Frugal Honda CB500X perfect excuse to start riding a bike

Motorcycles have always offered a more affordable means of transport than cars. These days even more so than ever with the prices of both fuel and cars being what they are.

After admiring the attractive styling of the Honda CB500X in The Citizen Motoring‘s parking bay recently, a colleague was gobsmacked hearing that this motorbike only sips 3.1 litres of petrol per 100km. This works out to an incredible 32.2 km per litre, which is more than three times the distance my colleague gets per litre in his old bakkie.

And the beauty of the Honda CB500X is that it isn’t a little mundane machine purpose-built to run on fumes. Like those 125cc delivery bikes you see running out of puff over the smallest of bumps. It is an attractive mid-sized adventure bike excelling both on and off the road that happens to be very frugal.

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Honda CB500X an all-rounder

Priced at R122 399, it can still be considered fairly affordable in the two-wheeler market, especially taking into account its all-rounder capabilities. The bike has been around for a decade, but is still new to South Africa having only been introduced locally late last year. The model that was introduced to Mzansi does benefit from various updates including a redesigned swingarm.

Power comes from a liquid-cooled, parallel twin 471cc engine which produces 35 kW of power and 43 Nm of torque. The fuel-injected mill is mated to six-speed manual transmission managed by an assist/slipper clutch. The latter turned out to be one of the highlights during its week-long stay with us.

A feature that was limited to higher end products in the past, the clutch ensures both supersmooth upshifting, while mitigating engine braking when gearing down. This function, together with the bike feeling nimbler than it 199kg kerb weight suggests make the Honda CB500X a very attractive option for beginners.

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Smooth ride

While the torque being delivered from low rpms makes for decent acceleration, it’s not really the type of powertrain you want to push to far past the national limit.

Ride quality both on and off the tarmac was very comfortable courtesy of a Showa 41 mm fork with 135 mm axle travel and single­ tube rear shock absorber with large­ diameter piston and 135 mm axle travel.

As far as braking goes, the CB500X comes standard with ABS with dual 296 mm wave­ pattern discs with two­-piston callipers stopping the 19-inch multispoke cast aluminium front wheel. A single 240 mm disc with single piston calliper stops the 17-inch rear wheel.

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Attractive styling

The Honda CB500X has a ground clearance of 180 mm, seat height of 830 mm and 1 445 mm wheelbase.

The fully digital LCD instrument cluster offers a good selection of information. But it can be difficult to see in bright sunlight.

The aggressive styling, along with LED head and taillight, makes the Honda CB500X am attractive bike. Pearl Organic Green paintwork and featuring optional front side pipes made our tester a proper head-turner.

The Honda CB500X adventure bike is a well-polished all-rounder geared to tackle anything from weekday commutes to weekend adventures. And more importantly, one that won’t break the bank at the pumps.