First things first, is the Honda X-ADV 750 a maxi-scooter, or a motorcycle playing a scooter? With upside-down forks and rear monoshock, a DCT-based parallel-twin, and a 'motorcycle price-tag' of £11,199, you’d think this combination of the Africa Twin and Forza 750 would be a tough sell purely as it’s stuck between two camps that rarely converge…

Evidently, that’s not the case here. Honda has seen outrageous success across the UK and Europe markets with the X-ADV, becoming the second-best seller for the Big Red Wing in 2019, and leaving hopeful owners in Australia and the United States of America begging for a release on their shores – just check the comments in our YouTube review...

Coincidentally, the release of our YouTube review met the announcement of the next generation 2025 Honda X-ADV which addresses a few of the concerns in this review, like adding cruise control as standard… but let’s have a closer look at the 2021-2024 model, as it still has plenty of positive points.

The 2021-2024 X-ADV model we had for 3 weeks, and as ridden, was the ‘Grand Prix Red’ special edition model priced at £11,199, with additional adventure accessory pegs for £340 on top. With the release of the 2025 edition, I’d imagine this price may well go down, particularly if you’re looking at pre-registered models from 2024.

Other colours noted for the model year tested include black with gold forks, grey with black forks and iridium highlights, and puco blue (which on the website and online looks like a light grey to me).

Seeing as we’ve spoken about the 2025 model year, the 2025 price is noted as £11,249 – available in black, white, or grey (and each of the three with gold forks).

Given this X-ADV is set up as the most versatile in the Honda arsenal, bolstered with the combination of maxi-scooter comfort and ease-of-use with a touch of motorcycle dynamics and off-road riding poise, the heart of the bike has to be ready for all types of riding.

Luckily, this is a lovely motor to work with in all scenarios. It’s a commuter’s tool, with the added benefit of being simple and fun to ride.

The liquid-cooled 4-stroke 8-valve parallel-twin has a SOHC, and pumps out peak power figures of 57.7 bhp at 6750 rp, and 69 Nm of torque at 4750 rpm. Naturally, the dual-clutch works to seamlessly put power to the rear wheel via a throttle-by-wire and chain drive (yes, chain, not belt), across 6 gears. Twists of the throttle in sportier mode result in a responsive throttle that spools up the motor well, with a lovely rasp from the upswept exhaust.

As a quick note on the DCT, its operation varies across the 4 pre-set rider modes (Standard, Sport, Rain, Dirt) and custom user mode, either hanging onto gears in sportier modes or economically shifting up at every opportunity in standard and rain mode, based entirely on engine speed, road speed, and revs.

The motor and DCT combination is seriously easy to use, smooth as anything, and feels positive - almost on the verge of intelligence on the road when you get it in the right setting. It’s possibly the best use of the DCT on a Honda to date. Just remember to set the handbrake if you’re parking on a hill!

For the uninitiated, working the DCT is not far off riding a regular bike - you clunk the scoot into first gear with drive mode on the right side of the switchgear, always able to nudge up or down a gear with the +/- buttons on the left side – or simply put it in manual mode and have it all in your hands. It’s fairly similar in use to the Yamaha Y-AMT system I tested on the recent launch in Spain, both units boasting faster gear changes than any quickshifter.

Tweaks on this 2021-2024 model include +4 bhp compared to the previous generation, lower ratios for the first 3 DCT gears for improved feel and acceleration, and taller final 3 gears to sit happily at speed.

Wind on the power in a high gear and it’ll automatically shift down for a burst of torque, and when you get the hang of it you can prompt a downshift with a quick twist off the throttle, go for an overtake, then maintain steady revs to auto-shift back up the ‘box. Good fun, and this motor eats up any road.

Tech is packed in, too, with ABS, HSTC traction control, power modes (4) plus user, engine braking control, DCT, and some suspension adjustability. Some may ask for a six-axis IMU considering the purchase price in particular, but it’s not desperately missing, here – it’s already a superb addition being able to adjust so many features on the move, here.

All in, power with the X-ADV twin motor is perfect for town cruising or motorway miles, and perhaps even off-road jaunts if you're feeling adventurous. It's a do-it-all versatile machine for this reason!

Would I use it off-road? Probably not… but purely as the spoked wheels are 17-inch front & 15-inch rear, with a 165 mm ground clearance, 236 kg kerb weight, and 153.5 mm stroke with the front 41mm USD forks, 150mm travel at the rear. It can do some gentle off-road miles with these specs, but keep it light and easy.

