2025 Honda XL750 Transalp Unveiled: The 2025 XL750 Transalp was unveiled by Honda ahead of its May 29th release in Japan. The new adventure tourer comes with a host of updates aimed to improve comfort, touring ability, and off-road use. Keeping the essence of the middleweight ADV, the 2025 iteration comes with substantial cosmetic updates and mechanical updates, and it should cater to individuals on the lookout for both long-haul cruising and off-road capabilities.
The Transalp has always held a unique position in Honda’s lineup – it’s not quite as off-road hardcore as an Africa Twin, but it’s more capable than the more street-focused adventure tourers. These nips and tucks suggest that Honda is sharpening the Transalp into a comfortable, accessible adventure bike that enjoys the highway but is more than capable when the tarmac stops.
Striking New Design Elements
The main visible difference of the 2025 Transalp is its new front side. The headlight setup has also been replaced from the previous single headlight to an aggressive dual-projector LED setup, reminiscent of the Africa Twin. This does wonders to not only improve the overall look of the bike, but to give you better lighting during those night cruises.
The windscreen is also back with an all-new look, this time made of Durabio, an environmentally conscious bio-engineered plastic that is both scratch and crack-resistant. The windscreen is more than just a new piece of stock plastic — it features an ingenious central intake duct that helps draw air away from the rider, making long-range trips less tiresome. As with a well-designed airplane wing, this aerodynamic advantage aids in controlling turbulence around a rider’s helmet and upper body.
For 2025, Honda has added a new Pearl Deep Mud Gray paint option to the existing Ross White and Graphite Black schemes. The graphics have also been refreshed, with larger “Transalp” lettering highlighting the model’s adventure roots.
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Refined Chassis and Suspension
In developing the Transalp, Honda engineers have put a lot of effort into getting the best out of the bike’s suspension. Up front, the compression and rebound damping on the fork has been cut a bit and is now more reformed over bumps. Ride quality has also improved, with firmer spring and damping rates added to the rear shock to enhance control, even when loaded with luggage or a pillion rider.
The suspension revisions are designed to achieve a more even compromise between on-road comfort and off-road ability. The bike still keeps its 200mm front and 190mm rear suspension travel and has a substantial 210 mm of ground clearance to handle tough terrains. Even with the updates, the Transalp is still (comparatively) light in its class, tipping the scales at 210kg (kerb weight), which is only 2 kilos heavier than the previous model.
The chassis enters today pretty much as it left off back in 1998 although it appears the new screen has lopped 5mm off the overall height. The 850mm seat height remains quite the same, and may continue to frustrate those of a shorter stature, although Honda usually provides a lower seat as an option.
Familiar Powertrain with Subtle Refinements
Beneath the skin, the 2025 Transalp also keeps the 755cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin with a 270-degree crankshaft. Outputs are unchanged at 90bhp (67.5kW) at 9,500rpm and 75Nm at 7,250rpm. This powerplant has been commended for its seamless delivery and strong mid-range, features that make the Transalp as capable on the highway as it is in the dirt.
While the engine is unchanged, Honda is saying it has revised the fuel injection settings in order to enhance responsiveness at lower revs. Like any good chef tweaking a time-tested recipe, these are both minor tweaks designed to improve the engine’s usability where the rubber meets the dirt, which is to say down in the mid-range where most adventure riding happens.
The transmission too is the same, a 6-speed with slip-and-assist (slip/assist) clutch. Fuel economy is still outstanding, with Honda claiming 23.1km/L (which is based on standard tests and should be considered a rough estimate), which would mean the bike could travel some 370km from its 16.9-litre fuel tank.
Enhanced Technology and Features
There’s the hefty injection of technology on this 2025 Transalp with a new 5-inch TFT display that it gets on board. The display screen that it is using is actually the same one from before, but it is now optically bonded to it to minimize the glare and increase the brightness levels — so that’s an excellent addition for better visibility when the lighting conditions are different. Three different display layouts and a high-contrast black-background display are available to the rider.
Smartphone integration has been improved with Honda’s new RoadSync app, providing turn-by-turn navigation along with call, message and music controls. To control these added features, Honda has updated the switchgear with a four-way joystick on the left handlegrip and moved to a joypad setup so one can intuitively control the interface without having to take the hands off the handlebars.
The Transalp keeps its wide range of electronics, such as the 5 riding modes (Sport, Standard, Rain, Gravel, and a customizable User mode) which determine power delivery, engine brake and the level of traction control intervention. For those that love to tweak, the bike features 4 levels of engine power, 3 levels of engine braking and 5 settings for traction control.
Price and Availability
2025 Transalp XL750 commands a price tag of 1.32 million yen (around Rs. 7.74 lakh) in Japan, which makes it 55,000 yen expensive (roughly Rs. 32,000) than the outgoing version. It will be available in Japan on May 29th before making its way to other markets subsequently.
In India, Honda sells the old Transalp at a price of Rs 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom). So we can look forward to the 2025 model to cost a premium of about Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh when it finds its way here later in the year. At this price range, the Transalp will face stiff competition from the likes of Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, BMW F 900 GS, and Triumph Tiger 900.
A considered evolution over revolution, the 2025 Honda XL750 Transalp is merely an exercise in finessing what is already a fine machine with incremental enhancements in design, comfort, and technology for the future. It’s a much more road-oriented ADV that is easy to ride, comfortable and capable in a more limited, but well-rounded range of off-road, than the old one. For those looking for a cross-continent trailie with reasonable road dynamics then the updated Transalp is going to be hard to ignore.