nerrrd
6th July 2014, 22:59
So I’ve had my cb500x for about 6 months now, here’s a review. Bear in mind I have a pretty limited amount of expertise when it comes to bikes, so YMMV.
Anyway, in that time I’ve done around 6500kms, mostly on tarseal. No problems at all with my riding style (ie sloooow) as far as handling in the dry or wet goes, or with the Scorpion trail tyres which came with it, which also seem to be wearing well and are plenty grippy enough for me.
I’ve also done some riding on gravel - a couple of times on the roads north of Auckland, a trip to and from Lake Waikaremoana, an adventure training day with the Northern Gravel Adventure Riders, as well as most recently a gravel-road-riding training day with Prorider.
In each case I’d say the bike handled everything with ease, the main limiting factor was the rider. The worst experience in all of that was on a freshly gravelled road, where the handlebars ended up slewing backwards and forwards long enough for me to think “I’m about to lose this” just before the bike eventually pulled itself together and got me through. There’s plenty of examples online of people with more confidence and ability than me taking these bikes off the beaten track, the main limiting factors apparently are ground-clearance, tyre choices and ABS that can’t be switched off.
The bike is smooth, reasonably economical (average mpg readout stays around 5L/100km mainly commuting around Auckland - did raise an eyebrow today when it cost $27 to fill, doesn’t seem that long ago I could fill a bike for $10 :-( )
I’ve added a few bits and pieces - crashbars, handguards and heated grips, windshield risers (cheaper than a bigger windscreen), lower wider footpegs (cheaper than raising the seat for more leg room), centrestand, I kept the top box from my old bike and added some Givi soft saddlebags (mainly for groceries). All of these work well for me.
There are a few issues. The front brake tends to vibrate a lot, especially when under an increasing load (say stopping downhill) and before the ABS kicks in - the Brembo on the front of my old f650cs was way smoother.
There’s been a very occasional whine from somewhere on the bike, which I’ve not been able to explain. I’m a bit worried that the chain was too tight there for a while, since the recommended amount is 40mm which seems like a lot - but I’m using a ruler now to keep an eye on it (no more trying to adjust it by eye). Haven’t had it for a while.
Gears are notchy, doesn’t like the change from 1st to 2nd when cold, also occasionally hear a brief bit of knocking from the engine when starting from cold. I get lost sometimes between 4th, 5th and 6th - they all feel pretty similar when rolling, the engine is so quiet and smooth. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to change up when already in 6th.
Also at low speed the engine kind of feels like it’s lugging in first and second, which doesn’t seem right - might just be the uneven ‘beat’ of the twin? I’m probably not revving it as much as I should, I prefer a languid pace. If you do rev it the bike takes off, so it’s not as though there’s any lack of power (by my definition).
These seem like minor quirks though, overall I can’t really fault the bike so far. Was great to pay the lower registration fee recently as well. Having said that - I still think I’d prefer an nc750x (the nc700 which I test rode at the same time was a better fit for me, but not by much.) The cb500x is a better looking bike though IMHO, so that’s a bonus.
Here’s some pics - and yes, the ‘hi-vis’ handguards and top box insert are intentional (although they came out a bit more yellow/less green than I was hoping for.)
Anyway, in that time I’ve done around 6500kms, mostly on tarseal. No problems at all with my riding style (ie sloooow) as far as handling in the dry or wet goes, or with the Scorpion trail tyres which came with it, which also seem to be wearing well and are plenty grippy enough for me.
I’ve also done some riding on gravel - a couple of times on the roads north of Auckland, a trip to and from Lake Waikaremoana, an adventure training day with the Northern Gravel Adventure Riders, as well as most recently a gravel-road-riding training day with Prorider.
In each case I’d say the bike handled everything with ease, the main limiting factor was the rider. The worst experience in all of that was on a freshly gravelled road, where the handlebars ended up slewing backwards and forwards long enough for me to think “I’m about to lose this” just before the bike eventually pulled itself together and got me through. There’s plenty of examples online of people with more confidence and ability than me taking these bikes off the beaten track, the main limiting factors apparently are ground-clearance, tyre choices and ABS that can’t be switched off.
The bike is smooth, reasonably economical (average mpg readout stays around 5L/100km mainly commuting around Auckland - did raise an eyebrow today when it cost $27 to fill, doesn’t seem that long ago I could fill a bike for $10 :-( )
I’ve added a few bits and pieces - crashbars, handguards and heated grips, windshield risers (cheaper than a bigger windscreen), lower wider footpegs (cheaper than raising the seat for more leg room), centrestand, I kept the top box from my old bike and added some Givi soft saddlebags (mainly for groceries). All of these work well for me.
There are a few issues. The front brake tends to vibrate a lot, especially when under an increasing load (say stopping downhill) and before the ABS kicks in - the Brembo on the front of my old f650cs was way smoother.
There’s been a very occasional whine from somewhere on the bike, which I’ve not been able to explain. I’m a bit worried that the chain was too tight there for a while, since the recommended amount is 40mm which seems like a lot - but I’m using a ruler now to keep an eye on it (no more trying to adjust it by eye). Haven’t had it for a while.
Gears are notchy, doesn’t like the change from 1st to 2nd when cold, also occasionally hear a brief bit of knocking from the engine when starting from cold. I get lost sometimes between 4th, 5th and 6th - they all feel pretty similar when rolling, the engine is so quiet and smooth. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to change up when already in 6th.
Also at low speed the engine kind of feels like it’s lugging in first and second, which doesn’t seem right - might just be the uneven ‘beat’ of the twin? I’m probably not revving it as much as I should, I prefer a languid pace. If you do rev it the bike takes off, so it’s not as though there’s any lack of power (by my definition).
These seem like minor quirks though, overall I can’t really fault the bike so far. Was great to pay the lower registration fee recently as well. Having said that - I still think I’d prefer an nc750x (the nc700 which I test rode at the same time was a better fit for me, but not by much.) The cb500x is a better looking bike though IMHO, so that’s a bonus.
Here’s some pics - and yes, the ‘hi-vis’ handguards and top box insert are intentional (although they came out a bit more yellow/less green than I was hoping for.)