{"id":2232,"date":"2026-01-18T16:59:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/?p=2232"},"modified":"2026-01-18T16:59:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:59:51","slug":"transalp-xl750-16000-miles-later-why-im-going-all-in-with-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/01\/18\/transalp-xl750-16000-miles-later-why-im-going-all-in-with-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Transalp XL750 \u2013 16,000 Miles Later | Why I\u2019m Going All-In With Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After 16,000 miles on the Honda Transalp XL750, I\u2019ve finally recorded the long-term review I\u2019ve been meaning to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t a first-ride impression, and it\u2019s not a spec-sheet performance. It\u2019s the real-world version. The bike as a companion. The bike as transport. The bike as something you actually live with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And here\u2019s the headline: <strong>the Captain has been brilliant.<\/strong> Reliable, capable, easy to ride, easy to trust. It\u2019s an 80s icon reborn in the 2020s, and it didn\u2019t take long to understand why the Transalp name has regained hero status. I\u2019ve enjoyed it. Properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the video I walk through the bike and the way I set it up for real use \u2014 the engine character and riding modes, the quick shifter, comfort, the seat swap (official black seat, 20mm lower than the original blue one, which made a massive difference for my confidence at stops), heated grips, luggage, and the practical bits like Quadlock and cameras. Not as \u201csales items\u201d, but as part of honest ownership: what worked, what helped, and what made the bike easier to live with over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Transalp XL750 \u2013 16,000 Mile Review | Why I\u2019m Selling It\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_ihMYOSWCDM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So why am I selling it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not because it failed me. Not because it isn\u2019t good enough. Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m handing the Captain back to <strong>HGB<\/strong> so it can go to a new owner who\u2019ll use it properly, because my life has changed since Phoenix came along. I\u2019ve shown that both the Transalp and the Vespa can do long-distance riding \u2014 they just do it differently. And right now, the Vespa lifestyle fits me better. The pace, the simplicity, the everyday freedom. Phoenix has become the centre of my two-wheeled world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want the full story, the 16,000 mile review video is now live on my YouTube channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next stop: <strong>Weston<\/strong>. \u2705<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ride sharp. Live loud. Stay free.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After 16,000 miles with the Transalp XL750, I\u2019ve filmed the honest long-term review \u2014 and explained why I\u2019m selling it and going all-in with Phoenix and the Vespa lifestyle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[290,5],"tags":[344,361,360,211,359,308],"class_list":["post-2232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-reviews","tag-honda-transalp","tag-long-term-review","tag-motorcycle-ownership","tag-phoenix","tag-transalp-xl750","tag-vespa-lifestyle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Transalp-XL750-\u2013-16000-Mile-Review-scaled.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2234,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232\/revisions\/2234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}