Bike features
Here are the main advantages of the Honda XL 400 V Transalp:
- protection of the crankcase and driver's hands;
- high performance with small dimensions;
- excellent handling.
The bike is an example of what a high-end enduro should look like. Even its name speaks about this: it would hardly be possible to choose something more harmonious and attractive than Transalp. You immediately imagine a high-altitude Austrian or Swiss highway along which this beautiful car confidently rushes through the Alps.
Engine
A distinctive feature of the engine is that it is V-shaped. Not every enduro can boast of this. This four-stroke unit has two cylinders. Each of the latter has three valves. The working volume reaches 398 cm³. The unit is liquid cooled.
The maximum characteristics of the engine are as follows: its torque at 6500 rpm is 34 Nm, and its power at 8500 rpm reaches 37 hp. The speed of the Honda XL 400 V Transalp at its peak is 160 km/h, while the motorcycle will accelerate to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds.
Review of the Honda XL 400 V Transalp motorcycle
Despite the fact that the 400th Transalp is really weak with only 37 horses, it is capable of a lot. The front wheel steers fabulously at 21; such a wheel doesn’t care about decent irregularities. I walked along the dirt road for a hundred and even got high, it fell like I was on rails, scraped onto the asphalt 140 mot makes it easy further, the acceleration is sluggish, but even driving at such a speed on an endurike, wearing a helmet, the noise presses on my chest. Today in the evening I think I’ll eat a little. It’s been raining outside all day and it’s still a blast to drive. The ruts were as deep as the wheels in some places, but he didn’t give a damn. I drove to a neighboring area and returned in the dark; neither the rain nor the shitty road spoiled my mood. The brakes are a bit weak, but if you get the hang of it, they are quite predictable. The Transalp is definitely not an SUV, but a road bike, but it can handle any kind of road. I’m sure we will visit many interesting places with it. This is how my new season began.
The motorbike was bought at an auction in the winter, we won’t talk about the price, the mileage of the motorbike was not great, only 27,000 kilometers, during the season we managed to drive another 23,000, so here you have a tranny with a mileage of 50 units.
Of course, there were both positive and negative aspects, but I probably won’t be able to highlight anything in particular, because both the pros and cons - it depends on what point you look at it, but one thing is indisputable - Hondas don’t break - a fact. I read on the Internet that the transic is very strong against falling - I confirm this, there is a fact that I applied mine twice and both were extreme, there were also cases when I dropped it while standing still and fell with it, but these do not count.
Now, regarding the suspension of the tranny, there are some complaints, but I should note that I weigh a hundred kilos, and that’s not a little. It is impossible to consider a transalp as an endurik because it is not one. Therefore, we will evaluate it as a road motorcycle, in this capacity it is at its best, it can handle any roads, but still roads. The ground clearance is too small, we are afraid of the engine swaying, we hit our belly on the road several times, but the lowest point is the central stand, and thanks to it, the crankcase didn’t do anything. The suspensions are good enough for them to handle almost everything that our roads could present, including the Chita-Khabarovsk section, which we passed twice today, and we were lucky to get there both in the dry and in the rain - on muddy clay and wet sand. On Olkhon, the roads are sandy and there we easily drove a hundred and in some places even more. I even turned off the road and just drove along the steppe, climbed hills, made my way through rocky areas, so he could do a little off-roading, but only without fanaticism. There were several breakdowns in the fork, but they were entirely my fault. The bump stop on the rear shock absorber fell apart and it was also my fault, I didn’t notice. Look at the photo of the tranny where he has front turn signals, we drove into the water almost right up to these same turn signals and he didn’t even sneeze. Not a single breakdown during the season, not a single puncture.
The tranny and, as it turns out, its older sister Africa have the same design flaw - this is a shitty plastic mount on the face of the moto, it broke both for me and on the Africans I met. They say that the 400 is rather weak, but I don’t know what to say about this, because again, this is how you look at it and what to compare it with. The cruising speed of the motorcycle is 100 - 110, it rolls even more, but this is not its speed, riding at maximum speed is the lot of sports. The maximum speed is 160 and he accelerates to it, but I repeat, this speed is not his. Although, of course, on a good road where you can unscrew the power, it really does not have enough power, but there was no such case that the transic made a mistake somewhere and did not pull out, rushing like a tractor. Consumption depends on how you turn the engine, this is an axiom; I managed to drive 305 km on 13 and a half liters.
about the cons:
I need tall height; at 168 cm I stand on my toes.
I need some health, because the bike weighs ~200 kilos, so moving it with my skinny build is a bit difficult. I’ve dropped it more than once out of the blue when I simply couldn’t hold it.
not suitable for shit, because heavy, see first 2 points
If the motor is new, then immediately install arcs to protect the plastic.
The side plastic is very fragile, I have already glued it twice. and before me it was glued countless times.
however, I don’t want to install arcs, because... it won't get any worse for him
Actually, these are all disadvantages.
about the advantages:
for our broken roads - ideal mots IMHO.
It eats up all the holes and potholes - it doesn’t ride, it floats.
the ride is very good. for broken asphalt and dry primer it’s just right.
Compared to the KLE400, it’s a little stiffer, which again is only a plus IMHO.
The standard glass protects well from winds up to about 110 km/h, then it begins to flutter at shoulder level and above.
The visibility in the original mirrors is excellent, another plus is that they fold up when dropped.
