Transalp in the US now, sort of?

[NovaGeeze]

Transalp appears on Honda's US web pages now. Black only. Been looking for that price for a while. They priced it IMO very competitively visavis the NC750x DCT.
List is $9999, and for that you get what look like pretty interesting upgrades such as:

The big color TFT screen with more info
Inverted showa forks with almost 8 inches of travel
dual discs up front
7 inches rear travel
rear box carrier integrated into the grab handles
3 dozen more horsepower? apparently ~85 (not the ~90 EU version, for some reason)
self-cancelling turn signals
integrated USB-C port
4.3 gallon tank
40 pound lighter wet weight

Sort of glad it wasn't available when I got my NC. I might have gone for it. I think the NC's the better bike for me.
I wouldn't want the tubed tires, nor to give up my frunk, nor my DCT now! But Honda put together quite a package for $10k list.

 

[dduelin]

After trading out of two previous NCs for the attraction of what turned out to be summer flings I returned to a yet a third NC.

I have to firmly keep in mind the attributes I like so much about the NC when looking at what the Transalp offers. I don't need a TFT screen, electronic rider aids and 80+ horsepower in an adventure style bike enough to give up the weight vanishing low center of gravity, effortless nimble handling, close to perfect wind management (with Madstad), economy of ownership & service, frunk, 17"/17" tubeless tire cast wheels and quirkyness of the NC series.

I'm sure we will lose more riders than Griff to the Transalp and that is OK, happy for them. The TA might be the unicorn bike at 10 grand and I think the aftermarket will jump all over it so riders can tailor it to their perceived needs.

 

[670cc]

Transalp appears on Honda's US web pages now. Black only. Been looking for that price for a while. They priced it IMO very competitively visavis the NC750x DCT.
List is $9999, and for that you get what look like pretty interesting upgrades such as:

The big color TFT screen with more info
Inverted showa forks with almost 8 inches of travel
dual discs up front
7 inches rear travel
rear box carrier integrated into the grab handles
3 dozen more horsepower? apparently ~85 (not the ~90 EU version, for some reason)
self-cancelling turn signals
integrated USB-C port
4.3 gallon tank
40 pound lighter wet weight

Sort of glad it wasn't available when I got my NC. I might have gone for it. I think the NC's the better bike for me.
I wouldn't want the tubed tires, nor to give up my frunk, nor my DCT now! But Honda put together quite a package for $10k list.

Specs say 4.5 gallon fuel tank.

I’m seeing a Honda weight spec difference of 13 pounds compared to a ‘22 NC750X manual. The ‘22 manual NC750X was priced at $8699, so there is roughly a $1300 difference, not accounting for year to year price increases.

Top case mount is an accessory item, from what I see on Honda’s US web site.

Honda has rolled out an extensive accessory list. Maybe the relatively low MSRP is offered in hopes the accessories will make it more profitable.

 

[the Ferret]

sky high seat height eliminates it for me, not that I'm looking to trade.

 

[NovaGeeze]

Huh, pages I get says the carrier for a rear case is integrated (not the case itself of course). I consider that a nice little bonus given that the similar accessory for an NT is $400.


the seat height would be a plus for me, and maybe the riding position. I'm pretty tall and folded up a bit on the NC.
But I'd miss the fuel economy, the simplicity, the frunk, and more. And I have no need for the extra horsepower.

I was comparing it to the DCT since that's the only late-model NC you can get in the US these days. Of course the real price can vary a ton. On my NC, I didn't have to pay any freight or setup, just tax and registration. Saw one recently that was end of season, $1,000 off (but I'm guessing that dealer would have tacked on a thou worth of freight and setup fees). When the TAs hit, if there's demand, the dealers near me anyway will be tacking on at least $1,200 in freight, setup, and whatever else they can get away with.

I just think it's interesting they can pack quite a few more bits of tech in there for a price that low.

 

[670cc]

I guess the standard rear carrier comes with the bike, but if you want the Honda top case, you perhaps need to throw it away and pay for a rear case mount.

When the NC came out in 2012, the manual version MSRP was $6999, but right off the bat they were selling for $6399, no freight, no setup. I guess it’s a different market now. Early adopters might pay top dollar, then based on supply/demand, prices could fall.

