Motosikleti fark ettiğim yıllarda gözüme çarpan bir araçtı. O zamanlar motosiklet sahibi olabilmem hayaldi, ancak hayallerimi süslüyordu zaten. Sade, akıcı ve temiz çizgileri, renkli heyecanlı ama aşırıya kaçmayan grafikleri, kimi modeldeki altın renkli jantlar, mutlaka ayırt edebileceğiniz harika dolgun sesi.
Evet, fark etmiştim onu, uzaklara gidebilmenin en güzel yoluydu o.
Honda Transalp için ne denir;
– Ağırbaşlı yol arkadaşı.
– Kaskı başında motorcunun aklı başında motosikleti.
– Chevrolet
Buna benzer deyimler uzatılabilir, ancak şurası net; topraktan petrol çıktıkmaya devam ettiği sürece var olabilecek yegane araçlardan biridir.
XL 400V (Bazı ülkelerde)
Her ne kadar 1987 – 2013 yılları arasında imal edilmiş olsa da, tamamen 90’lardaki motosiklet teknolojisi ve anlayışını temsil etmektedir. Ben de 2006-2010 yılları arasında 2006 model 650 cc bir örneğini kullanma şansım olmuştu. Hala sesini, konforunu, sağlamlığını unutamam.
XL 600V (1. versiyon)
Kimi motosikletçi onu; bir üst modeli olan Africa Twin’in gölesinde kalan alt modeli olarak tanımlasa da, ben öyle düşünmüyorum. Çünkü daha konforlu bir tur motosikleti olarak görürüm. Enduro geometrisinde tasarlanmış, toprak yolda, asfaltta, çantalı kullanabileceğiniz, rahat bir araçtır. Zaten üzerinde Rally Touring yazar. Genel maksatlı. Tam bir İsviçre çakısı.
Diğer araçlardan ayıran temel özelliği ise sorunsuz ve çok sağlam olmasıdır. Onunla gece, gündüz, yağmur, güneş ayırt etmeksizin yola çıkabilirsiniz. Yeter ki bakımlarını zamanında kitabında belirttiği şekilde yapın. Size hizmete hazırdır.
Kısaca onunla kötü sürpriz yaşamazsınız. Sevdiklerinize güzel sürprizler yaşatmanıza yardımcı olur.
Şahsen bu güveni ve keyfi yaşadım.
XL 600V (2. versiyon) – 1999, 50. Yıl
Yakıt tüketimi günümüz araçlarından bir miktar yüksektir. İki silindirli V yapıdaki motoru 2 adet karbüratör ile beslenmektedir. Honda bu seride kullandığı RD kodlu motor ünitelerini yüksek performanstan ziyade sorunsuz ve uzun ömürlü olmasın hedeflemiş. Aynı motor ünitesi 400 cc ile 750 cc arasında çeşitli güç oranları ile birden çok araçta kullanılmıştır, mesela Africa Twin, Deauville, Shadow serilerinde.
Japon motosiklet endüstrisinin tipik bir ürünüdür. Japonlar rekabet etmek zorunda kalmadıkça genelde fazla hareket etmek ihtiyacı duymuyorlar sanki. Satış rakamları uzun yıllar boyunca yeterli kaldı ki, üründe temel değişiklik yapma ihtiyacı duymadılar. Ta ki rakip üreticilerin deplasman ağırlığı daha az, enjeksiyon beslemeli, ABS fren sistemli ürünleri piysayı kaplayıncaya kadar. Örneğin BMW F650 GS, Suzuki V-Strom, Kawasaki Versys…
XL 650V
Değişen koşullara son bir hamle ile uyum sağlayan XL700V, geliştirilen ve enjeksiyon beslemeli 700 cc ye yükseltilen motoru, ABS ile donatılmış fren sistemi ile aslında tüm ihtiyaçları karşılamaktaydı. Hatta kimi kullanıcılar tarafından eleştirilen 21″ çapında ön jant 19″ bile olmuştu. Ancak iki detay değişemiyordu; ağırdı ve yakıt tüketimi rakiplerinden yüksekti. İşte bu durum Transalp’i yolun sonuna getirmişti. Eldeki şasi, V2 motor buraya kadar dayandı.
Honda XL700V’yi bir kaç yıllık imalat süresinin sonunda kaldırdı.
