Reduced-power Transalp
Hello everyone!
First, let me apologize for not writing in German. Unfortunately, I can't speak German, but I am really thankful for this opportunity to ask you a few questions.
I live in Spain, in the city of Alicante, and the reason I'm writing in a German forum is my gorgeous 1998 Transalp comes from München. I bought it from a german guy I met here. Ok, right to the point: the Spanish laws forbid an inexperienced driver from driving any bike with more than 34HP in his first two years. I understand you have something similar in Germany, so the guy who sold me the Transalp got the bike limited for me before he left München. He got a certificate and the engineer certifying the import here in Spain certified 34HP too. Now, two years have passed and I am entitled to ride my beloved Transalp full-powered (yoo-hooo!) so I took it to my official Honda dealer for a tyre replacement and the power modification. The mechanic expected the Honda narrower intake mainfolds, but found the standard ones instead. Then he said he had no clue why someone would reduce the bike's power with other method than replacing those intake mainfolds. However, he replaced the parts (the old ones presented quite a bit of wear after 8 years of service!) but has told me not to expect a power raise. He told me either the Transalp's power was reduced by a "non-standard" procedure, or the power was not reduced at all to begin with thus the mileage of the motor was causing the reduction. Honestly, I think the power loss (regarding to what I consider normal) is too high to blame the roughly 85,000 km the bike has on it. On the ride back home, I found the bike behaving exactly as before, so I gather the power was reduced by some other means. My question is if you know about any other methods german mechanics use to reduce a Transalp's power, so I can tell my mechanic what to look for. In addition, if there was a test I could perform to know if my Transalp is 34 or 53 HP I'd appreciate it. As of now, I can't get it past 7,000 rpm no matter how, and with a pillion it does 130 km/h at top speed after 10 minutes of full throttle. The air and oil filters have been replaced every 8,000 km and now are two months old. Any clue?
Thank you very much for your time and patience for reading this. Take care and enjoy your rides! Regards,
Diego.
Hi Diego,
First, let me apologize for my bad technical English and not speaking Spanish. 
So I'd like you to tell about another method to low-power the Transalp. Perhaps you have a blockade for the throttle cable inside the carburetter which avoids you can open the throttle for 100%. The speed of 130-140 km/h and the limited rpm would characterize this. This is also a standard procedure in germany which is easy to execute.
It also might be helpful if you could upload a copy of the german papers you should have on a webspace and send us the link. So we can see how your Transalp is low-powered in fact.
You're welcome,
Bernhard
Thanks Bernhard for your answer. Please, no apologies whatsoever, I'm very happy to get any reply you offer me! I didn't know the reducing procedure would be specifically stated in german documentation. That was a great idea!
Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner with me right now, so I cannot show you the actual documents, but I'll have one later, so maybe I can upload some scans later tonight or tomorrow morning.
As you suggested, among my german documentation I've found what seems to be and invoice for a "leistung reduzier" (I guess it's a power-reduction). It states "Leistung kW bei min^-1" is K25/6800 and the "Höchstgeschwindigkeit km/h" as 145. It also says the reduction has been made "durch Alpha Technik, kennz.: BOE14*". Using a translator program I've found out the meaning of some of the words, so I gather the performance was reduced to 145 km/h maximum, 25 kW (aprox. 34 horse powers) and 6800 rpm max. (which matches my Transalp's current behaviour) using the standard procedure "Alpha Technik" according to "BOE14" (an official bulleting, I guess). What I'd need to know is what "Alpha Technik" stands for, as I have no clue.
Again, thanks to all of you who took the time to read this entry. Have fun,
Diego.
Hi,
> a "leistung reduzier" (I guess it's a power-reduction).
Right.
> It also says
> the reduction has been made "durch Alpha Technik,
> kennz.: BOE14*".
> What I'd need to know is
> what "Alpha Technik" stands for, as I have no
> clue.
Alpha Technik it the name of a company whith offeres products to reduce the power of a bike.
Using google i have found this:
http://www.alphatechnik.de/medien/Leistungsreduzierungen_Motorrad_061006.pdf
In this document alpha technik offers on page 25 a Ansaugblende and a Gasanschlag (Gaswegbegrenzer) to reduce the power of a Honda Transalp (PD06 and PD10).
Bernhard allready told you about the Gasanschlag but i cant translate "Ansaugblende" 
I hope Bernd or your translation programm will do it for me
Regards Tobias
Hi again,
> In this document alpha technik offers on page 25 a
> Ansaugblende and a Gasanschlag (Gaswegbegrenzer) to reduce
> the power of a Honda Transalp (PD06 and PD10).
> Bernhard allready told you about the Gasanschlag but i
> cant translate "Ansaugblende"
Ok, Tobias found the appropriate document in german from the Alphatechnik homepage. Alphatechnik sells power reducing kits which are cheaper than the original ones from Honda.
The power was reduced by a "Gasanschag", which is the blockade for the throttle cable and should be found in the carburetter as I already wrote.
And the second part for the power reduction is a "Ansaugblende", which is as far as i know a metal plate with a hole, which reduces the diameter coming from the carburetter to the inside of the cylinder. In fact both cylinders of course.
Removing both parts of power reducing should give you original 50 HP back.
