HONDA

CB 500

OVERVIEW

As you swing your leg over Honda's CB500, the whole bike feels natural and the bars, pegs, levers and the seat seem to be in the right position.  However, sports bike riders will find the handle bars a bit high and this will only take a few miles to get used to.  As you sit on the CB500, it feels reasonably well put together considering that this bike is not built in Japan.  Due to the CB500's nature, it is very comfortable to ride and you could ride it all day long without getting any aches or pains, whilst the sporty edge of it constantly keeps you smiling throughout your journey and on the back lanes.

Many riders, including hardcore sports bike riders really rate the CB500 for its handling and everyone says that it can hold its own on the back roads and is quite a joy to ride. The bike was surprisingly flickable from side to side, perhaps a bit to sharp for some faint hearted riders I should say.  Part of the reason for its sharpness can be put down to the way the rider can use his/her body weight around the bike and the wide bars offer comfortable leverage to adjust your body weight.  Through several fast country lanes, the bike felt right at home, soaking up any bumps without fuss or worrying dramas such as tank-slappers or wiggles,  and was putting a smile on my face similar to the one that my ZX6R does. The CB500 I rode felt like it was power sliding through the high speeds twists, which didn't bother me but this feeling was probably due to either incorrect tyre pressures or a soft suspension set up or both.

I was surprised at the level of feedback that the CB500 was passing on all around the bike considering its not a  focused sports bike.  As a result of this feedback it was clear as to how each part of the bike was coping in a direct but progressive manner and you could easily tip toe on the limits of the bike if you wished. 

I do ride very hard on the road and as a result I 'decked' the exhaust can a few times, on some slow and medium speed right hand turns but really this should NOT be a problem for anyone in the real world whilst pressing on.  I managed to hit 105mph on my courtesy CB500 and at these speeds it felt very composed, sure footed and the engine wasn't under any stress and it could cruise like this all day if I wanted it too.  The only flaw was at high speed the front end felt light when cornering but it was easy to keep on line regardless.
 

The engine was great offering consistent performance without vibrating too much and you could make FULL use of the 57bhp on more or less any road. The bike accelerated very well upto 80mph, after which point the lack of a fairing caused it to slow down on acceleration. The engine also had enough grunt for you to overtake almost anything you like but you have to be a little careful when overtaking at above 80mph (just time it better, allow some extra room and remember that the bike will be slower from 80mph plus).  Around town and urban streets and through traffic, the engine wasn't lumpy and didn't mind what revs you were riding at it was always delivering that grunt low down as you would expect from a parallel twin in a surprisingly smooth manner.  Wheelies are possible but you can't power them up and yo will have to clutch them up if you want to check the sky for any signs of rain clouds.

The 6 speed gearbox was a joy to use.  It's not the smoothest gearbox I have come across, but you didn't need to kick the gear lever to select a gear and the gear change wasn't clunky.  It felt like a reassuring click into your desired gear, which, actually is a good point as it doesn't leave you thinking whether or not the gear change was successful or not especially if you are riding at speeds on the back lanes.  

The brakes are very good, and were better than I expected. The feel from the lever was a little wooden and firm but still allowed you to instantly bring the bike to a complete stop under control and extremely quickly.  I actually found that I could lock up the front wheel and leave it locked up for quite some distance without any dramas which shows that they are good enough to stop the bike, whilst being very forgiving.

RELIABILITY

The build quality, for a Honda on this bike is only reasonable as its not built in Japan, but a well looked after bike should stand out and cause no problems. The bike still retains the usual Honda reliability qualities, and if kept clean it will continue to look good for years to come.

The main problems that I am aware of is that the exhaust system can start to rust quite quickly if its not kept clean.  This also goes for the centre stand and the shock absorbers so regular cleaning over winter is essential to keep it looking healthy.  The advantage of the CB500 being un-faired is that all the components are easy to access and clean which saves times.  

Good, clean used examples will cost as follows;

94/L = £1000
97/P = £1600
00/V = £2250
New = £3,775 (Honda's Offical Reatil price)  

(Prices are correct at time of publishing - July 2002)
 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

ENGINE

TRANSMISSION

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT

WHEELS/SUSPENSION/BRAKES

PICTURES

MAGAZINE REVIEWS

Surprisingly good fun.  A reliable, economical commuter-cum-scratcher - BIKE  September 2002

The best of the 500cc twins.  Reliable, comfy, well-built and a good handler, you wont go far wrong - BIKE  September 2002