XL 700V
Geçmişte bu duruma düşen bir Africa Twin örneği vardır. Uzun yıllar boyunca ağır yol şartlarına göre hazırlanmış ve gerçek bir efsane haline gelmiş Africa Twin 2003 yılında bantlardan çekildi ve 2015 sonuna kadar imal edilmedi. Honda adeta onu bir sanatçının yüzünü dinlendirmesi gibi sakladı. Artık değişen kullanıcı profilinin istekleri doğrultusunda günümüz dünya şartlarına uygun bambaşka bir motor bloğu ve teknik detaylar ile güncelleyip piyasaya sundu.
Umuyoruz ki bir gün yeniden ve güncel Honda Transalp’i sürme şansımız olur.
Son yıllarda yenilemek ve kullanabilmek maksatıyla 600 cc olan XL600V çok aradım. Hatta bunun için birgün İzmir’e bile gittim, ancak ülkemizde motosiklet kullanıcılarının bir kısmı ne yazık ki araçlarının bakımlarını zamanında ve yetkili servislerde yapmaya hevesli değil. Avrupa plakalı 20-25 yaşında tertemiz araçları görüp imrenmemek elde değil. Aynı zamanda ülkemizde 10 yaşında hurdaları fark etmek çok üzücü.
Aşağıda internet üzerindeki çeşitli klüplerden ve meraklıların sayfararından, forumlardaki yazışmalarından toplayabildiğim bazı teknik bilgileri görebilirsiniz. Kısa bir ayıklama ve tasnif sonrasında çeviri yapmadan yerleştirdim, umarım Transalp tutkunlarına yardımcı olur.
Ertuğrul Ortaç
Ocak 2016
Honda Trail Bike Forums
http://www.xrv.org.uk/
Bu sitede çok ilginç detay ve bilgiler bulabilirsiniz;
Transalp Club Netherlands
– Transalp 10 years (1987-1997) –
Interview with Mr. Matsuhashi, engineer-in-chief of the development of the Honda Transalp XL 600V
Question: Ten years have passed since the introduction of the first generation Transalp. As “large project leader” for the development of this machine that must be a special experience. What was the idea behind the Transalp ?
Answer: There is a Japanese saying “ten years is far away”. I realise that to. I am impressed and the idea that a motorcycle that was developed by our team has been a success for ten years makes me proud. It proves that the original idea was good and that it appealed to the market. As the name Transalp indicates, it was originally designed for travelling through European cities, mountains and valleys.
To ensure that the machine was accepted by a broad audience, it had to be comfortable and had to have exciting riding capabilities, without quickly tiring the rider. The biggest challenge then was to determine what “riding comfort” really meant. We assumed that the following list contributed to the rider’s comfort and the machine’s performance.
* eliminate uncomfortable air streams during riding (wind protection)
* an comfortable and relaxed seat position (knee space)
* a powerfull, flexible engine (V-twin)
* easy and reliable ignition (electrical start)
* riding comfort (long suspension travel)
* good steering managebility and stability (Pro-link rear suspension)
* maintenance free or at least very little maintence needs(very stiff double [wiegframe] and swing-arm).
Question: The fairing of the Transalp is one with the tank and side panels of the bike. That was never seen before on an on/off-road bike, ten years ago, I think. When did that idea came up ? Was that already at the start of development ? And how was the design influenced by the Paris-Dakar-machine ?
Answer: Originally the bike had separate panels next to the radiator. The most difficult decision to take was to change the design. In the final stages of the development we tested the usability of the design, by using the parts from the specially designed molds. The Transalp prototype then had conventional wind protection. The dashboard and head light where close to the handle bars and enwrapped by the front fairing. The radiator side panels where mounted to the side of the tank.I remember very well that, when we were in Europe for marketing discussions, children saw the bike and said “that bike looks like an elefant”. The fairing design was highly influenced by the Honda prototypes for the Paris-Dakar rally. Paris-Dakar was very popular in France and Italy. It was in January of the first production year of the Transalp, when a HRC-build 750 cm3 V-twin Honda won the Paris-Dakar rally. This bike had a progressive design: fairing, side panels and tank were one. I remember that the design team at Honda R & D Asaka Centre started designing the Transalp based on that prototype.Marketing departments and representatives of the R & D staff met in May and June in Europe. The development of the Transalp was one of the most important items on their agenda. After many discussions and much talk they decided to change the Transalp design.That happend in June after the molds for the original design were already finished. That involved about 40 million Yen. Still the decision was in favor of the new design because of better managebility and stability. It is my opinion that the new design was more attractive than the old one, that was compared to an elefant.
