Cruising Haut-Provence on a big scooter: X-ADV 750

Plateau de Valensole

The X-ADV 750 is billed as Honda’s bad-boy big-scooter for a ride on the wild side. A day out in Haut-Provence was an ideal opportunity to try out the reality whilst my CBR600RR was in the workshop for its annual service. The X-ADV 750 Special Edition has spoked wheels and the ECU features both Sport and Gravel modes; plenty of opportunities for both on these roads. Fortunately I didn’t need the Rain setting.
Kamikaze scooters have long ruled the roads in urban Marseille, riders who have their heads round high-powered scooters like X-ADV 750 can power out of trouble, ride the white lines on the often-blocked urban autoroutes and are usually first away at the lights.

It’s a scooter so there’s Honda’s dual clutch (DCT) automatic gearbox which changes through the gears pretty much seamlessly, and stops hooligan tendencies to scream the revs of the 750cc twin cylinder engine.
Despite the spoked wheels (which look great and give an air of an adventure bike but I wouldn’t want to be cleaning them regularly) it’s the ride of the small wheels (17 inch front, 15 inch back) that is biggest giveaway the X-ADV 750 is a scooter. They’re fat enough to ride gravel on the tarmac and not to follow ridges but get captured by potholes and generally give a relatively squishy ride.
The X-ADV 750 rides well enough for a day cruising out of town. It’s most obviously not a sportsbike on the curves, it’s hard to get it to turn tightly and the DCT system only just copes with hairpin bends. It’s possible to change manually using paddles on the left hand which you might do if you owned one of these and felt it worth the effort learning to change instinctively.
Road presence is good, the high riding position and bright LED lights get seen. It feels weird to me putting my boots up in the scooter ride position when riding at speed or doing an overtake. In compensation, the ride is a breeze, a real cruise in the countryside. Less effort driving the motor means a less tiring ride and maybe time to enjoy the views, if road conditions permit. To that extent, the X-ADV 750 unlocks adventure motorcycling. As for riding off-road, that’s Honda’s aspirational marketing.
So I enjoyed a great day out cruising Provence villages, the Valensole Plateau and the Grand Canyon of the Verdon. Fine views of the snowy Alps on the horizon, the snow line was about 1350 m. and my twisty route to La Palud-sur-Verdon topped out at 1031 m. going over the Col d’Ayen. Lunch of beef steak tartare, the succulent and tasty plat du jour at the bar-restaurant at La Palud, also enjoyed by the clientèle of farm workers and road builders, though I stayed off the wine or beers they were consuming in quantity.
After an encounter with a field of friendly donkeys, the message came that my RR was ready for me down in Manosque. I was happy to ride back to Marseille in the RR’s more compact riding position, more in contact with the lie of the road and with the precision you only get with a sportsbike. I let numerous scooters pass doing kamikaze manoeuvres in the Friday evening rush hour and was thanked warmly each time: there’s great respect between riders in this town.

Merci beaucoup à Fabien et Phillipe de Chomat Moto, Manosque

Moustiers-Ste-Marie