The motor is very frugal, extremely easy to ride
with a lovely power delivery that won’t intimidate
anyone. Yet, it’s still quite perky and capable of
effortless, quick-ish motorway cruising and will
top out at over 170km/h.
The weakest aspect of the CB500X’s arsenal is
true adventure style riding in the Kiwi sense. In
standard trim it is happily gravel road capable,
but not much more. It has alloy wheels fitted
with around 80/20 percent tyres – meaning
80 percent road suitable in sizes of 160/60 17-
inch rear and 110/80 19-inch front. The Dunlop
MixTour tyres work great on tarmac, are average
on gravel and simply don’t grip grass or mud. It’s
fair to say the Honda is an adventure-styled road
bike. And that’s not a bad thing –it genuinely
covers all roads touring, the daily commute and
56 KIWI RIDER
everything in between in the nicest way possible.
Yip, damned versatile.
The engine is a 471cc liquid cooled, DOHC,
parallel twin with perfect fuelling producing a
healthy 47hp. It has a slick-shifting six-speed
gearbox. The power delivery is faultless from
the difficult to stall take-off point, through the
completely linear progression on to red line and
the rev limiter. She’s perky enough to wheelie
in first and a pop of clutch can just help the
fun factor along nicely. On the road the power
feels modestly brisk and quick enough in most
situations. Through commuter traffic the 500X is a
breeze with smooth, useful power and light, agile
and accurate handling. Out on the open road
the handling is lovely. Turn-in is light, nimble and
planted, while mid-corner stability is excellent.