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50 hp motorcycles in comparison
Small escapes
Quit sick of everyday life? Then only one thing helps: great fun for little money. With 50 HP through sun and wind, from morning to evening the grin on your face.
»The BMW M3 Coupe sprints from 0 to 100 km / h in just 5.2 seconds, up to 140 it only takes XX seconds. No wonder, there is a state-of-the-art 3.25-liter six-cylinder engine with 343 hp under the hood of the sports coupe, which costs 52,663 euros Nice motorcycle dealer a test drive and let a 50-hp motorcycle fly properly for just under a tenth of the above sum. You will be amazed ?? and the gentleman with his sports coupe much more. Because at country road speed it is presented cheekily by the three little rascals Honda CB 500, Kawasaki ER-5 Twister and Suzuki GS 500. They just can’t be left behind.
And because of cheaper Jakob, for 5,000 euros and less there are really delicious little engines: four valves, two overhead camshafts, a balance shaft, water-cooled the whole thing at Honda and Kawasaki. The Suzuki GS 500 is two steps easier: air-cooled, tried and tested two-valve valve, optically a treat in the silver fine rib. And these things can be used in many ways, a kind of Swiss officer’s knife on two wheels. Quick purchases, leisurely trips, short trips, long-distance trips ?? nothing that doesn’t work. An amusing test drive through the spring into the bends of Lake Constance and Allgau, for example.
Gray mice are quickly overlooked in the brightly colored world of the young computer generation. The Honda CB 500 is not gray, but red, but with its chubby outfit and pompous tail rump, no one will be knocked off their feet. It’s a shame, but if you sit on it, you look ahead, and the black clocks in the cockpit make a very important impression, something terribly technical. And the sound ?? he also has something. Real two-cylinder, pithy, bubbling.
The seating position is great, fits young and old: taut, well-shaped saddle, narrow tank, handlebars relaxed in the grip. So the Honda can be maneuvered effortlessly through congested cities. The Twin comes out of the quark quickly with the smooth-running, finely adjustable clutch, and wins every traffic light duel against ambitious motorists even without maximum speed. Well balanced, the CB 500 pushes itself through congested city centers without tilting or hovering, rotates around its own axis in a confined space ?? Lively scooter qualities are included here.
Get out of the city, sweep country roads. The Honda sails solidly over the wave carpets of the Swabian Alb, giving in as if it could read minds, the good CB. Direct, true to the line, safe. That’s the way it is, that’s the mood from the first few meters. Admittedly, the two struts could do with a bit more comfort, sometimes trampling defiantly on furrowed country roads of the third order, but otherwise: simply great.
Pillion passenger? In contrast to the two competitors at Honda, no problem. The shock absorber is preloaded to level six, and off you go for two, without bottoming out, without rocking. Only the engine, which has to run powerful with a full load. Below 6000 / min it only makes thick jaws, it goes forward from 7000 / min. But when riding solo, every gear step is turned out to the limit, and a CB 500 sprints really crisply. From Stuttgart to the curvy Allgau, it makes the dedicated rider grin on the face – and that stays until the gas station in Kempten. There is a long face there: almost a liter more than with Kawasaki and Suzuki gargle through the carburettors on the CB 500. And on the autobahn, the twin vibrates a bit annoyingly at a constantly high speed, and passes the vibrations on to the driver via the tank and notches.
Do you know the feeling when the steering and shock absorbers are worn out on a four-wheeled 500-mark winter cart with three months of TÜV approval? This is roughly how the Kawasaki ER-5 Twister comes along on unironed asphalt. Jerks and wriggles out of the lane, never really drives in a straight line voluntarily, also suffers from handlebar flutter in the speed range between 60 and 90 km / h (shimmy) and demands clear commands from the control center.
Twisting swiftly through the curves, the ER-5’s undercarriage surprisingly gains in stability and returns to the path of virtue under the pressure in an inclined position. And after a 50-kilometer basic course in balancing chassis-related saving measures, the first driving pleasure sprouts. Especially since the Twister is amazingly handy. All due respect, there is not such a street sweeper every day, whipping through hairpin bends and alternating curves like the famous rascal on a stick.
