Booked a Honda Transalp 750 to replace my CB350; Test ride experience

The test ride series included Suzuki VStrom 650 (11L OTR new), Kawasaki Versys 650 (10L OTR new) and Triumph Tiger 660.

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Got to test ride both the Transalp 750 (which I have booked) and the NX500 at Big Wing Topline Bengaluru today. Images are of bikes due for delivery, the test ride bike was different.

I must say the TransAlp really surprised me with how easy it is to ride! Feels like a proper big bike but lighter in feel compared to 650 cc bikes.

The test ride was approx 30 minutes in the CBD in very heavy traffic from 11:30 pm to 12:00 pm and it was pretty hot (approx 30 degrees plus).

Quite a tall bike and at 6.1" was able to flat foot while on the bike.

The bike sounds great, has a top-notch premium feel, gearbox is brilliant and just snicks into gear, the clutch really needs to be experienced and felt as light as my CB 350!

Brakes, and suspension were both top notch and I was dicing with the infamous autos in namma ooru within minutes of the test ride. In short, very confidence-inspiring once on the bike.

Super smooth engine was also a big plus for me, it really is a very nice motor, with a lot of character which I am hoping a longer test drive will confirm.

Heat management is brilliant for a 750 cc bike and it certainly runs cooler than the other 650 cc bikes I have ridden (including VStrom 650).

Unlike the Africa Twin, the TransAlp won't grab eyeballs but looks great in both paint schemes. Quality levels are great and the bikes come with two tyre options - Dunlops and Metzeller Karoo Street. Am hoping for the latter.

This was followed by a short NX500 test ride, on a similar route taken on a CB500X 2.5 years ago. I feel the NX500 is much nicer than the CB500X and a great bike. It sounded really nice, accelerated well, the brakes were great as was the suspension, and overall super comfortable. The new instrument cluster is much nicer too.

I felt I could have lived happily with the NX500 as well!

I've been a CB350 owner for over 2 years and am a hardcore Honda fan (at home we have a 2000 Honda City 1.5 Exi, 2012 Brio S(O) MT, 2001 Activa, and 2021 CB 350). I value reliability over all else, and the fact that Honda makes great cars (maybe not anymore !) and bikes is a plus.

Once the decision for a CB350 upgrade was finalised late last year, the test ride series included Suzuki VStrom 650 (11L OTR new), Kawasaki Versys 650 (10L OTR new), and Triumph Tiger 660.

Used examples of the former 2 were also considered. The VStrom 650 is no longer on sale with the 800 DE due to arrive as its replacement. However, in foreign markets, the 800 DE is approximately 1.3 L more expensive than Transalp.

I have a strong aversion to self-inflicted trauma so the Tiger 660 test ride was just a formality, but at approx 12L on-road BLR, used examples may make more sense. The TBHP Triumph service posts are self-explanatory.

Used prices for some exceptional VStrom 650s and Versys 650s were hovering in the 8L mark in Bengaluru.

What the heart demands and the wallet can bear are often diametrically opposite but the thought that the TransAlp will serve me faithfully for a decade or more, as the other Honda's with my family have done was a key decision point.

Hoping to take delivery this month or the next.

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