Help me choose my next bike - CB500X, NC700X ..... or PCX!

[speedtripler]

liddelijohn , thank-you! Like yourself i am also a qualified engineer (built and raced bikes and cars , even worked on planes /gyro-copters and boats), and i wouldnt touch Hondas with a barge pole as of the last 7 or 8 years.Friends of mine owned a Honda dealership in England for years , but after years of quality issues and recalls (and recall refusals), they moved to become Suzuki agents.Honda have some cleaver engineers but the penny pinching accountants have took things too far and they are a mere shadow of their former selves.Its painful , shameful and embarassing to see how the company is going downhill ,yet if they bought out a new model tomorrow with a plastic engine , stone tires and square wheels , you would still get the ill informed claim its the best bike ever. They refuse to look or accept anything that doesnt have a Honda badge glued to it.You cant educate these people (maybe no-one can).

to consistantly be the cheapest ,i suppose some concessions have to be made somewhere ...

the 4 bikes they replaced them with an nc700 ,a ducatti monster ,a kawa 650 and a z800 and a bmw

are all more expenisve (some nearly double ) so you could and should expect a better experience

that being said , a 210k 500cc bike should have been properly designed and if theyve fcuked it up it

will make me re-think possibly buying their new cb650 inline 4 ........at least until its been in production awhile

[ktm jeff]

Yes , i agree that quality costs money , but the Hondas are often more expensive than the competition and are no better built - often far worse.Honda sells bikes - many bikes - largely on its reputation gained (rightfully) from many years ago when the only choice was Honda.Today there is far more choice of bikes from many countries.Its not the fact Honda now makes boring bikes - Fireblade and CRF excluded -but that they arent made as good as they should (could)be.Give it 5 years and the Chinese/Thai producers (who supply many parts for the Thai built "Hondas") will have done to them what they did to the British market.

[speedtripler]

Yes , i agree that quality costs money , but the Hondas are often more expensive than the competition and are no better built - often far worse.Honda sells bikes - many bikes - largely on its reputation gained (rightfully) from many years ago when the only choice was Honda.Today there is far more choice of bikes from many countries.Its not the fact Honda now makes boring bikes - Fireblade and CRF excluded -but that they arent made as good as they should (could)be.Give it 5 years and the Chinese/Thai producers (who supply many parts for the Thai built "Hondas") will have done to them what they did to the British market.

the cbr 250 at 100k was a real bargain compared to its nearest rival at the time ,the ninja 250 was 159k

and quality was fine on mine anyway ,same with the pcx and forza

kawasaki have been cutting cost corners too and the z800 weights more than the z1000 due to a cheaper heavy steel frame being used

instead of the alloy one

i have a few honda bikes with no issues but maybe ive been lucky

i have a suzuki gsx -1255 as well and its given me more bother than any honda although its way more fun to ride

i also have a versys and its probably the best of the lot for mixed riding situations ,its 100% in reliability in the last 3 years although

it doesnt have the sheer fun factor of gsx that fun factor could get you killed very easily in bkk ......

Edited March 12, 2014 by speedtripler

[bramds]

Im happy there are lot of people who are happy with the Honda 500s ,, and I hope it remains that way,,, but the fact is that the model has a higher than normal problem rate for a new model ,Honda have made recalls in USa for some of The issues and in other countries and Honda dealers are aware of problems , they get all the warranty claim hassles so I personally would not buy one and 4 of my pattaya friends who did buy them sold them on due to the problems I have mentioned , 1 bought Er6 one changed his for NC700 another bought a monster 795 and another bought new Kawasaki 800 , another friend has a a 500 with 6k kilometres than has lost all its oil 4 times and been fixed 8 times by mityon he is not happy with it at all, , he has a BMW so he relies on that .

A cop who lives in my village got Mityon to refund him on his when the gearbox seals blew out after only 2000kms , he is a cop so they folded to him . he also has a kawasaki Er 6 now but he wants the new Z800

I must have gotten a Wednesday bike :-)

So your friends just upgraded. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe something got lost in translation.

I am a member of tons of 500 Facebook groups and an international forum.

Funny that nobody mentions all the problems you have. Apart from Superior who feels he has to tell everybody on the internet about his bad bike. Which I think happened after he crashed it, crash was maybe worse than what he describes, we will never know.

[ll2]

in the meantime, kawasaki ninja300 has some recalls for ecu, ABS etc. in USA as well all i know.

Wonder why these recalls do not happen in Thailand.

A recall does not mean something bad anyway. They see a mistake and try to fix it.

[mania]

Wonder why these recalls do not happen in Thailand.

Sadly it is not because the problems do not exist

It is only because consumer protection in Thailand does not exist as strictly as in other countries.

Edited March 12, 2014 by mania

[ll2]

Wonder why these recalls do not happen in Thailand.

Sadly it is not because the problems do not exist

It is only because consumer protection in Thailand does not exist as strictly as in other countries.

wow, i never thought it this way, thanks for info Mania.

So, we are lucky to get a recall in Thailand, at least honda is honest on that.

A recall is better than no recall at the end.

Edited March 12, 2014 by ll2

[macknife]

in the meantime, kawasaki ninja300 has some recalls for ecu, ABS etc. in USA as well all i know.

Wonder why these recalls do not happen in Thailand.

A recall does not mean something bad anyway. They see a mistake and try to fix it.

When I last brought my ninja in for service they changed the ECU. I didn't know they were going to do that, I only found out after. So I guess they are checking these things in Thailand but they are just not publicly announcing it.

