Finding favour with round-the-world explorers and daily commuters, who valued its easygoing nature and near bulletproof build, sales only started to falter with the introduction of the first generation of bigger, badder and more powerful adventure bikes.
But the game's changing - and with the recent revival of the middleweight market, the Transalp is back with a vengeance; and with Honda's eye for detail, the same motor as the new Hornet, and a super-competitive price point, it has all the right stuff to take it to the increasingly stiff competition.
I was lucky enough to snag an invite to the launch of the new Transalp in sunny Portugal last year and found myself properly impressed; comfy, characterful and great handling, despite that towering 21-inch front wheel. But belting along the sun-soaked smooth Tarmac in the hills above Faro isn't quite the same as dodging potholes on the B-roads and back lanes of Lincolnshire and Norfolk when the rain's lashing down. Would it stack up?
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