Honda CB500X 2019 - Nice updates

[Kinnock]

The news about the 2019 CB500 range update looks good, especially for the 500X.

 

19 inch front wheel, longer travel suspension and an improved dash.  Wire wheels would have made it an even better mid range adventure bike, but can't have everything I guess. 

 

https://www.visordown.com/news/new-bikes/honda-cb500-twins-updated-2019-new-cb500x-cb500f-cbr500r

 

 

 

[Kwasaki]

Spoke wheels on that bike would look silly IMO.

As for suspension all bikes should have CRF suspension for Thai roads if you asked me. ????

[canthai55]

Great bike for LOS, for riders with not much experience.

Gentle power delivery, good value, huge aftermarket.

Spoke wheels - would not have another set except for a pure dirt bike.

[eisfeld]

The CB500X is widely popular with Thais for touring and a bit of offroad. It's really good value. Just enough power for the highways, not too crazy heavy and the price is also OK. And you get the service of Bigwing in all bigger cities.

[Kinnock]

7 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Spoke wheels on that bike would look silly IMO.

As for suspension all bikes should have CRF suspension for Thai roads if you asked me. ????

Agree about the suspension, even in central Bangkok my CRF comes in handy for the huge holes in the roads.  The new 500x looks like some of the benefits of the CRF with a bit more power.

 

I thought wire wheels were supposed to be better for rough roads, which is why adventure and dual sport bikes have them?  But I have to admit, I've not heard of CB 500 cast wheels collapsing, even on Thai roads.

[canthai55]

5 hours ago, Kinnock said:

I thought wire wheels were supposed to be better for rough roads,

Spoke wheels are stronger, but on an ' Adventure-styled' bike not required.

Going 130 km, flying over huge whoops, crashing into berms ... then OK. Plus for pure dirt bikes they are lighter, so less unsprung weight, so better suspension compliance.

Can't see an Africa Twin going places you need a dirt bike. Gravel roads and dirt roads in the dry - sure.

But the whole ADV bike thing is - to me - a styling exercise.

They are overweight, poorly suspended street bikes that "LOOK" the part.

 

 

[thaiguzzi]

2 hours ago, canthai55 said:

But the whole ADV bike thing is - to me - a styling exercise.

They are overweight, poorly suspended street bikes that "LOOK" the part.

Agree.

I believe stuff like the Ducati Desert Sled and new Triumph 1200 Scrambler being released soon are just as capable, once you've had pannier/bag racks fitted etc, possibly more so. Lighter, just as much suspension travel, and at least they look like a real bike, not some transformer-mongoloid thing. I've always thought the original GS 800 from the 80's was a proper bike and these current 1200 monstrosities from the last 20 years just hideous.

Back on topic.

B for Bland.

or

B for Beige.

Beige would be a lovely colour for any of these 500 offerings from the Mighty Big Red Corporate Honda....????

[Kwasaki]

9 hours ago, Kinnock said:

Agree about the suspension, even in central Bangkok my CRF comes in handy for the huge holes in the roads.  The new 500x looks like some of the benefits of the CRF with a bit more power.

 

I thought wire wheels were supposed to be better for rough roads, which is why adventure and dual sport bikes have them?  But I have to admit, I've not heard of CB 500 cast wheels collapsing, even on Thai roads.

CRF250 is Ok for power if you use the rev range and change gear a lot.

Spoke wheels are cheap.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Kwasaki

[Kinnock]

8 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Spoke wheels are stronger, but on an ' Adventure-styled' bike not required.

Going 130 km, flying over huge whoops, crashing into berms ... then OK. Plus for pure dirt bikes they are lighter, so less unsprung weight, so better suspension compliance.

Can't see an Africa Twin going places you need a dirt bike. Gravel roads and dirt roads in the dry - sure.

But the whole ADV bike thing is - to me - a styling exercise.

They are overweight, poorly suspended street bikes that "LOOK" the part.

 

 

Yep, good points.  I remember the first BMW Adventure bikes had wire wheels with a raised flange to hold the spokes - so you could replace spokes by the roadside without removing the tire.  That made sense for the serious overlander.

 

The 2019 500X looks like just enough off road ability to work well on Thai roads to me.

 

[eisfeld]

13 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Can't see an Africa Twin going places you need a dirt bike. Gravel roads and dirt roads in the dry - sure.

But the whole ADV bike thing is - to me - a styling exercise.

They are overweight, poorly suspended street bikes that "LOOK" the part.

