All Tests – Honda CBR 500R Test: a more polished CB – Technical update on the Honda CBR500R

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Honda CBR 500R test: a more polished CB

All Tests - Honda CBR 500R Test: a more polished CB - Technical update on the Honda CBR500R

After testing the small Honda CB 500F roadster, Site invites you to take the handlebars of the sports car of the range: the CBR 500R. Is she really more radical, as her surname suggests? A (very) few things, yes ! Test.

Technical update on the Honda CBR500R

Cycle part: solid and inexpensive

It is thanks to its platform concept that Honda manages to reduce its manufacturing costs. The principle and simple: like the NC700 range, the three CB500s are manufactured around a common basis. We therefore find the same chassis and the same engine, adorned with distinctive trim.

On the CB500F, CBR500R or even CB500X, the chassis is strictly identical. It consists of a new 35mm steel tube frame that offers a good balance between flexibility and stiffness. This choice makes it possible to design motorcycles that are both efficient and easy to handle..

The measurements are generally identical on the “F” and on the “R”: the wheelbase for example is 1410 mm and the seat height is 785 mm. This measure offers accessibility to the greatest number because the crotch allows even the smallest sizes to have their feet on the ground.

The 25.5 ° caster angle and 102mm caster are also common to both bikes. Just like the 41 mm telescopic fork and its 120 mm of travel which absorbs shocks rather well and offers good driving precision despite a traditional design..

Same fight for the rear suspension with mono-shock absorber, which sees itself equipped with a pre-stress adjustment in 9 positions. Not the most accessible, this adjustment will allow using a specific key to adjust the height of the spring and play on its hardness or softness. But the setting recommended by the manufacturer for mixed / solo use offers a good compromise between comfort and efficiency..

In the end, the CB500F accuses 192 kg with all its full tank against 194 kg for the CBR500R. There are also some notable differences in the controls, as the "F" is fitted with a 600mm wide handlebars placed at 1019mm high..

The CBR500R for its part receives a "false" sports handlebars since the latter is very wide open so as not to break the wrists. Measuring 560mm in width, it stands at 970mm in height and gives the "R" a relatively comfortable riding position despite its sporty genes..

Finally, their braking system is similar, with a 320mm double-piston caliper disc up front and a 240mm single-piston caliper disc at the rear. Both are fitted with standard ABS as standard, i.e. not coupled between the front and rear brake.

Motor: linear but available

The 471 cc twin cylinder is the new engine that powers the CB500 range. It develops the power of 35 kW, the equivalent of 47.5 hp. And although it is of a low displacement, Honda has not neglected its exterior appearance because it is frankly nice to watch. !

Inside, everything has been designed to be efficient, economical and as environmentally friendly as possible. This twin is equipped with a double overhead camshaft, 4 valves per cylinder and the cooling is provided by a liquid system whose water pump has a minimal footprint..

The crankshaft pins set at 180 ° and the balance shaft – which counteracts vibrations – are mounted behind the cylinders so as to be as close as possible to the center of gravity. Honda announces that thanks to this placement, the inertia of the twin cylinder is low and the torque favored: 47 Nm at 7,000 rpm.

As for the power, it reaches its maximum threshold shortly after: 47.5 horsepower at 8,500 rpm. Modest values ​​which give pride of place to fuel consumption since Honda estimates it at 3.7 l / 100 km, i.e. a total range close to 440 km !

Sports genes, the engine of the CB500 is not lacking. And for good reason, a lot of parts have been designed or mounted as on the CBR600RR. Thus, the use of roller rockers and grooved skirt pistons has reduced friction.

Small novelty: there is also a guide in the air box that separates the two air intake ducts to the two cylinders. This guide allows a better distribution of the air, more balanced and without loss, therefore more efficient.

In the lower engine, the "triangle" system used on the CBR600 RR is also there: it symbolizes the position between the crankshaft, the primary gearbox shaft and the counterbalance counter-shaft and has made it possible to reduce the bulk. because this compactness offers narrower housings.

As on the 600 and 1000 cc hypersports, the CB500 inherits the same gear selection system which allows a very short engine, with more sporty performance. To conclude on these common parts with the CBR600R, the CB500 also takes the same measurement between the bore and the interval between the cylinders (7 mm).

The CB’s bi-cylinder is not, however, a sharp engine since it was developed for the purposes of efficiency, economy and robustness. Moreover, in addition to participating in the rigidity of the frame via its four fixing points, the engineers have confirmed that the service intervals will be spaced 12,000 km apart. Which suggests that the 2013 CB500F should, like its ancestor the 1993 CB500, be a fine example of reliability. !

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