[mania]

wow, i never thought it this way, thanks for info Mania.

So, we are lucky to get a recall in Thailand, at least honda is honest on that.

A recall is better than no recall at the end.

There actually is a consumer protection device in Thailand but it is not as used as other countries.

Could be folks here complain less or are less concerned/informed about the little things.

On one of the Honda recalls it came about because someone did notify Honda here of the recall in other countries

of a bike Thai built bike

After which I recall they posted Thai language of that recall on their FB or website

So yes good on Honda Thailand for stepping up.

Also it is good to watch other countries about some recalls because for instance if a

bike like Ninja 300 or Honda 500 is built in Thailand & having recalls in other countries it is

highly unlikely some the bikes here are not also affected since they are built at the same plant.

But also some recalls are minor nuisance type items & an owner may just say screw it no big deal.

But other items may be bigger concerns & should be looked at or checked as it may not be a problem

initially but could shorten the lifespan of the bike if left unchecked or worse be a safety concern.

Edited March 12, 2014 by mania

[Familyonthemove]

I think most new engine designs have some issues - so the Ninja 300 and CB500 recalls are to be expected.

For the Honda - the CB500R forum seems to have the best info - and the main issues are the recalls in US, Australia and now UK for the rocker arm bolt problems and there's also some reports of leaking oil seal at the front drive sprocket. The oil loss seems to be just 2 or 3 bikes - but the 'victims' are very active posters and bloggers so the same bikes appear in several forums.

There's also some reports about bolt quality and sticky gear change .... and an interesting discussion about wind noise on the CB500X.

Reviewers don't seem to comment on the gear change or wind noise and it looks like the noise issue is only from the US - perhaps the riders are used to full bagger Harleys with barn door windscreens?

In comparison the Kawasaki 650 motor seems to have very few issues - especially considering the higher number of bikes out there.

I'm going to look again at the Versys - but it's heavier and taller than the CB500X which is not good for the Sukhumvit meat grinder - and it's range on one tank is less - but once out of the city I bet it's a nice ride. (But no centre stand and it still looks like an office photocopier from the left side!).

[ll2]

I think most new engine designs have some issues - so the Ninja 300 and CB500 recalls are to be expected.

For the Honda - the CB500R forum seems to have the best info - and the main issues are the recalls in US, Australia and now UK for the rocker arm bolt problems and there's also some reports of leaking oil seal at the front drive sprocket. The oil loss seems to be just 2 or 3 bikes - but the 'victims' are very active posters and bloggers so the same bikes appear in several forums.

There's also some reports about bolt quality and sticky gear change .... and an interesting discussion about wind noise on the CB500X.

Reviewers don't seem to comment on the gear change or wind noise and it looks like the noise issue is only from the US - perhaps the riders are used to full bagger Harleys with barn door windscreens?

In comparison the Kawasaki 650 motor seems to have very few issues - especially considering the higher number of bikes out there.

I'm going to look again at the Versys - but it's heavier and taller than the CB500X which is not good for the Sukhumvit meat grinder - and it's range on one tank is less - but once out of the city I bet it's a nice ride. (But no centre stand and it still looks like an office photocopier from the left side!).

Yes, there are some problems stated by 500 series owners at cbr500 riders forum but 4 or 5 people only among thousands.

there is not such a thing as sticky gear but owners who do not know how to shift properly at international 500 riders forum. never heard of wind noise problem there which i am a moderator on 500 riders forum but never owned a bike without wind noise in my life!

kawa versys will be hard to ride around Bangkok especially Sukhumvit but on the open roads of course it is a better bike and that is why it is 100 k thb - 30 percent - expensive.

again, cb500x is the nest choice for your needs from what i feel.

[Wong!]

I think most new engine designs have some issues - so the Ninja 300 and CB500 recalls are to be expected.

For the Honda - the CB500R forum seems to have the best info - and the main issues are the recalls in US, Australia and now UK for the rocker arm bolt problems and there's also some reports of leaking oil seal at the front drive sprocket. The oil loss seems to be just 2 or 3 bikes - but the 'victims' are very active posters and bloggers so the same bikes appear in several forums.

There's also some reports about bolt quality and sticky gear change .... and an interesting discussion about wind noise on the CB500X.

Reviewers don't seem to comment on the gear change or wind noise and it looks like the noise issue is only from the US - perhaps the riders are used to full bagger Harleys with barn door windscreens?

In comparison the Kawasaki 650 motor seems to have very few issues - especially considering the higher number of bikes out there.

I'm going to look again at the Versys - but it's heavier and taller than the CB500X which is not good for the Sukhumvit meat grinder - and it's range on one tank is less - but once out of the city I bet it's a nice ride. (But no centre stand and it still looks like an office photocopier from the left side!).

Yes, there are some problems stated by 500 series owners at cbr500 riders forum but 4 or 5 people only among thousands.

there is not such a thing as sticky gear but owners who do not know how to shift properly at international 500 riders forum. never heard of wind noise problem there which i am a moderator on 500 riders forum but never owned a bike without wind noise in my life!

kawa versys will be hard to ride around Bangkok especially Sukhumvit but on the open roads of course it is a better bike and that is why it is 100 k thb - 30 percent - expensive.

again, cb500x is the nest choice for your needs from what i feel.

I agree.

Most problems people have with the 500 is through their not being able to ride a bike properly. The main reason I don't post any more is because of all the new riders asking the same questions over and over again - usually Americans who don't know what a clutch is or how to use one.