After taking my Africa Twin through wet mud and small rivers... yea it was not exactly fun. The weight and height make it mighty difficult to keep the thing upright when things get tricky. The suspension though isn't so bad and covers quite some usecases. It'll bottom out if you go for really rough stuff but again, the weight and height makes this quite scary. It's good though to get over curbs, potholes or riding gravel roads in rural areas. Does it look tougher than it can handle? Possibly. But it's not all just looks ????

[eisfeld]

11 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

I believe stuff like the Ducati Desert Sled and new Triumph 1200 Scrambler being released soon are just as capable, once you've had pannier/bag racks fitted etc, possibly more so.

It really depends on what you want to do. The "ADV" bikes are really more touring bikes suitable for Thai roads. With pillion and luggage. I wouldn't want to tour with a Desert Sled. If the seat is anything like the one on my Scrambler then it's a literal pain in the ass. And it's not exactly built to take on much luggage either. Plus that thing gets so frickin hot that you can roast some chicken by tieing it to the inside of your legs.

 

But for a bit of offroading not too far I can imagine it can be a ton of fun. I took my Scrambler to some place with dirt and just drifted around a little bit and it put a very big grin on my face. It's perfect for stupid, mindless fun like that. Oh, make sure you get a really good belly pan because the underside has the oil filter placed nicely vulnerable (I had 3 leaks from that PoS).

[jackdd]

On 11/8/2018 at 6:18 AM, canthai55 said:

Spoke wheels are stronger, but on an ' Adventure-styled' bike not required.

Going 130 km, flying over huge whoops, crashing into berms ... then OK. Plus for pure dirt bikes they are lighter, so less unsprung weight, so better suspension compliance.

Can't see an Africa Twin going places you need a dirt bike. Gravel roads and dirt roads in the dry - sure.

But the whole ADV bike thing is - to me - a styling exercise.

They are overweight, poorly suspended street bikes that "LOOK" the part.

 

 

When looking at adventure bikes there are quite big differences as to how offroad capable they are. But of course they all have in common that their first purpose is road, offroad is only the second purpose.

[thaiguzzi]

12 hours ago, eisfeld said:

But for a bit of offroading not too far I can imagine it can be a ton of fun. I took my Scrambler to some place with dirt and just drifted around a little bit and it put a very big grin on my face. It's perfect for stupid, mindless fun like that. Oh, make sure you get a really good belly pan because the underside has the oil filter placed nicely vulnerable (I had 3 leaks from that PoS).

The Desert Sled is very different from all the other "Scrambler base models", 40k more different for a start.

8" or 200mm in new money suspension travel , which is ADV bike travel or more, longer, taller, fatter front adjustable forks, adjustable rear shock, 19" front wheel, alloy sump guard as std, 2" longer, stronger swing arm, and something i have not seen on a Ducati in decades, the swing arm is not only bolted to the engine crank cases, but also through extended frame side plates making for a very rigid design.

It is a very impressive bit of kit.

I just test rode one this week.

[OneMoreFarang]

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 4:29 PM, Kinnock said:

an improved dash

I have mixed feelings about these modern instruments.

Yes, they look nice and often they have some interesting function and features.

But they are bloody expensive.

For my 390cc bike that thing cost about 1000USD! Try to replace this in 5 or more years...

And one problem is that even a small problem can be a big problem. I.e. that thing is not 100% water proved anymore and too much moisture gets into the electronic. Bye bye, total bike failure until it is replaced.

That are the moments when I think about the time with old fashioned analogue instruments. A little moisture, no problem. Even total failure, no problem, the bike still works fine.

Lets look how we think about those modern screens in a couple of years... 

[canthai55]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Even total failure, no problem, the bike still works fine.

One of the joys of running a Magneto - one wire to a kill switch.

Just keep in maintained once or twice a year - zero problems.

[thaiguzzi]

24 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

One of the joys of running a Magneto - one wire to a kill switch.

Just keep in maintained once or twice a year - zero problems.

like this -

[pbas400]

available in thailand from what date ?   

 

i like my CRF Rally but need more power for traveling

 

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by pbas400

[jackdd]

43 minutes ago, pbas400 said:

available in thailand from what date ?   

Usually this info is not made public (this includes that this info is not given to the Honda Big Wing shops) until a few days before it is actually sold.

[pbas400]

february in Europe

 

i hope the same here in thailand...the bike is made in Thai ????

 

the price in Europe dont change between 2018/2019....so it s also a good news

[Kinnock]

46 minutes ago, pbas400 said:

february in Europe

 

i hope the same here in thailand...the bike is made in Thai ????

 

the price in Europe dont change between 2018/2019....so it s also a good news

I saw one report saying March for Thailand.

 

Think the updated CB500X may be the 'Goldilocks bike' for me ......