My copy of gasoline consumes about 5 liters per 100 km, this is with mixed asphalt-ground traffic.
It doesn’t seem to be consuming oil at all, I’ve put >2k miles on it and haven’t topped it up yet.
The ergonomics of the saddle are 5+, the butt endures for a long time
does not heat up, i.e. even in hot traffic jams it does not overheat. The radiator has a fan for forced cooling.
The box is clear, the neutral is caught well.
with a passenger, 400 cc is already not enough - the dynamics are low, overtaking and other quick maneuvers are more difficult to do. but alone, this cubic capacity is enough for me beyond the roof.
I recently installed the case, and right now I don’t get off it at all. Now you can even go to the grocery store or go fishing.
Dimensions and weight
The XL 400 V is quite a long motorcycle: 2265 mm is a lot, but for a touring bike it’s just right. The width of the machine is 905 mm, and its height is 1305 mm. The wheelbase dimensions of this model reach 1510 mm, and the seat height is 850 mm. Overall, the bike is quite large, but quite suitable for people of average build and height.
The weight of the XL 400 V without fuel is 183 kg. A fueled motorcycle weighs significantly more - 201 kg. This is due to the significant capacity of its fuel tank, which is 18 liters. Of these, 3.5 liters is a reserve. For 100 kilometers of road under equal conditions and a constant speed of 60 km/h, about 3 liters of fuel can be consumed.
I rode a season on the Chinese Scrambler 200 and in general I am grateful to this motorcycle for the experience of riding and understanding the fundamental structure of a motorcycle, I am especially grateful that I never fell and never let me down.
I understand that this is not my thing and I want something more and love, and not calculation of compromises. Yes, it is good in the city and in traffic jams, but the chassis is made of oak, the tires are Chinese, it blows and rearranges on the highway, but only 3-3.5 liters of consumption, it just sniffs and saves your money. But all this is not my thing, I want a completely different partner, but not all can be understood by searching the network. All the time after the season I look, read reviews and also dig up resources for models that interest me. At the beginning I set my sights on the classics in the form of Honda gb250, kawasaki estrella, yamaha sr400 and it seemed like this was happiness, but no, my friend trampled on my dreams, saying that this was stupid self-indulgence, like a Chinese. We entered into discussions several times and he clearly explains the arguments - why do you need a spendthrift? When my storm of emotions and some facts crashed against this axiom, I decided to once again rethink what the main direction of operation of this motorcycle actually was. In this direction, thoughts have developed into basic requirements - driving to work in heavy traffic around the city, on weekends outside the city, sometimes gawking at local attractions and in the season picking mushrooms, and so as not to stand on the highway in a traffic jam with all the other mushroom pickers. In general, you need a narrow, lightweight motorcycle that can ride in traffic jams, and also be comfortable on weekends outside the city and be a little comfortable on country roads and a little forest roads. Comrade is still that beetle, he smoothly led me to the idea that think about a lightweight tourenduro, but what model is not so important, although there were a couple of nods towards Suzuki, in view of their reliability, but the same is not important, the main thing is class motorcycle. In my thoughts and searches I came up with three models and it would be very important for me to get the opinion of those people who have encountered these models and had experience, both positive and a little bit in the ointment 1. Kawasaki KLE 500 (400). I don’t really like the tacky coloring, I wouldn’t say that the silhouette is ideal, but the description of the engine is catchy. It seems that for such a small volume, it should be very dynamic in the city and on the highway, but with some discomfort in the forest, due to the shift of torque to the high rev range. There shouldn’t seem to be any problems with spare parts, since there seem to be many, many motorcycles built on the basis of this engine. 2. Honda Transalp 600(400). There are no complaints about the image and color, the engine is also massive. There shouldn't seem to be any problems with spare parts. I got the impression that it is a little more universal but also wider. It’s annoying that he will most likely be older, overvalued on the market due to his popularity, and accordingly he will be more tired.
3. BMW F650 funduro. The image is harmonious, the very aura of BMW and my wife also likes its image. Unlike the first ones, it has a single-barreled gun, it seems to be the same universal and narrow. Its incomprehensibility and lack of sensible information are annoying. In the same type of articles they write that it seems to be the same engine as on the new geese, but from the photo I see that they are externally different, and in the characteristics the number of valves, stroke and piston diameter are the same, but still - points. On the forum of avid BMW F-Series specialists, I also did not get any understanding. People there also asked this question but did not receive an answer. But I was surprised by other information - it’s easy to get spare parts from a dealer using the VIN code, but it’s easier to buy another motor, and if not, then dig on eBay or look for friends in Europe and through them look for cheap spare parts.
Excuse me for the long words, but I hope I conveyed the train of seething thoughts and whoever has a free minute before New Year, share your experience of ownership and operation. Thank you very much in advance.
Chassis and brakes
The bike is equipped with a steel frame. It is half-duplex in type. The design is discreet, but interesting and stylish, as ideally a touring enduro should have it. The XL 400 V has spoked wheels, and the steering wheel is comfortable and efficient.
The rear suspension is pendulum with monoshock absorber. Its stroke is 187 mm. The front suspension has a travel of 200 mm and is a telescopic fork with dimensions of 41 mm. The rear brakes feature a single 240 mm disc and a single-piston caliper. At the front, the brake is a larger disc with dimensions of 276 mm, and the caliper here is two-piston.
