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22nd photos
Thorsten Dentges
1/22
30 years of the Transalp – rally tour with the original: Honda Transalp.
Thorsten Dentges
2/22
Honda dealer Schmid still offers a warranty despite almost 80,000 kilometers.
Thorsten Dentges
3/22
Where the asphalt ends and beyond. That’s exactly where I want to go!
Thorsten Dentges
4/22
Analog route planning: search for routes in the evening…
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5/22
…find way during the day. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work.
Thorsten Dentges
6/22
Early riser fuel: black espresso
Thorsten Dentges
7/22
High altitude in the Valais near Verbier: mountaineers know that the valley is at its most beautiful when viewed from above.
Thorsten Dentges
8/22
High mass for motorcycle mountaineers: the epic asphalt pass to the Col de l’Iseran.
Thorsten Dentges
9/22
Tranny as a Sherpa with 25 kilos of luggage: tireless.
Thorsten Dentges
10/22
Driver at six in the morning: groggy.
Thorsten Dentges
11/22
Frazer Nash oldtimer meeting at Col Agnel.
Thorsten Dentges
12/22
Between Valle Variata and Valle Po – stimulating enduro hiking in Piedmont.
Thorsten Dentges
13/22
Finally arrived! Rider and motorcycle as a unit for on- and off-road in Liguria.
Thorsten Dentges
14/22
Tourist highlights: Ligurian border ridge road…
Thorsten Dentges
15/22
…and picturesque alleys in Apricale, in some places barely two meters wide.
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16/22
Apricale, base camp for the LGKS.
Thorsten Dentges
17/22
Transalp dream with the Honda Transalp.
Thorsten Dentges
18/22
It leads on a narrow ribbon to the remote Fort Central through fairytale mountain backdrops.
Thorsten Dentges
19/22
At the bustling destination: Monaco.
Thorsten Dentges
20/22
Rally destination Monaco with Pastis, hooray! Motorway return: caustic!
Thorsten Dentges
21/22
After 3000 kilometers of touring, the Conti TKC 80 is off duty.
Thorsten Dentges
22/22
Oil consumption of the old Transalp: about 600 ml over 1000 km.
30 years of the Transalp – rally tour with the original
Like back then
In 1987 the Honda Transalp opened up new perspectives for travelers. The era of the first motorcycle SUV ended in 2012 – at least for the time being. For the model anniversary, a used machine from the first series started out on new adventures. The old way.
Enter your PIN, confirm – now it’s mine! 900 euros are transferred to the account of Honda dealer Guido Schmid in Bermatingen, two ignition keys go from his hand to mine. The gold piece is still in the showroom, but soon in front of my door. The “gold piece” is a PD06 from the first series with metallic paint, almost 30 years old, with 78,000 kilometers under its belt. Whatever you can see on her. Not a spruced-up collector’s vehicle, but actually a used one. In the course of research on Lake Constance, this was a spontaneous, uncomplicated motorcycle purchase, while driving by, so to speak. But honestly, can you go wrong with a Honda Transalp, this machine with an indestructible nimbus, at this price including dealer guarantee? Maybe yes, but I don’t care now, I’m finally closing the gap, settling an old open bill. Because only I didn’t have them yet, otherwise I had them all, at least in Tête-à-Têtes: All machines that correspond to my inclinations as a gravel-fixated man with lust on narrow, steep serpentines and scarred asphalt. Because I don’t like the smooth, the fixed, the controllable – I want stones rolled in the way, have to take blows, look into abysses. The Honda Transalp seems to me the right playmate for this.
