A 1-year review of Honda Cb500F

I am doing this review after completing 7000 kilometres. I got this bike last year with 13000 km on it, now it’s got 20,000 km on it.

It is a great bike. I love it for many reasons, it looks good in black and white, but it looks stunning in red colour and the overall styling of the bike looks amazing from every angle. All black engine with the cherry red colour looks very good on this bike.

I initially had a 150cc motorcycle, so it’s more than triple the power. It felt this bike is very powerful when I just started riding this Cb500 but believe me in a couple of weeks, you get used to it.

Learners approved. Here in Queensland, Australia. When you are on L plates. You can not ride any bike you want, there are certain restrictions, like the size of the engine. So it used to be 300cc before, now it is up to 650 cc engine limit. So this bike is good to go for anyone learning or using the bike for commuting or adventure.

You need to figure out what kind of riding will you be doing, because if you choose a bike that you are not comfortable on the freeway you will not be happy and you will have to get another bike.
Cb500F is enough to ride anywhere, freeway or cruise around the city. One thing that bothers people about this bike is the wind on the freeways. As it is a naked bike, the wind hits your chest straight as there is no windscreen, although you can get one. But I just got used to it straight away, the wind does not bother me. It is kind of cool, when the wind hits you just ride through it.

Battle between 300cc and 500cc
Yes, this is a massive thing for many people. When I was looking into getting a bike, I was willing to go for 300cc bike as I was just starting out. But after all the tips from people on the internet, I figured out that I need more power than just 300cc bike.

Let me explain. A 300cc bike will be good, but you will be struggling on the Highways, or if you have a person riding with you and you go up the mountains and things like that, you do not want to struggle.
Most 300cc bikes have the single-cylinder engine and 500cc bikes are twin cylinder. Similarly the bigger bikes have 4 cylinders, it’s basically got 4 pipes that you see under the engine.
Another point was the price difference. I was looking at second-hand bikes, the price of a 300cc and 500cc was very similar. It had a difference of like $500-$1000, which is not much. Why would you not get a bigger, better bike for almost the same price?

Affordable Motorcycle
Very inexpensive to run. I fill it up as soon as it hits 250 km on the meter, it cost me $10. I can ride it a lot more than this, as it has 2.5 litres once the reserve light turns on, which will give me another 50 km. But I rather not let it go to the nil.

Put it this way, it all depends on what you are using the bike for.I have seen lots of people riding 50 cc scooters around town and that is enough for them as it is 60 km zone and they can go up to 80kms.
Cb500f is 500cc, imagine having the power boosted by 10. It has got enough power to go for long adventures or to commute to and from on the highways or just city joyrides. You can have plenty of fun with but still, stay in control. It is all about safety, I feel very safe riding this bike.

Why Honda?
Honda has got a very good reputation. It is affordable to maintain, the cost of services and parts are easily available and are very affordable.

You have to look at all these points before you buy an expensive bike. My friend’s got a Bmw 1250cc bike, he’s always paying thousands of dollars trying to maintain that bike. The overall bike cost him $20,000 he is still paying it off.
Hondas are very reliable. In this one year, it never gave me a hard time. It is very comfortable and a lot of fun, I would highly recommend Honda to anyone.
They have got the 2020 CB series bikes, cafe racer look in 300cc,650cc and 1000cc. They look outstanding.

Conclusion
After my one year on this bike, I don’t think I want to upgrade to any other bike, I am very happy with the performance and the looks of this bike. I will keep this motorcycle for a long time.