Honda CB500

[CycleCam303]

I'm a dyed in the wool Honduh Fanboi. I sat on it at the motorcycle show. I know it didn't have any fluids but it didn't really any heavier than the 300. If I don't pick up a CBR600 I'm strongly considering getting this bike next year.

[Somchai]

Here u can read about a testride with the new CBR http://www.motorcycle.in.th/forum/vi...showtopic=5485

Have a safe ride in a happy new year all.

[CycleCam303]

http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-...iew/22346.html

There's a link to the 500R also. Essentially all three bikes are the same. The 300 looks to essentially be just as quick. I'd imagine it would be like the pre gens and the ninja 500 debate. Both accomplishing the same thing, easy to ride, not intimidating, inexpensive; with the 500 getting the slight nudge of being better.

[Jono]

Seems nice. But the KTM Duke 390 is gonna be better!!

[choneofakind]

The review makes it sound kind of vanilla, but with more torque and better brakes than the 300.

I want to see what it will do with a set of aggressive cams, a full exhaust system, and proper fuel mapping. I'm not jumping on the wagon just yet, but I think it has potential.

[KawiKid860]

I'd rather have a 300. Still has enough power when you need it but retains the small bike appeal of the 250. If my 500 exploded for no reason tomorrow I'd probably replace it with a 650 of some sort or a 250/300 before a CB500 variant, if I'm gonna have the same amount of CCs using a couple decades newer technology I don't want to go down 15bhp...

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

if I'm gonna have the same amount of CCs using a couple decades newer technology I don't want to go down 15bhp...

Dude, HP isn't everything. How many times do I have to remind you of this? For goodness sake, you're on a forum for people who own one of the most anemic sport bikes on the road.

The engine has a relatively long stroke compared to its bore. That means it's going to make a lot of torque. But it still stays within the same UK engine restrictions that the 300 does. Like I said before, I'm betting a little work will change it a lot.

All this means is you'll have more torque than the 300. Torque is fun. Who cares about top speed?

Take one for a test ride before you bash on it for no other reason than numbers.

[KawiKid860]

Dude, HP isn't everything. How many times do I have to remind you of this? For goodness sake, you're on a forum for people who own one of the most anemic sport bikes on the road.

The engine has a relatively long stroke compared to its bore. That means it's going to make a lot of torque. But it still stays within the same UK engine restrictions that the 300 does. Like I said before, I'm betting a little work will change it a lot.

All this means is you'll have more torque than the 300. Torque is fun. Who cares about top speed?

Take one for a test ride before you bash on it for no other reason than numbers.

CALM DOWN MAN. You realize this was posted way before we started arguing in my video thread lol. It makes the same amount of torque as the ninja 500 with quite a bit less horsepower, the torque is just lower which means less rpms to reach it. The thing is that.... high rpms are fun! Like you said, this is a forum for one of the lowest powered sport bikes available, so you should know a little about having to rev real high to make power.

I'm sure it will be a great bike, it is a honda, just probably not what I'm looking for.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Dude, HP isn't everything. How many times do I have to remind you of this? For goodness sake, you're on a forum for people who own one of the most anemic sport bikes on the road.

This isn't cbr250.org

[sharky nrk]

It will be interesting to see what the aftermarket does with these Honda triplets. Whether they will be embraced like the Ninjette or not waits to be seen but they could have alot of potential.

[choneofakind]

Jiggles, I know I know. Your ninjette is a monster.

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

You realize this was posted way before we started arguing in my video thread lol.

My post was made the same day as yours.

[Blystr842]

Originally Posted by Jono

Seems nice. But the KTM Duke 390 is gonna be better!!

[Klondike1020]

Has anyone checked out or test rode the New honda 500s?

Do 500s appeal to a different market share? I mean CB 250 and ninja 300 have a defined market (informed weekend warriors on a budget / beginners to the sport)

Honda has three Sport bikes in the 500 pool? is anyone else offering 500s?

Cb500F Naked/streetfighter style

CBR500R Full fairing sport bike

CB500X Adventure Bike?

My take on it is that they have very competitive prices
parallel twin 500 cc fuel injected!

And the X looks very nice (styling cues from the BMWs)
The CB500F is very aggresive for a naked bike

- What would Kawasaki's most similar competition be ?
CB500x - Versys?
CBR 500 - Ninja 650?

Does Kawa even have a naked ?>

what about other manufacture s

Throw in your two cents

[Reswob]

I commend Honda for trying to bring the under 600cc sportbike market into the US, but the 500R falls flat. I would LOVE to see a true super sport styled and ergo'd bike with about 60rwhp and weighing in at 400lbs or less. But another 'regular' sport? Meh.

[Alex]

/merged

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Klondike1020

Has anyone checked out or test rode the New honda 500s?