Question: Were there any changes during development other than in the design ?
Answer: The first prototype was powered by a 500 cm3 engine, based on the VT500. After testing in Europe was completed, the conclusion was that, despite the high torque of the V-twin, the engine lacked power. The test riders from both Germany and France shared that opinion with the marketing people and said “the bike needs more power, the best solution is a larger engine”. New meetings followed and finally was decided to go for a 600 cm3 engine. This was a good decision because the performance and riding comfort where in harmony immediately. The power curve is almost straight and the engine delivers enough power and torque at all revs. We also decided to make the cilinders look like they are air cooled, despite the fact that it is a liquid cooled engine. I think that these details give the Transalp its special attraction.The Transalp later saw Africa Twin models with 650 and 750 cm3 engines. We considered a bigger engine for the Transalp but thought that would ruin its unique character. Once again prove that designing a motor cycle is not an easy task.
Question: Are there any special things worth mentioning about the European tests ?
Answer: One important subject of the test rides was whether the managebility and riding properties were in balance. These two have a habit of disagreeing. It’s possible that better managebility results in less stability. Before we came to Europe, we tested the bike in Japan especially for manageability, because the Transalp is a mix of standard and off-road models. On the German Autobahn we realised how imortant comfort is at high speeds.The most imortant things that contribute to excellent manageability and comfort, are the double [wiegframe] and the construction of the rear [vork[ inbetween frame and engine. The rear [vork] axle thus doubles as engine support. And of course Honda’s unique Pro-Link rear suspension was incorporated in the design from the beginning. During the European tests we also evaluated ease of maintenance. For example, you see a strange tube run through filter and filter housing. That’s for easy acces to the carburettor, for maintenance. That’s one of the changes that came from the tests.
Question: Is it safe to say that the Transalp is the result of the combined efforts of the European Honda team and members of the Japanese R & D team ?
Answer: Absolutely, yes. We had a lot of deliberations with just one goal in mind: improve the design. The enthusiasm for motor cycles was identical despite the geographical and cultural differences between Europe and Japan. We experienced a very satisfying moment when the test team, shortly before returning to Japan, congratulated us saying: “thank you very much for designing such a fantastic product”. Right then I realised the truth in one of Honda’s filosofies: “the joy of manufacturing”.
Question: So the Transalp was almost perfect from the beginning ?
Answer: I admit that the rear brake could have been more powerfull, especially because the bike finally had a little more weight due to the design changes. The front brake was powerfull enough though. Considering the experiences of journalists that have tested the Transalp, the next model had a bigger rear brake, which was finally replaced with a disk brake.
Another novelty on the the next generation Transalp was a larger front screen. A modification based on the result of research for the physical differences and differences in seat position between European and Japanese riders. Among the optional parts was a much taller windscreen. We decided to keep the standard screenlength and leave the rest to European accessory manufacturers. The favorite dashboard design was also a subject of differences in opinion. Over all you can say that the Transalp is a motor cycle designed for the European continent.
Question: Is the Transalp based on the wishes of the European offices or was the project initiated by the Japanese R & D team ?
Answer: At first the European people and the Japanese designers discussed the possibilities of a new motor cycle based on a totally new concept, intended to be appreciated by the French and Italian riders. As a result of this e decided to build a new bike based on a V-twin engine. The Asaka R & D team headed off with detailed talks with the racers, European marketing people and engineers. I think that the Transalp is a bike, that was created by the enthusiasm of a lot of people and the approval of European customers. At the first press presentation the Transalp was presented as “a Japanese bike, developed in close cooperation between Europe and Japan, intended for the European rider”. Today it is a true European machine whose production is done in Italy and whose continued development is done in Europe and Japan. The bike itself has matured in the last 10 years.
Question: What can you tell us about yourself ?
Answer: Initially I was in charge of the design of the bikes. Later I was asked to become “large project leader” for the development of the three major off-road bikes, the Transalp, Africa Twin and Dominator. I was also involved in the development of several other off-road models. My last assignment, in 1995, was with the new generation XR250R, the original Honda off-road model. After that I was transferred to the Kumamoto factory, where I am working on the production process.
Y o l d a y ı z . b i z 