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30 years of the Transalp – rally tour with the original
Like back then
Stage 1
Zurich – La Fouly • 570 km
It ships like hell. Roland puts me a strong coffee and with a frown wishes me a good trip. Wet Klausen Pass, fog, barren industrial areas, expressways. It patters against the raincoat, behind the MX goggles I feel like a diver, I breathe in fine sprayed drops through the ventilation grille, I’m cold. Switzerland and motorcycling from the rather caustic side. I maneuver awkwardly over the inhospitable Gotthard Pass, which is covered with black clouds, and I have no confidence in the curves of the fat cubes of the TKC 80 tires. I save the Tremola road, which is notorious for its slippery cobblestones. Oh, that starts well, only a few hours on the road and already longing for safe road tires, brake assistants, traction control and Gore-Tex clothes. But before I want to call myself a crybaby, the sky tears open at the top of the pass – boom – and with renewed courage I plunge the asphalt strip down into the valley. Airolo in Ticino warms me up again with a Mediterranean climate, now I want to go west, into the Valais, and the highest pass in Switzerland, the 2478 meter high Nufenen / Passo della Novena, is ideal. According to Denzel, the degree of difficulty (SG) is 3: “The route requires practice and safe driving technique on mountain roads.” Should be feasible. And indeed, grippy asphalt, smooth curves and a broad view of glaciated mountains lift the mood in thin air. But when you arrive down in Goms, the route again leads through a less attractive valley backdrop, peppered with warehouses and railway embankments. I take a break at a rustic burger joint, in front of the rest house decorated as a saloon, Sunday excursionists park on well-dressed Harleys. The choppy Honda looks out of place here, but I don’t like the bland attachments through towns anyway. I have to get out of here, out of the narrow valley, have to go high! So get your card out, look for rally-worthy challenges. Denzel reveals that there is a steep driveway to the Croix de Coeur in Riddes, up in the Verbier ski area: “… sometimes very narrow and exposed; … coarse gravel and bumpy; … Maximum gradients 18% ”; … SG 4: Even for those who are used to the mountains, difficult route, requires a level of driving ability that is far above average. ”That sounds promising. One and a half hours later: sweaty and powdered with dust, we reach solid ground again via the Col du Lein, now matured into a real team. Happy, inspired. We set up camp for the night near Montblanc, and I browse through Denzel to find out what “SG 5” says: “Very difficult and dangerous route! Only for very experienced drivers. ”Shortly before going to sleep I mumble:“ Transe, what do you mean?“
Stage 2
La Fouly-Col d’Izoard • 410 km
A headlight in the rearview mirror, framed in a white front mask with red war paint, is enlarged. Unmistakably an enduro, built in the late 1980s. Tenere drives attack on tranny. The TKCs, which were still worth gold the day before, because they bite into loose rock and through muddy earth gullies, now stumble through the asphalt hairpin bends of the Great St. Bernhard. Shit, the Yamaha sticks to the rear wheel of the Honda in corners, but it wins again and again on the straights thanks to homogeneous two-cylinder power. Oldie battle, fun. The game continues up to the top of the pass at 2,496 meters, where the Swiss pilot waves to me. So they still exist, the old warriors who give everything in every corner with a 45-horsepower stew. Instead of just talking about possible inclines, they prefer to drive. Chapeau! In the Aosta Valley, I lean back and relax in cruiser style on the slightly sagging, but well-contoured bench, Europe’s largest mountain, Montblanc, rises in front of the windshield. Sun, smell to the south, little traffic – perfect. The driveway to Lake Arpy looks as if the road builders had tailor-made a route for the Honda Transalp: tight serpentines, hardly longer than a few hundred meters long straight. The asphalt has evidently matured over the years, pitted, porous with deep longitudinal grooves that pull in the front wheel suddenly, like an ATM with an overloaded credit card. Anyone who calls for MotoGP power here is a hopeless racer with suicidal tendencies. What you need here is a good-natured motorcycle that forgives mistakes, with enough suspension travel for all imponderables. With the exception of a slight tilting in very tight bends, due to the tall tank, the Transe with wide handlebars is a good tool for this asphalt extreme climbing. The front brake, however: doughy and stucky like a wire pull from a child’s bike. So downhill it is more leisurely – is already more age-appropriate and serves health. The practice area seems endless. It feels like 1000 bends over the highest continuously tarred alpine pass to the Col de l’Iseran (2764 meters) to Susa, from there to the Colle delle Finestre, an asphalt-gravel elevator that takes a breathtaking 1675 meters of altitude within just 18 kilometers transported up to then lead to the 34 kilometer long Assietta-Kammstrabe, a wonderfully secluded, balcony-like gravel belt. Denzel says “SG 3–4”. I blink into the deep sun, breathe in crystalline mountain air and just think: Transalp dream area! As a fine dessert on the perfect day of driving, I treat myself to the Col d’Izoard at sunset, this dream pass with a lively route that now belongs to me alone. It’s too late to look for a place to stay, I camp wild under a starry sky and after eleven hours of driving I stretch my tired bones.