Do 500s appeal to a different market share? I mean CB 250 and ninja 300 have a defined market (informed weekend warriors on a budget / beginners to the sport)

Honda has three Sport bikes in the 500 pool? is anyone else offering 500s?

Cb500F Naked/streetfighter style

CBR500R Full fairing sport bike

CB500X Adventure Bike?

My take on it is that they have very competitive prices
parallel twin 500 cc fuel injected!

And the X looks very nice (styling cues from the BMWs)
The CB500F is very aggresive for a naked bike

- What would Kawasaki's most similar competition be ?
CB500x - Versys?
CBR 500 - Ninja 650?

Does Kawa even have a naked ?>]

what about other manufacture s

Throw in your two cents

ER6n, what the Yanks call a ninja 650 but with half fairings

[Reswob]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

ER6n, what the Yanks call a ninja 650 but with half fairings

http://images.motorcycle-usa.com/Pho.../er6n_side.jpg

We call that a streetfighter, but they don't sell it here anymore.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

ER6n, what the Yanks call a ninja 650 but with half fairings

we yankees call that an ER6N also. They just stopped making them for us a while back

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Reswob

We call that a streetfighter, but they don't sell it here anymore.

Well you'd have been f*cked if I called it a Er6f without the fairings...

Streetfighters here usually involve a chopped tail, twin spot headlights & a dodgy paint job on a crashed I 4 thou...

The Er6n is petty popular here, it's up there with the fazer in terms of reliable naked semi sports bike.

[YamiLionheart]

Anyone else think honda stole kawasaki's headlight style?

[choneofakind]

No.

[k-os]

Originally Posted by YamiLionheart

Anyone else think honda stole kawasaki's headlight style?

If by "Kawasaki's" headlight style you mean "headlight style for pretty much every modern sportbike", then the answer is still no.

[Jiggles]

Honda wouldn't steal anything from such an inferior machine

[Boom King]

Looks different to me.

MCN has a full review in their February 27 issue if anyone has access to it. You can also find a YouTube vid where Phil West discusses some highlights. There are also a number of French reviews out there.

[AYB_]

Was looking at the CBR500 for sure as my first bike. I thought 500 cc's in Canada to get under the 600cc insurance bracket, cheap but still fun bike.

After reading about the 47hp and 8.5k red line I am less inclined to pick one up. I was expecting it to perform atleast as well as the old ninja 500 or better =\ Honestly, wish Yamaha would just crank out a 400 or 500cc sport bike similar to their R125. Something that looks extremely sexy, puts out about 55-65hp for around 7k new, now that would be HEAVEN.

Until then, I think I will pick up a 300 to learn on since I'm on a budget for the time being and then just upgrade to a 600 later. CBR500 seems like kind of a tease. It's like an ugly girl you settle for because atleast you think she has big ****. Later when you go under the shirt for the first time, you find out she has a padded push up bra and what you think was going to be a redeeming quality, isn't at all.

[KawiKid860]

We need chone here to tell this guy its not all about power, I don't want to steal his job lol. Why not just get a Ninja 500 then if the extra 15 or so horsepower is that big of a deal. You're probably gonna drop it and mess up the body work anyways so saying the n500 is ugly is kind of redundant. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a new bike too.

[AYB_]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

We need chone here to tell this guy its not all about power, I don't want to steal his job lol. Why not just get a Ninja 500 then if the extra 15 or so horsepower is that big of a deal. You're probably gonna drop it and mess up the body work anyways so saying the n500 is ugly is kind of redundant. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a new bike too.

Warrenty, looks, fun and price. Believe it or not some people want a combination of these things.
Ninja 500: fun, cheap, ugly as sin

CBR500r: meh looking, meh fun, and expensive (I've heard 8 to 8.5k otd here)]

Ninja 300: moderately fun, good looking, and 6k otd here in Canada.

Honestly, a used 600 is 2k cheaper than the 500, way sexier, way faster. Only draw back is insurance on the 600. I find it hard to drop 8.5k on a 500 if it's only marginally more fun and more ugly than a ninja 300 while being so expensive

[KawiKid860]

A 250/300 will be a lot more fun on the streets than a 600 if you know how to ride it. A 600+ is too much for a beginner to handle properly

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

We need chone here to tell this guy its not all about power, I don't want to steal his job lol. Why not just get a Ninja 500 then if the extra 15 or so horsepower is that big of a deal. You're probably gonna drop it and mess up the body work anyways so saying the n500 is ugly is kind of redundant. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a new bike too.

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

A 250/300 will be a lot more fun on the streets than a 600 if you know how to ride it. A 600+ is too much for a beginner to handle properly

I've taught you so well.

but really AYB, fun and power are not directly correlated. aka more power =/= more fun, and less power =/= less fun. All motorcycles are fun. They're motorcycles.

If you think that 600's and 500's are similar enough that the only difference is the cost of insurance, go ride on the back of a 600 with someone who know what they're doing. Then go ride a 500/300/250.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by AYB_

Ninja 300: moderately fun...

