All Tests – CB500F Test: Honda sharpens its little roadster – Honda redesigns its entry level

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CB500F test: Honda sharpens its little roadster

All Tests - CB500F Test: Honda sharpens its little roadster - Honda redesigns its entry level

Three years after relaunching its famous CB500F, Honda performs a meticulous update of its roadster: aesthetic boost, improvements to some practical aspects and conservation of most of its mechanics. Decortic site…

Honda redesigns its entry level

No, the Africa Twin is not the only novelty to land in 2016 in Honda dealerships! The entry-level of the Tokyo giant () benefit from careful updates that Site will be responsible for evaluating during future tests….

First model to be dissected by the Journal moto du net: the CB500F, presented on the magnificent roads of Seville to the European press. Legendary by its name, the small Honda motorcycle – the smallest displacement, except 125 cc – is exemplary by its adequacy with the A2 license standards.

CB500F: availability, colors and prices

  • Available: March 2016 in the

  • Colors: Tricolor, Orange, Red or Black

  • Price: € 5,599

Declared victorious in the match that opposed it to its main Japanese rivals in 2013 (read our), the CB500F however sees the arrival in its segment of new opponents, smaller but no less sturdy, named Z300, MT-03 or 390 Duke !

In order to withstand these ambitious half-portions, the "Cebe" is therefore evolving this year, mainly on the aesthetic level: "we wanted our CB500F more aggressive and more refined"comments Ian Bland, Marketing Manager at Honda Motor Europe.

The eraser stroke of the "Design Project Leader" of the CB500F 2016 (and the CBR500R 2016, also tested by MNC, test to follow soon) is very noticeable: Kei Fukuyama is at the origin of many off-road motorcycles at the world number one and he wanted to lighten the line of the roadster.

Compared to its predecessor therefore, the new CB500F model appears sharper thanks to a sharper and more sophisticated fork crown since it incorporates new LED lighting: "the rider sees better, but is also better spotted in traffic, which is just as important", confides Mister Bland.

The side tank covers are much more compact and reveal the radiator – formerly entirely camouflaged -, the frame – and some perfectible welds – as well as the cylinder head cover which adopts the same pretty bronze color as the engine casings.

Under the twin, the size of the shoe shrinks like grief. Just behind, the exhaust is offered a silencer also less bulky and more modern, which neither improves nor deteriorates the maximum performance of the Twin of 471 cc: still 47.5 hp at 8,500 rpm, and 43 Nm 1500 revs earlier.

By inspecting the technical sheet (on the last page of this test), we realize on the other hand that the full weight of the machine decreases by two kilograms (190 kg therefore) thanks to the combined speeds of the silencer and the plastic covering … and despite the increase of one liter in the tank capacity !

"We increased the volume on the top of the tank sides", shows us with hands – and in Japanese! – Fukuyama San,"and we also saved space on the front part which was previously eaten up by the plastic cover fasteners".

With its 16.7 liters, the CB now carries more fuel than its direct opponents. At the same time, the Honda retains its appreciable sobriety: 4.2 l / 100km according to the on-board computer at the end of our pleasant Spanish trip, a drop less than the consumption measured by MNC during previous runs..

Thus, the CB500F offers a colossal range: 470 km according to the clever calculations of Japanese engineers, at least 400 km according to the little finger of Site which, in addition to being remarkably informed, is often well inspired…

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