The two-cylinder also plays well. Mechanically more of a quiet step, he also holds back when it comes to vibrations. And with consumption. Only the two-in-one exhaust, it thunders through the landscape with a powerful and sonorous sound. Like the Honda Twin, the Kawasaki engine only really gets going from around 7000 rpm and must be relentlessly turned to the stop when overtaking maneuvers. Then the Kawasaki marches to 100 km / h in 5.3 seconds, makes a whopping 176 km / h top. When cruising on country roads and hurriedly crossing the city, the twin also needs speeds below 6000 rpm, because it pulls through from the lowest speed cell without holes.
There are reasons why the Kawasaki rider doesn’t look so happy long before Kempten: the seat is too soft, the handlebars too close to the rider, the pegs are a few centimeters too far back. The ergonomics, which appear to be quite acceptable when you try it out for the first time, do not allow a relaxed sense of wellbeing to arise on longer stages, especially since the sometimes fluttering driving behavior saps your concentration. And when braking hard, the Kawasaki requires a lot of hand strength, pushing something off track due to the noticeably strong twisting of the fork.
The Suzuki GS 500 made its debut at the IFMA in Cologne 14 years ago. The stock on the German market has now reached over 41,000 copies. A successful concept that put all other manufacturers under enormous pressure. Renovated for model year 2000 in shape, color and some details, the GS 500 has gained in elegance, but in terms of workmanship and equipment, it has left a little feathers. Instead of the previous two-part aluminum handlebar stubs, the rider now uses the simple tubular steel handlebar. In connection with the relatively high pegs and the narrow seat, the pilot logs rather sportily and dynamically, docj by no means uncomfortable.
Here we go. Shifting, clutch, all of them not an issue. The fact that the GS 500 engine is much simpler than its counterparts from Honda and Kawa hardly comes across when you ride a motorcycle. Sound, power development? all pretty similar. When the crowd turns up, you actually have to hurry up a little on little Suzi, but you always stay with the music with hard-working switching work. Bare Numbers? Up to 100 km / h, the CB 500 slows the GS 500 by just under a second (4.7 to 5.6), with 173 to 180 it also lags behind on the track. Theoretically. But there is still the slipstream. And that helps. So: In real life, the few horsepower differences don’t matter. Especially since the veteran Suzuki engine is consistently in good style. Does it vibrate little, runs quietly and smoothly? and uses the least fuel.
L.Either the Suzuki technicians scored an own goal during the renovation. While the old GS 500 was unquestionably ready to take turns, the chassis has been hopelessly overwhelmed since the renovation in 2000. It goes straight ahead without any flaws, if you ignore the fact that the GS runs after every ruts in love. It gets dramatic in swiftly sweeping curves when the front and rear wheels neither really agree on the line nor the lean angle. The Suzuki tips over the front wheel out of the track, unsettles the rider and spoils the fun cornering. It won’t work like that. The good brakes, the great freedom of lean angles and the light-footed handling are no longer of any use. Please, dear Mr. Suzuki, saving is very popular right now, but not like that.
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50 hp motorcycles in comparison
Small escapes
1st place – Honda CB 500
The Honda justifies the higher price with the astonishingly stable and precise steering suspension, which is supplemented by effective, finely adjustable brakes. Even with two people or in a sporty gallop, the CB 500 does not get out of hand. The powerful four-valve engine, which is connected to an easily shiftable six-speed gearbox, ensures brisk driving performance. Optimization of the Honda CB 500 is only advisable in terms of consumption and emissions.
2nd place – Kawasaki ER-5 Twister
With the best equipment and good workmanship for this price range, the ER-5 is definitely worth the money, especially since the complex, water-cooled motor is anything but cheap. The Kawasaki is very handy and easy to wave through the corners, but annoying with fluttering, nervous straight-line stability and a dull braking effect on the front wheel. Enough suggestions to position the Twister again as an attractive entry-level motorcycle through targeted model updates.
3rd place – Suzuki GS 500
The successful long-running Suzuki is slowly running out of air. No, the old, air-cooled and very economical engine is not the problem. The problem lies in the wobbly, unsafe cornering behavior with increasing lean angle, which spoils the desire for brisk insoles. It’s a shame, because with powerful brakes and easy handling, the Suzuki would still be a nice corner sweeper with high practical value. This is why the same applies to Suzuki: Rework.
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