a spectacularly special motorcycle in the CB500X.
After riding the Transalp for most of the day tutoring Deon in the wiles of off-road riding I felt he was ready to take on the Transalp…
Truth be told, I just really, really wanted to ride the CB500X again with a sore heart and I am so happy I did.
After the Transalp, the CB500X feels like a bicycle. A “dik wiel” bicycle.
The 120 width, 19-inch front wheel and the 160 width 17-inch rear with halfway decent 60/40 tyres are surprisingly good in the very soft sand and mud, tending to float more on top than cutting in like the narrower 18/21 combo’s making it so much easier to ride in those conditions.
Even the moderately tighter rake didn’t come into effect here.
Yes, for comfort sake and handling sake I had to plant my 2m chassis firmly on the seat and get on the gas. Wow, this bike is sooo light and so agile that I eventually went looking for fun bits of the scenery to throw it at. It is just so easy to ride and so capable and so willing – no wonder Deon got to terms with off road riding so quickly on it.
This is the bike I would “Buy for my Mrs”, but spend the most time riding.
Because of its power, torque, weight and useability you can ride this bike to its limits long before reaching your own.
You can literally ride the wheels off of it and spend the entire time giggling.
It will do 160 kmh all day long, run on the sniff of an oil rag and has the CT110’s legendary reliability.
Eish, I need a bigger garage…. And bank account.
