My New CB500X

Farp

Farp

Active member
Here's my new ride. I just turned 1000km on the odometer and I couldn't be happier with it. The bike is fantastic in the twistys and a hell of a lotta fun to ride. I've done about 5 miles of gravel FSR with it and it can handle it OK, just can't ride as fast on the gravel as some of my other bikes. In fact of all the bikes I've had over the last few years the only bike this beats on the gravel is the Versys. A set of knobbies would, no doubt, make a big improvement on the FSRs but would reduce performance on the street so I'm not gonna do that. It's a pretty good looking bike too. All in all it's a keeper.

P1000811.JPG
 
Buddie

Buddie

New member
A friend of mine has a "R" version and he is very pleased with the whole thing. It seems to be very well built and super easy to use. The "R" reminds me of my old 92 CBBR600r, what a gem that thing was. You could race track it, street ride it and go long distance on it all with absolutely no maintenance but oil and chains. I miss it.
 
250ccforme

250ccforme

Member
At a recent Honda demo day I rode the CB500X. It was a nice ride. Then later I rode the NC750X. It was even better. The front end felt more planted, IMHO. If I were inclined to buy one of them I would have to take each out for another longer run. The difference might not be worth the extra $$$.
 
Farp

Farp

Active member
250ccforme said:
At a recent Honda demo day I rode the CB500X. It was a nice ride. Then later I rode the NC750X. It was even better. The front end felt more planted, IMHO. If I were inclined to buy one of them I would have to take each out for another longer run. The difference might not be worth the extra $$$.
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I haven't ridden the NC750X but there is a lot of info on line about its predecessor the NC700X, and comparing it to the CB500X. The consensus seems to be that there isn't enough difference in performance between the two to make the extra $ worthwhile. Nobody has made any significant complaints about the CB500X but a lot of guys have really complained about the NC700X hitting the rev limiter at 6500 RPM. It seems just as the bike starts to get up and go the rev limiter kicks in and you have to upshift. The NC750X is also a bigger bike than the CB500X - weighs 50 pounds more and the seat is 1 1/2 inches higher. The CB500X fits me perfectly so the higher seat on the NC750X would be a deal breaker for me. Don't know how I'd feel about the double clutch automatic transmission but I've been riding for so many years that I don't even think about shifting - it's really so simple I don't see the point as far as I'm concerned. I guess that it might be the hot set up for a beginner though, just not worth it for me.

I'm leaving on a road tour down to California on Sunday and I'll get back on Thursday. Anybody interested in doing some road riding after I get back? I like to do one day rides of about 400 to 500 miles (650 to 800 km).

John
 
Farp

Farp

Active member
jimi2crank said:
Nice bike. I'm considering buying one and doing this to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM0WiGUEImQ Rally Raid kit. Does the bike cruise at 140kmh on the highway?......I mean does it do the speed limit and nothing more ;)
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The bike will top out at about 170 kph and gets up to 140 pretty quick. You could ride it at 140 on the freeway as long as you want but all things considered you probably wouldn't want to for very long - the limiting factors being speeding tickets and wind blast. I found that after a few hours on the freeway I have to be careful to keep the speed under 130 (don't like speeding tickets) and you can ride it all day long between 120 and 130. I've done some fairly long tours on mine going over 600 miles on some days and the bike is so smooth fatigue is minimal.

Where this bike shines is on twisty backroads where it's like riding a roller coaster. I've owned over 3 dozen bikes and this one is the most versatile of them all, and one of the most, if not the most, fun to ride.

There is quite a bit of info on the bike, including the rally raid kit, on Advrider. Check it out here:


http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/honda-cb500x.840842/


I've had mine for just over a year and have about 28,000 km on it right now. I've ridden it on freeways for hours on end, through the Nevada deserts and over the California mountains and back roads, taken it up obscure decommissioned FSRs (box stock except for a SW Motechs skid plate) and it seems no matter where I ride it the bike is up to the task. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

John
 
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