 

[mzflorida]

I like a lot of what it has to offer, and I'll take a look at it, but it looks a bit too cramped for me. I also think it is a really good looking machine.

 

[NovaGeeze]

Yeah pricing depends on the market for sure. Launch into a soft economy and the discounting will start quickly. Honda's inventory and availability on most stuff seems thin when I look (aside from Navi, Grom, some offroad CRFs, Goldwings...) I still don't see much (or often any) inventory on 300 Rally, for instance. Out where I live (Northern Virginia) the markup on all bikes is really high at every dealer. When I was NC shopping here, at least half of them refused to give me a written quote. When I asked why they were ignoring my reasonable requests for the written offer, I got, several times "well, then you'll just take it to another dealer and we'll have to be bidding on your business." When I told them that's exactly how it is supposed to work, and if the dealerships work together to do otherwise, it's collusion, and it's illegal, they got a little angry. It was a good way to weed out dealerships not to use.

Re the top rear rack / case thing, looks like the plate is a bolt-on for use with the OEM bag, maybe quick release or something? A plastic plate between rack and case is visible in pics in prior thread.

Still odd to me that these mid-sized, throttle-by-wire designs from Honda are ignoring cruise control. I don't know what the additional cost would be, but I'm guessing most riders would pay it. Aprilia worked it into the Tuareg at launch, which was I think $11.5k for a bike with good, fully-adjustable suspension, actually off-road ready from all the reviews I read. (but lots of engine heat and dodgy, oil-leaky examples, plus thin dealership support and the necessity of taking it to one to turn off the oil change nag light, etc.) I was really considering that bike for a while, especially since the alternate bikes that interested me were not available anywhere. High-ish bike, fit me well, but I couldn't get past the necessity of the dealer coupled with the dearth of dealer locations. And though they had stock, the dealers were all tacking on full freight plus another $800 or more in setup.

I think most Transalps will get used about the same as most NCs. I wouldn't mind a bit more off-roadability on my NC, but I don't really need it. When my nav apps put me onto gravel roads on my first day on it, a few miles at a time, I got along just fine at 15mph or so. For me (and many others I'd guess) the more "adventurey" riding is an aspiration rather than a regular occurrence. I suspect I'd consider more suspension travel / dirtability to be a poor trade for my frunk and DCT.

 

[Possummanj]

And they still can't figure out that it should be white with red and blue accents

 

[mzflorida]

And they still can't figure out that it should be white with red and blue accents

True. That would be a better looking scheme.

 

[INTHEWIND]

Transalp appears on Honda's US web pages now. Black only. Been looking for that price for a while. They priced it IMO very competitively visavis the NC750x DCT.
List is $9999, and for that you get what look like pretty interesting upgrades such as:

The big color TFT screen with more info
Inverted showa forks with almost 8 inches of travel
dual discs up front
7 inches rear travel
rear box carrier integrated into the grab handles
3 dozen more horsepower? apparently ~85 (not the ~90 EU version, for some reason)
self-cancelling turn signals
integrated USB-C port
4.3 gallon tank
40 pound lighter wet weight

Sort of glad it wasn't available when I got my NC. I might have gone for it. I think the NC's the better bike for me.
I wouldn't want the tubed tires, nor to give up my frunk, nor my DCT now! But Honda put together quite a package for $10k list.

I agree, My 2023 NC750 is a better fit for me. Love it.

 

[Itdoesn'taddup]

I bought my NC750X without due diligence. I thought I was getting the Transalp when I bought it. I will look really hard at trading for the Transalp when I can see (or ride) one. I will say this though, after riding a V-Strom 650 for a few weeks several years ago and a ZG1000 Concours for 60k miles, I'm really tired of top heavy bikes. If the Transalp is top heavy, it'll be a hard no.

 

[jknight611]

Understand what top heavy feels like! Exactly how I am recovering from a broken leg! Rain slick parking lot, on a rather dramatic hill, and a Moto Guzzi Stelvio, full fuel (>8 gallons) and full camping gear. Extremely top heavy. And that’s why I now own a NC750 DCT!

 

[dduelin]

Understand what top heavy feels like! Exactly how I am recovering from a broken leg! Rain slick parking lot, on a rather dramatic hill, and a Moto Guzzi Stelvio, full fuel (>8 gallons) and full camping gear. Extremely top heavy. And that’s why I now own a NC750 DCT!