Stage 3
Col d’Izoard – Apricale • 320 km
The sore muscles are terrible. Woke up at five o’clock and felt the effects of the previous day. The redundant gravel shaking, the countless curve massacres, the sauna-like sweating under the protector armor in the heat of the press – everyday life is different. At 8 ° C at 1,800 meters above sea level, I peel myself off my sleeping mat and slip into my cotton clothes that are damp from the morning dew. The tranny also looks damaged. The pannier pressed on the brittle rubber of the turn signal arm, now it just hangs limply by the veins. A makeshift treatment with gaffa tape must be enough. We leave the forest clearing without breakfast and head south-east towards the Col Agnel. The tranny purrs and throws herself confidently from one bend into the next, surprisingly, the contour of the TKC 80 now seems to have been ground to such an extent by thousands of lean changes that the off-road tire has mutated into a very acceptable road rubber. The pass road to Agnel is empty at this time, but after a while we get stuck behind a pre-war classic car: Frazer Nash. Two Englishmen sit in the rustic, open vehicle, the driver with a military jacket, goggles and beret like the Air Force. And like a fighter plane, the vehicle flies over the pass. At 110 km / h, the whole load moves across the entire width of the street, in curves the loud, crackling part drifts with thin spoked wheels, so that one is afraid. Against this car, the Youngtimer Honda looks like a space glider – Tranny and I still prefer to keep our distance, overtaking is out of the question. At the top of the pass we meet a dozen conspecifics, apparently a special exit. Cold hands are rubbed, red noses are sniffed and frozen limbs are shaken. The alpine scenery at this height with the glistening, rising sun between rapidly rising clouds is impressive, but after a short rest I press the start button again. Because my Transalp rally today should lead to jobs with Denzel rating SG 5, and we urgently need energy suppliers: sugar and gasoline. Fortunately, we find it in Sampeyre. The tranny fills up with 95 octane, I choose a pudding-thick latte di cioccolato plus double espresso plus hot salami and cheese panini as fuel. Last check, the chain is greased, a little water on your face brings freshness – let’s go. The Honda dredges its way to Monte Gilba through steep, hollow-path-like sections on forest paths covered with ferns, brute stone steps compress the 200 millimeter suspension travel completely. The 50 km long Varaita-Maira-Ridge Road with coarse, loose gravel demands everything, but the narrow route rewards the off-road driver with a “panoramic drive through several climatic and vegetation levels”, as promised by Denzel, fantastic! But for today it has gone dead, the rest of the day we gondola lively through the colorful Piedmont to Apricale in Liguria. When parking, I stroke the Honda over the tank and knock the flanks in appreciation. Well done, brown!
Stage 4
Apricale – LGKS, part 1 • 160 km
The construction site light shows the number 25 seconds, I think. But are minutes. Shit, test of patience. Engine off, helmet off, zip on. The young, hip Dutch couple from the Honda Civic in front of me get out too, we start a conversation, I report on my rally so far. “What? Year built 1988? Wow, older than us, cool motorcycle! And the color is also really mega, somehow completely desert-like, looks like adventure! ”The crush is like oil for me (and certainly also tranny). Finally someone who knows how to appreciate the “Nancy Beige Metallic”. In contrast to the blasphemous tongues, which only find a clumsy umbrella term for light gold metallic, chocolatey brown and pure white: crap-colored. I admit, a good three decades ago I was a bit confused by this design, but now I like the subtle “Macchiato” look. Speaking of which: at breakfast in the guesthouse, the day started after a comfortable night in the innerspring bed with perfectly frothed milk coffee. This is how holidays taste! Oily sweat, skin encrusted with dirt – everything washed clean in a hot shower. To finally feel like a person again after swarms of flies swarmed around me at every stop. In the winding mountain village of Apricale, I also came across the group of travel endurists who are out and about with the MOTORRAD action team. Kindly I am allowed to join, because the Ligurian border ridge road, or LGKS for short, is on their program. Today we go out to try it out, groove in on hidden hinterland mountain routes on narrow and steep asphalt. Between the partly brand-new machines with up to 160 hp, protective bars and navigation systems, which alone exceed the total value of the used tranny, we feel a bit poor as a shabby duo. On loose ground, however, the cards are reshuffled. With a full tank of fuel, the 194 kilo Honda hops over fat chunks, the 21-inch front wheel leads safely through gullies, downhill bungled radii are easy to correct, and the moped does not push threateningly towards the slope. In contrast to the 1200 plus displacement monsters with 50 kilos more on the hips, the almost petite 600 easily gets in touch with the Grenzkammstrabe for the first time. The stage – this time more touring than rally – does not end until late in the evening with the last grappa after a brilliant dinner on the village square in Apricale, when the last stimulating gasoline conversations have faded away.