Of course, you can do it, the semi-knobbly OEM fit hoops will do a decent job on light gravel and dirt, but with my level of novice off-road riding skill I’m certain I’d reach my limits pretty quickly. That is to say, you’d have to be pretty experienced to overcome any serious obstacles on this.

In any case, I absolutely love the adventure style, with spoked wheels and hand guards doing far more in the looks department for me than they will ever do in unlocking a new route to work – as much as I’ve always fancied beelining across the fields to the office.

A particular treat on this was the riding position when stood on the accessory pegs – they’re in the perfect position to get your weight evenly spread over the bike, and you can happily stand up for long periods of time on the road. I’m sure other riders I passed were curious as to why on Earth I was standing up riding a maxi-scooter, but it just felt right.

Covering off the brakes, here: you’re given a 296mm twin disc with radial 4-piston calliper up front, with 240mm disc and single-piston calliper at the rear. Braking power is seriously good, with a sharp response to a pull of the left or right lever, and you can adjust the ABS response in the off-road mode for a bit of rear wheel skiddery if you're so inclined.

Seat comfort can be paramount for any commuter who jumps on board, and at 6’3” I often find myself a bit too big for some models. In this case, the seat comfort was adequate, and I’d only hope for a little more legroom here – but no complaints of any pain or a numb bum. It’s a wide scooter, and despite my long legs I was almost tiptoeing on both sides at a stop, anyone under 6ft might struggle to comfortably sit with both legs down. Note the seat unit has been updated for 2025. Heated grips would be nice, they’re a £285 accessory.

I loved the keyless ignition on this X-ADV – you have a blipper on the remote, and it’s a quick push of the power button on the scoot to locate the key, with individual buttons on the scooter for the fuel cap and access to the under-seat storage. You get a small compartment on the right of the front leg shield, and you can squeeze a regular-sized phone in there, but it’s a small compartment that doesn’t lock. Perhaps the perfect place for some emergency snacks, or visor cleaner.

Fuel consumption next, and the 13.2-litre tank is quoted with around a 78 mpg average consumption figure, but during my expedition over to Peterborough to test the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE, I returned closer to 60 mpg average after plenty of motorway riding at 70 mph, filling up on red with around 2 litres left in the tank and around 180 miles covered.

That’s still decent, though I can’t help but feel like cruise control could have helped me here – luckily the 2025 model has that fitted as standard (it’s not even an accessory option on this model). On the topic, the screen did a great job of protecting me from buffeting, I made good use of the 22-litre under-seat storage with USB-C plug found within (though my Large helmet didn’t quite fit, a medium lid does).

You can download the Honda RoadSync app to pair up your phone to the 5-inch TFT screen for turn-by-turn directions and music controls, though it’s a confusing one why Honda doesn’t utilise the Apple CarPlay functionality as seen on the Africa Twin – which in my experience was brilliant to use.

If you're after a do-it-all workhorse with plenty of tech with versatility through its core, the Honda X-ADV 750 could be worth considering - particularly if you tend to prefer motorcycles, but want a bit more comfort and usability.

Honda X-ADV Pros and Cons

Pros

• Style – endlessly copied.
• Tech and DCT makes it so easy to ride.
• Really good use of keyless ignition.

Cons

• Large scooter – and wide. Try it first!
• Steep price-point.
• Cruise control would be nice (added for 2025).

Simply put, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this 2024 Honda X-ADV 750. Easy to ride with plenty of tech at your disposal, alongside a sharp motor that works in plenty of environments – commutes or back-road scratches are always good fun (don’t listen to people who want more power, this is plenty).

It’s evident to see how and why this scooter has sold so well over the years, and in isolation, you can understand why it’s one of the most copied and in-demand maxi scooters out there. Sure, it’s expensive and a tad large, but I’d struggle to recommend any do-it-all versatile machine over this – particularly if you want that ostensible adventure chic. The DCT is great to work with, it's versatile and comfortable to ride in all settings, it looks different from other scooters, and it's a Honda.

Now, is it a maxi-scooter or a motorcycle? Some would say the DCT gearbox (not CVT) makes it a motorcycle, same for the motorcycle spec suspension, but in my mind, the shape and feel of this is distinctly scooter – just with some motorcycle flavour. Let me know if you disagree…

It’ll be interesting to see how the 2025 updates pan out, but it would certainly appear to be an even more polished product from 2025 onwards – head to Honda Motorcycles UK for more info on that.

Check out our Honda ADV350 review if you want the adventure style on something a little smaller.