Bike test:Honda's Transalp CL700V has the looks, the handling prowess and an engine roar to match, writes Geoff Hill
Funny old thing, but although Honda are the biggest bike manufacturer on the planet, I had only ridden three of them.
There was that transcontinental cruising machine the Pan-European, as stable at 0.5mph as it was flat out; there was my brother's VFR 800, as sweet and civilised a bike as you could wish for; and there was my friend Paul's Africa Twin, a big, rough bruiser of a bike for real men who want to be in Timbuktu for teatime.
Well, that's what Paul said, anyway.
I'd always known that the Transalp was the baby brother of the Africa Twin, so I expected a fairly similar riding experience, but, how wrong can you be.
For a start, the latest incarnation of the 20-year-old Transalp design is such a slick piece of kit that it will have owners of the older versions sighing, then reaching for their cheque book with infinite regret. It's a superb looking machine, especially in the barley yellow metallic colour scheme of the test bike.
If I'd had a fiver for everyone who came to me over the two days we had it, I'd probably have saved up enough for the deposit on one.
Start the engine, and you get a rorty, snorty burble from the V-twin so that on the road you'll probably find yourself accelerating then slowing down just for the visceral pleasure of it.
I climbed aboard, and it wasn't long before I got to test the ABS, thanks to a blind taxi driver who pulled out just in front of me in heavy rain just 50 yards down the road.
I hauled on the front brake and muttered something I can't print in a newspaper, but the Transalp didn't bat an eyelid, or whatever bikes bat, and I sailed on down the road alive and impressed.
I was even more impressed with the clutch and gearbox, a marriage made in heaven if ever I saw one, producing gear changes as sweet as any bike I've ever ridden.
And after several months of testing Triumphs, that is praise indeed.
Even better, since this is a narrow bike weighing only 219kg, it's perfect for filtering through traffic, especially with handling so superb that, for the first time in my life, I was able to put a bike on full lock and potter around in a circle on clutch control. Remarkable.
Out on the open road, and that engine is still lively and responsive right up to motorway speeds, even taking into account the fact that I was keeping the revs down because the test bike had only 100 miles on the clock.
All in all, Honda have come up with a winner here: a great-looking mid-range bike at a decent price that's perfect for commuting, Sunday afternoon rideouts, a bit of off-roading if you fancy it, and summer holidays across the Alps.
Just like it says on the tank, funny enough.
"The handling is so superb that I was able to put the bike on full lock and potter around in a circle on clutch control. Remarkable
Factfile
Engine/transmission:680cc, 52-degree V-twin four-stroke with eight valves; 59bhp at 7,750rpm, 44lb ft torque at 5,500rpm. Five-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance:top speed, 115mph est, average fuel consumption n/a
Colours available:barley yellow, anchor grey, carmelian red, moody blue, all metallic.
Price:On the road price of non-ABS Transalp is €8,799. ABS version not available here.
Test bike supplied by Belfast Honda