That not really the case.
I have driven 11,000km in various terrain - including mountains abroad - and it can take a bit of little bit getting used to, where it does not have as much low down grunt as you might like at times - but i did get used to it.
And I do not drive in mountains like that all that often.
In fact it can carry higher gears into tight corners very easily, often i could find myself in 4th where i would normally be in 3rd on the other bikes etc - but if you then try to pull quickly out of the corner, of course you can get a bit of a lag, especially if going uphill.
The trick naturally, is to purposely gear down appropriately in advance.
For 90% of the use give it i have no issues with it.
I find it superb - after 20 years of R1150Gs and F800GS, i enjoy it equally as much as both of them.
I did upgrade suspension front and back as well, but to be honest I found the standard suspension is more than fine unless you are on fairly rough surfaces.
But, by all means do try other bikes and think about the type of use you will give it, before buying though.
Well I beg to differ , but we are all different .
Of course the trick is to change down ready for a corner . To not do so would be a tad daft.
My point remains that having ridden the Transalp in Gran Canaria, it was just very frustrating . As I said above , most tight corners required second but for many, second was too high a gear, but third too low.
Riding the same corners on the Vstrom 800 showed how poor the Transalp was.
But some people like to have to work a bike. Yet being in the wrong gear with the right one not available will always be frustrating , however you like your onions.
I really wanted to like the Transalp. I very nearly ordered one when they were announced, but unusually for me decided to wait and actually try one .
Within a 100 metres of pulling away on my first ride I knew it wasn’t for me as the peaky motor just didn’t suit the style of bike.
I actually returned it after about 30 minutes of a 2 hour demo ride.
That long day in Gran Canaria, riding a huge variety of roads from the tightest hairpins to dual carriageways at 80mph only backed up my first impressions.
It was quite funny as Canary Motorcycle Tours had only just got the bike so it was limited to one day each as everybody wanted a go.
Yet every single person at the end of the day, having usually ridden 120/150 miles said it was underwhelming and lacking any midrange, with all power hidden up top.
There are many satisfied owners on here and I’m sure you get used to having to work around its limitations but I like an adventure bike to have midrange as 90% of the time my longer trips tend to be mountainous , be it Picos/Pyrenes/Alps/Vercors etc.
It’s definitely a bike you need to try before you buy as some will love it , some will hate it .
For me it’s quite possibly the most disappointing bike I’ve ever ridden . If only it had the Vstrom 800 motor, which on paper at 82bhp compared to the Honda’s 92 doesn’t promise much yet is a revelation .
Chris Moss, one of the most experienced journos in the UK has both a DE then RE as a long termer and rates the motor as one of the best he’s ever experienced in any bike . It’s definitely in my top three.