Stage 5
Apricale – LGKS, part 2 • 210 km
Queen’s stage Grenzkammstrabe. The old military road hewn into the rock runs between France and Italy and has always been a magical attraction for endurance travelers. Where else as an off-road driver can you get a comparable epic flow of driving? Nowadays, an entrance fee is charged for a section, on some days driving is prohibited, and who knows, maybe the LGKS for motorcycles will be closed completely in the future. But we are here: BMW GS, KTM Super Adventure and 690 Enduro, Suzuki V-Strom, Tiger XC and, aha, a newer 700er Transalp. As an experienced frequent driver on asphalt, the owner Martin stayed with the group without any problems, but now he is cramped as a gravel novice and after a few kilometers holds out his gun. The Honda also seemed stressed from the many blows, only 170 millimeters of travel and a 19-inch front wheel must be viewed as an evolutionary step backwards, at least in off-road habitat. The first series tranny, who is over 20 years older, is obviously of a completely different blood, harder boiled, jeepier. Drum brake at the rear, okay, antiquated technology from the 80s, but completely sufficient for soulful rumbling over football-sized boulders. 50 HP generated from carburettors, not great, but perfectly controllable at any time, as well as an optimally graduated gearbox that shifts smoothly even after almost 30 years of use, help you to choose clean lines on loose ground with steep ramps. Undisputedly, the tranny wears the red lantern far behind in the strict test points evaluation compared to modern travel enduros. Is an old used cucumber. And yet: Here on the LGKS it still looks fresh and crisp enough not to be left behind. On the contrary, it seems to be in its element, waving over erosion and deep transverse gullies at a height of over 2000 meters, plowing nimbly along exposed passages and unsecured eruptions. The group gathers during the lunch break at the Rifugio. Under the burning summer sun I stand in my own juice, the wax coating on the jacket melts inward and forms a greasy film on the skin. The jeans are so dirty that you could just put them in the corner. It is no different for the others in their Gore-Tex clothes, they also look checkmated. But nobody complains, nobody complains. This is not for those who want to chauffeur from a burger house to the next ice cream parlor as comfortably as possible. They should stay down in the valley. If you want to go high, where not everyone is stepping on their feet, you have to make an effort, you have to enter into a bond with your machine, you have to awaken the spirit of sport. Then you come back down with a swollen chest. This is not a competition, but you still feel like a winner, regardless of the machine. Dear tranny, you were the first in the motorcycle all-around event “Rally Touring”, your and my favorite discipline. We have gotten older and maybe not as fit as we were back then. But now we are here, we have survived five stages and more than 2000 demanding kilometers. And felt alive like we haven’t in a long time. For me you stay a winner!
epilogue
Monaco sucks. Dirty traffic, standstill, traffic jams. Certain zones are closed to motorcycles, or do I just look too dirty in my dusty motorcycle clothing with the unwashed tranny for the places where the fine people park their luxury cars? In any case, in Monte Carlo in front of the casino I am evicted from my seat, and when I stop in front of the Rolex shop, a policeman rushes over to ask me about my intentions. Lamborghinis, Maseratis and Rolls-Royce push their way forward in long columns at walking pace, with the Honda I roll slowly and grinning past it to the marina. As promised, order pastis, take a photo and then saddle up again. Because after beguiling days in the Alps, the finish of my very personal Transalp rally is a complete turn-off, so let’s get out of here!
Autobahn sucks. Over 800 stifling kilometers that eat up too much oil and tires. In the absence of external stimuli, I pull myself back into my helmet, let my thoughts run free, while my buttocks slowly sit flat. Now knees and shoulders get tired too, and to top it all off, the engine cuts out every now and then. Ignition, spray supply? Damn it, but while the machine is running I’ll postpone the diagnosis to home. Mental arithmetic to distract attention from the autobahn stupor. Gasoline consumption: minimum 4.16, maximum 6.03 liters. Oil consumption after 2500 kilometers: a good 1.5 liters. It’s okay with this high mileage. After hours of straight-ahead driving, the rear tire is angular and useless for further tours. It will soon give way to a more manageable TKC 70 that is more suitable for long distances, which, in my summary, would have been more than enough for my Transalp rally, although the rustic evergreen TKC 80 was a safe bet in muddy and exposed passages. Such routes, legally passable, which go beyond the highest Denzel level of difficulty, are not so easy to find in Europe. Pyrenees, Balkans, Carpathians? Nice mind games during the exhausting journey home. In the last few meters it sails like hell, mileage now almost 81,000. Transe, we will move out again, won’t we? We wanted adventure and we found it. Stuck together and were wild like then. And say: whether rally or touring, off-road or road, adventure, no matter what is on your motorcycles and how old they are – don’t hesitate, just drive off!
Info
Organized yourself or with the MOTORRAD action team: a trip to the Ligurian border ridge road is considered a pilgrimage for rally tourists.
On the trail of the Transalp rally: As a solo driver you should have some experience for the off-road sections and feel safe even on coarse gravel. Please consider: Even brisk drivers and off-road experts should not travel at a higher average speed than about approx Calculate 50 km / h, sometimes exhausting driving times of over eleven hours resulted. Not fit enough? No problem, most of the connecting routes (“liaison”) are also recommended as great Alpine tours.
Guided tour: The MOTORRAD action team is offering the six-day “Piedmont-Liguria” tour for endurance travelers, which starts in Chur / Switzerland. The trip is an ideal start for budding rally tourists, after all, the unpaved mountain and military roads in north-west Italy, including the Ligurian border ridge road, are considered Europe’s top area for adventure riders. Requirements: Off-road experience and very good motorcycle control for daily stages of 150 to 450 kilometers. More information: www.actionteam.de
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