All Tests – Honda CB500X test: escape at a friendly price – A CB500X to see further

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Honda CB500X test: escape at a friendly price

All Tests - Honda CB500X test: escape at a friendly price - A CB500X to see further

The Honda CB500X, the latest addition to the CB 500 series relaunched in 2013, is the trail-road alternative of the family: more versatile than the CB500F and CBR500R, its range of 490 km and its price make it a well under all reports. Test.

A CB500X to see further

The expression is to be taken literally as well as figuratively: the new Honda CB500X offers a driving position in height which allows to better dominate the road, while its versatility and its consumption of camel – Honda announces 490 km with a full! – should appeal to the more adventurous.

But be careful not to be coaxed by its few trail attributes, because precisely, the CB500 X is not one. Far from being an adventurer ready to do battle on the trails, the Honda is certainly versatile, but above all road! A bit like cars called "Crossover", it inherits a longer travel suspension which does not make it an endurance rider..

Far from it, since it differs technically from the CB500 F and CBR500R only by its longer fork of 20 mm (140 mm against 120 mm) and the presence of an engine guard (read our and our ).

The engine, the frame and almost all the peripherals are identical to those of the two "sisters", which generates nice economies of scale for the winged crest. With the exception of certain chassis values ​​(read our Technical point on the penultimate page) and the trim, nothing distinguishes the CB500X from the CB500F and CBR500R.

Up to the size of the stick rims whose diameter remains fixed at 17 inches, confirming that this little road trail is not designed to think outside the box. On the other hand, its tank embeds 1.6 liters more than the CB500 F and R, or 17.3 l with reserve. Thanks to the hyper-contained consumption of its parallel twin-cylinder of 471cc (between 3.2 l and 3.7 l / 100 km, according to Honda), the CB500X would thus approach the bar of 500 km with full fuel. !

In terms of driving position, the X offers – unsurprisingly – a more upright posture, very slightly leaning forward. It is also the highest saddle of the three CB500s (810 mm against 785 mm for the F and R), but it remains easy to step over since the width remains contained at the crotch..

A little longer, wide and tall, the CB500X is also slightly heavier: with 195 kg fully loaded, it is a little more kilo than the CBR500R and three more than the CB500F.

Thanks to an excellent distribution of the masses, this "overweight" is hardly felt: at the stop or at low speed, the CB500X is maneuvered with the tips of the gloves and plays with the tests of the city. These city claims are however marred by the low space under his saddle: we store the papers and a specific "U" lock, but nothing more.

Like her two sisters, she nevertheless receives an anti-theft system by coded key and a standard ABS: at 5990 euros, all motorcycles are not so "richly" equipped. As such, the overall finish appears satisfactory and the assembly quality has hardly any shortcomings..

However, some plastic cuts appear "approximate", while the void that leaves the inside of the fork crown is not the most aesthetic. Rather than offering us a breathtaking view of cables and hoses, Honda could – for example – have installed a small glove box…

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