 

BMW 800's and 1250's, Triumph Tigers and new Scrambler, Ducati Desert Sled - too heavy, too expensive.

Versys 650 - Close - but too road biased, bit heavy

Benelli 500 TRK - too Chinese

CB500x 2019 - Just right?

Enfield Himalayan - too Indian

Versys x300 - should be a 400

BMW 310 GS - bit small, suspension too soft

CRF 250 Rally - engine too small, can't really take a pillion

 

[canthai55]

500X - 49.6 HP 43 NM TQ 196 KG

Versys - 68 HP 64 NM TQ 206 KG - so 10KG more weight but 18 more HP 21 more NM to overcome that weight.

Rented a 500X and it was fine - but gutless

[Kwasaki]

16 hours ago, canthai55 said:

500X - 49.6 HP 43 NM TQ 196 KG

Versys - 68 HP 64 NM TQ 206 KG - so 10KG more weight but 18 more HP 21 more NM to overcome that weight.

Rented a 500X and it was fine - but gutless

I was impressed by my Versys 650 but it got too heavy for me, the 500X I find still on the heavy side but a nice low weight feel to it.

Power not same as kwackas 650 twin obviously but adequate from my personnel view.

 

I would like more power than my CRF250 so maybe the CRF450 would be good at only 130 KG, I think it would have problem selling here though as it seems a frame type makes a large price increase. 

[pbas400]

CRF450 is not the perfect bike for traveling 

 

small tank

change oil every 1000 kilometers..the big joke :)

 

CB500X seems to be the good balance

[pbas400]

no news on the date of sale ?

 

i saw the new CB650R in Honda BigWing....still waiting the CB500X 

[Kwasaki]

 

CRF450 is not the perfect bike for traveling 

 

Not available in Thailand I believe and not really made for travel and I was commenting on the weight of bikes, 500X is 197 kg my CRF250 at 145 kg is good with 250 kilos fuel range, the 250R would be nice at 108 kg but not at nearly 3 times the price of the 250L. ????

[moskito]

Nice looking bike, not much ground clearance for really off  road but ok, the CB stands for CITY BIKE not for Offroader.
Honda should finally give us a CRF with a 500cc engine. They tried last year with the 450cc on the CRF 250L Chassis ...fail... for the price of that bike you can buy 3 CRF 250Ls, totally overpriced.
:
The market needs a good 500cc Enduro or an AfricaTwin with a smaller engine. I dont want ride a fat 1000cc bike, thats why i would never buy a GS1200 from BMW... Millionaires show off bike but just 1% of them really do Adventure riding.
:
I just sold my CRF250 Rally after a year. Was underpowered for my weight of 100kg, my CRF 250L does much better, perfect little tool for Thailand and for this price i didnt have to think twice.
:
Has anyone an idea how much the new  CB500X 2019 is in Krabi or Bangkok or Surathani? 
I wish i could order her with sprocket wheels, much better and more reliable.
If not there is RallyRaid, they are having upgrades

I am in Phuket but will NEVER EVER buy anything again in BigWing here, terrible customer service, unfriendly staff and you never get answers on anything.
 

[eisfeld]

3 hours ago, moskito said:

I am in Phuket but will NEVER EVER buy anything again in BigWing here, terrible customer service, unfriendly staff and you never get answers on anything.

Weird, I've been a customer for years there and have had only great experiences with them. What exactly was the issue if I may ask?

[Kwasaki]

6 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Weird, I've been a customer for years there and have had only great experiences with them. What exactly was the issue if I may ask?

Well they must get weird customers from time to time. ????

[moskito]

20 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Weird, I've been a customer for years there and have had only great experiences with them. What exactly was the issue if I may ask?

sure. Had twice the problem nobody had time to answer questions and IF the guys in Showroom was asked questions about motorcycles it was obvious they had no plan. Salesguys not bikers riding themselfs like in most other shops for Big bikes.
:
Last experience was i  asked for a part i had checked 2 days earlier, a break cylinder. Mine was leaking and the oil was gone on the way home from Phuket (20km) She said on the phone, better i come around to check... i wanted only to know  if they have this part in stock or how long i have to wait for the order arrives from Bangkok. She wanted to call back, never did, but thats pretty common in Thailand. Furtermore i hate when I talk to people because i want to buy a new bike and they are playing and watching at their handphone all the time ????  

:

I will check again next week, may be its better now, but i dont belive so. I wtb the new 2019 CB500X ...but...

Edited June 23, 2019 by moskito

[moskito]

20 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Well they must get weird customers from time to time. ????

13.000 Posts ...says it all....  not much time for riding or visiting motorcycle stores i guess ????????????????

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by moskito