So, have fun and keep riding. And would you please give us a note, if you were successful?
Thanks,
Bernhard
Hi,
> The mechanic expected the Honda narrower intake mainfolds,
> but found the standard ones instead.
The german narrow intake manifolds are usuarly marked whith "20kW" on the outside.
I dont have to tell you about the cheapest way to reduse the power of a bike by using a blockade for the throttle because Bernhard allready did it.
Regards Tobias
Hi you all!
Well, after all the research, the wait and your kind advice, I finally got the limitation removed. Sadly, I think my mechanic made a mistake at some point, because my Transalp is not working properly. This evening I went to get it from the workshop and decided to have a test ride. At first it sounded weird (as if it was "unbalanced") but I thought that the engine could be cold and the fuel suply could be unstable due to carburettors' disassembly. But after a while, with the engine warmed up, I couldn't get it past 5500 rpm. It sounded very loud, but when I tried to shift gears and open the throttle again, it would "bump". It is the same response as when you are running out of fuel: the bike would "pull and stop" and loose power. Maybe the mechanic didn't remove the limitation from the other carburettor? Does the bike need any aditional checking/tuning after power limitation removal? Maybe syncing carbs or other stuff that I am too illiterate to know? Now I'm really pissed off about my mechanic, because I am worried my Transalp could be damaged. Any ideas?
Again, thanks for your time. Take care and enjoy your rides,
Diego.
> Hi you all!
> Well, after all the research, the wait and your kind
> advice, I finally got the limitation removed. Sadly, I
> think my mechanic made a mistake at some point, because my
> Transalp is not working properly. This evening I went to
> get it from the workshop and decided to have a test ride.
> At first it sounded weird (as if it was
> "unbalanced") but I thought that the engine could
> be cold and the fuel suply could be unstable due to
> carburettors' disassembly. But after a while, with the
> engine warmed up, I couldn't get it past 5500 rpm. It
> sounded very loud, but when I tried to shift gears and open
> the throttle again, it would "bump". It is the
> same response as when you are running out of fuel: the bike
> would "pull and stop" and loose power. Maybe the
> mechanic didn't remove the limitation from the other
> carburettor? Does the bike need any aditional
> checking/tuning after power limitation removal? Maybe
> syncing carbs or other stuff that I am too illiterate to
> know? Now I'm really pissed off about my mechanic, because
> I am worried my Transalp could be damaged. Any ideas?
> Again, thanks for your time. Take care and enjoy your
> rides,
> Diego.
Hello Diego
I suggest first to look at the main jet in the carburators .
Ewald
table of TA carb jettings vs. model years.
Year/letter Bike types Carb type Main jet (front, rear cylinder)
1987 H AR,CM,E,F,FI,G,IT,ND,SP,SW,U VDF0A A 128,130
2G VDF0C A 132,138
1988 J AR,CM,E,F,FI,G,IT,ND,SP,SW VDF0A A
VDF0A B 128,130
2G VDF0C B 132,138
1989 K AR,E,F,G,IT,ND,SP VDF0A B
VDF0A C 128,130
SW VDFKA A 120,120
2G VDF0C C 132,138
1990 L F,IT,SP VDF0A C 128,130
1991 M AR VDF7C A 118,120
E,F,G,IT,SP VDF0A C 128,130
SW VDFKB A 118,120
2G VDF0A C 128,130
1992 N as in 1991 as in 1991 as in 1991
1993 P as in 1991 as in 1991 as in 1991
1994 R AR VDFKD A 128,130
E,F,G,IT,SP VDF0A C 128,130
SW VDFKB B 118,120
2G,2IT VDF0A C 128,130
1995 S ? ? ?
1996 T AR VDFKD A 128,130
E,F,G,IT,SP VDFLA A 118,120
SW VDFKB B 118,120
2G VDFLA A 118,120
2IT VDFLA B 118,120
1997 V AR VDFLD A 118,118
E,F,G,IT VDFLB A 118,115
SW VDFLC A 118,115
2G,2IT VDFLB A 118,115
1998 W same as 1997
plus 2F added to 2G,2IT
1999 X same as 1998, plus
YA,YB,YC,YF,YG,YH,YJ VDFLB A 118,115
YD VDFLC A 118,115
YE VDFLD A 118,118
Key to types:
AR=Austria CM=Canada E=United Kingdom F=France FI=Finland G=Germany IT=Italy ND=Northern Europe SP=Spain SW=Switzerland U=Australia 2G=Germany 27 bhp(1987-1993) 34 bhp(1994-1999) 2IT=Italy 34 bhp 2F=France 34 bhp YA=United Kingdom YB=Germany YC=France YD=Switzerland YE=Austria YF=Italy YG=Germany 34 bhp YH=France 34 bhp YJ=Italy 34 bhp
Well, at last it is finally over!
It seems that one of the pipes leading to a cylinder was loose. It had a snug fit and while re-attaching the carburettors it sprang out. The mechanic dismantled it and re-assembled it carefully, using a plastic grip to tighten it permanently. The bike rides great, and I spent an hour driving just to test it (well, it was great fun to test the new 'boundaries'!).
Thanks everybody for your advice and attention. Regards,
Diego.