Unless your definition of 'fun' is 'going from 0 to there-goes-my-license in no time flat', I'm having a hard time figuring out how the 300 is 'moderately fun'. The 300 is one of the most fun bikes I've ever ridden.

[Byakkotai]

Originally Posted by YamiLionheart

Anyone else think honda stole kawasaki's headlight style?

The headlights are more reminiscent of the 1000rr to me. I felt like the 600rr (pre-2013) had a sleeker headlight design than the 1000rr's. Still waiting for someone to go buy the 500 and give us a review

[AYB_]

Haha sorry for the moderately fun comments. I ride 250 two stroke dirt bikes and 700 tripple snowmobiles so I love speed

I want to pick up something cheap to learn on instead of hopping straight to a 600, thats why it's between the 300 and 500. Honestly though riding IS riding, just pumped to be getting anything to get out there on. I guess what I was trying to say is that the 500 doesn't appear to have enough of a performance upgrade over the 300 to warrant the price difference. Now if it had the performance of the duke 390 I'd prolly jizz right in my pants.

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by AYB_

Was looking at the CBR500 for sure as my first bike. I thought 500 cc's in Canada to get under the 600cc insurance bracket, cheap but still fun bike.

After reading about the 47hp and 8.5k red line I am less inclined to pick one up. I was expecting it to perform atleast as well as the old ninja 500 or better =\ Honestly, wish Yamaha would just crank out a 400 or 500cc sport bike similar to their R125. Something that looks extremely sexy, puts out about 55-65hp for around 7k new, now that would be HEAVEN.

Until then, I think I will pick up a 300 to learn on since I'm on a budget for the time being and then just upgrade to a 600 later. CBR500 seems like kind of a tease. It's like an ugly girl you settle for because atleast you think she has big ****. Later when you go under the shirt for the first time, you find out she has a padded push up bra and what you think was going to be a redeeming quality, isn't at all.

Unfortunately the big 4 will probably all keep their sub 600cc machines at 47bhp, thank you EU safety nazis

There's no real market for a high powered 400 any more, bit of a shame really.

[choneofakind]

I'm completely alright with 47 hp, and I'm already on a license that would allow me to ride a ZX14 (which I did take for a demo ride, just for snorts and giggles)

[CycleCam303]

Just to clear the air. The ninja 500 makes 50 give or take rwhp with intake, jetting and exhaust. Supposedly the cbr 500 will be "unrestricted" for North American markets. It probably will make 47 to 45 rwhp. It's a 470cc engine bike. A 100hp per liter is what should be expected out of a modest performing engine in motorcycle land. The ninja 500 is what the crf230 is to the dirt world. It is great for what it is but it's a beginner oriented bike that isn't really a huge step over the 250.

AYB if you're so concerned about having power and getting it at a lower price point there are a lot of options on the used market. Sv650, ninja 650, older 600s all can be found for under 4 grand. If you're looking for a stepping stone buy a cheap used bike and sell it when you are ready for something else.

[BlackNinja8]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

AYB if you're so concerned about having power and getting it at a lower price point there are a lot of options on the used market. Sv650, ninja 650, older 600s all can be found for under 4 grand. If you're looking for a stepping stone buy a cheap used bike and sell it when you are ready for something else.

[KawiKid860]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

Just to clear the air. The ninja 500 makes 50 give or take rwhp with intake, jetting and exhaust.

Wrong. The Ninja 500 makes 50 or so rwhp STOCK and if you jet it or mess with the exhaust or anything the bike will run like garbage and maybe if extensively tuned will have a slightly higher peak horsepower but will run like garbage at any given rpm except wherever the powerband ends up being happiest. All I've seen for the CB500 is 47 crank horsepower, which is something more akin to a GS500 than an EX500. I don't understand why people say the Ninja 500s are just a small step up from the 250 there's a pretty big power gap there. Recommending a 100hp bike to a newbie seems like something that wouldn't fly on this forum, it seems like most people are even against 500s for a first bike here.

[BlackNinja8]

I was waiting for kawikid to pounce lol...I've never ridden a ninja 500 but I felt like if I could just have a tad more power on my ninjette it would be ideal. So imagine the 500 is a great all rounder. The looks just don't jive with me though...

[Alex]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Recommending a 100hp bike to a newbie seems like something that wouldn't fly on this forum, it seems like most people are even against 500s for a first bike here.

No, it's just people are tired of you flogging your @&#*(@*(#& (* 500 here. There are quite a few 500 focused forums, where you can share your love for that generally unloved machine. What happened to you over there?

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Recommending a 100hp bike to a newbie seems like something that wouldn't fly on this forum, it seems like most people are even against 500s for a first bike here.

There's a thing against newbies hopping on a supersport. There are other more suitable bikes to start on, including some of the more street focused 600s.