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Honda’s Best Approachable Adventure Bike Just Got a Rugged Retro Revise

Revisit the radness of the eighties with this special tri-colored treatment featuring some rough-and-ready built-in accessories.

Close-up of a white Honda Transalp SP motorcycle fuel tank and handlebars with blue and red graphics.Honda
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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A couple of concurrent motorcycle trends converge in a delightful new motorcycle from Honda.

One is the movement toward more approachable small to midsize adventure bikes, which have less power than the heavyweights but are also lighter and easier to ride.

White, blue, and red Honda Transalp 750 adventure motorcycle with gold rims and protective crash bars.
The Transalp SP’s retro-themed vinyl kit carries major ’80s off-road rally energy.
Honda

The other is the seemingly endless appeal of anything with authentically introduced retro aesthetics. 

Enter the XL750 Transalp SP, a limited new release that offers a blend of approachability and throwback style, with a bit of extra toughness thrown in for good measure.

Gnarly vintage vibes

From the jump, I should say that this bike is limited to the UK market (bollocks!) and the differences between it and the standard 2025 Transalp are largely aesthetic. 

The bike plays some irresistible retro notes via its color scheme, a white base festooned with red and blue graphics that call to mind Honda’s first forays into off-roading. 

Close-up of a white, blue, and red Honda Transalp motorcycle with a silver crash bar and blue seat.
The SP branding is quite minimal, appearing only on the front mudguard and the gas tank.
Honda

Though the Africa Twin may be the first Honda adventure bike you think of, the Transalp actually pre-dates it by a year or two.

The first Honda ADV to hit US shores (in 1989), the nameplate was born in 1987 — and this bike’s graphics definitely echo some of the earliest editions.

Close-up of a white Honda Transalp SP 750 motorcycle fuel tank and seat with blue and red graphics.
Just because the look goes back to the ’80s doesn’t mean you won’t have access to a modern 5-inch full-color TFT display that lets you toggle through five ride modes and four levels of Honda Selectable Torque Control.
Honda

Beyond the rally-inspired livery, it also features light SP badging on the front mudguard and at the base of the 4.5-gallon tank.

The bike also boasts some rugged bolt-on accessories to justify the £600 (~$800) bump over the outgoing 2025 Transalp: an engine guard, front side pipe, skid plate and all required attachments. 

Close-up of a motorcycle engine with a black casing, silver crash bars, and a silver skid plate, showing part of the front wheel with a gold rim.
The front side pipe, engine guard and skid plate protect critical components from rough terrain and tipovers.
Honda

Everything else mirrors the 2025 model year bike, highlighted by the 755cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine making a lively 89 horsepower at 9,500rpm and 55 Lb-ft of torque at 7,250rpm.

The suspension system features Showa 43mm SFF-CA USD forks with 200mm (7.9 inches) of travel up front and a monoshock damper with 190mm (7.5 inches) of travel out back.

Close-up of the rear section of a white, blue, and red Honda Transalp 750 motorcycle with a blue seat and gold wheel.
The overall look is a winner, but I agree with one of the top gripes on the original Instagram post: black (or even silver) rims would be preferable to these gold ones.
Honda

Braking is handled by a two-piston brake caliper gripping a 310mm floating double disc up front and a single-piston caliper teamed with 256mm single disc at the rear.

Meanwhile, one performance quality is perhaps soon to be as old-school as the look. Unlike the 2026 edition of the bike, the SP is manual only, meaning no E-Clutch tech to ease the shifting process.

Availability and pricing

The Honda XL750 Transalp SP is scheduled to roll into UK dealerships in January 2026 at a starting price of £10,499, which is roughly equivalent to $14,000.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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