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Test rode a CB500F today

25K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  Mikethebear 
#1 ·
So after I picked up my bike from the mechanic I decided to have a look at some of the bikes that were for sale, and what do ya know! The CB500F had just arrived the day prior.
So I just had to take it for a test ride.

Here she is





So, initial impressions:
She's much faster than the 250. The riding position is very different, arms are much higher up and your back is far straighter. The ABS is top notch too, I came to a full stop from 60km/h in about 7-8m. For some reason they decided to swap the horn and indicator positions, which caused me to blast a few drivers by accident. It's also very quiet. I would argue it's quieter than the 250. One peeve of mine is that the fuel cap is the same as the 250's, it comes completely out.
Is it worth the upgrade? Well I'm not 100% sold on it. In Aus they charge $8000 for a brand new one, and as a trade in my 2012 CBR250R would only score me $4500.

So there you go. Tell me what you think of it.
 
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#4 ·
Honestly I'm considering upgrading. After some consideration about my wants vs my realistic needs, it really is a top performer. More room for a passenger and all the power I need on highways (don't worry about wind, our speed limits are slow as ********************) and in the suburbs. The real question is how to retrofit a HID! And what colour to get of course. Maybe white this time.
 
#11 ·
So I bought one...
 
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#13 ·
Nice..the U.K. always gets the coolest colors. I still like the 250 in that "sword silver". I did find a site that sells all of the panels and tank to change from my red and silver to the sword silver. It would come to $340 I think it was.Most expensive piece was the tank and that was like 43 bucks. I don't know though..
 
#15 ·
Congrats Mike....nice looking bike. Hope you stick around but then again I'm like you, no 250. Maybe we can become " lurkers with an occasional opinion"?!
 
#16 ·
We'll have to think of a scary name to class ourselves under!
 
#20 ·
So i stopped by a local Honda dealer today. Someone just happened to be getting ready to ride off on a new CBF500. I assumed it was someone picking up their new bike. I went inside and they had a CBR500r on the floor. Had a sit on it and it seems nice. I like the bit more upright ergo. Fit and finish seems on par with the 250. I do like the new look of the wheels. I still think it would be more of a sidestep to this bike tho. I am pretty sure i see a Ninja 650 in my future.

When i was leaving the person on the cbf500 came back. It was then i realized he was just on a demo ride (saw the demo plate). I ½ considered asking about a demo ride myself but due to it being a bit cold (8c) and damp i did not feel i would be able to give it a proper test. I did notice the bike had Dunlop rubber instead of the IRC. Not sure if that is better or not. Did not see what model of Dunlop they were.
 
#21 ·
I still think it would be more of a sidestep to this bike tho. I am pretty sure i see a Ninja 650 in my future.
I was considering an ER6N which is a naked Ninja 650, but in Australia I'm only allowed to use the restricted version, which has a lower power output than Honda's 500's (And it's illegal to derestrict it). Plus, on my current license I'm allowed passengers in four months, but not on a high powered bike which at that time I could upgrade to. So the CB500F was a logical choice. For the same price I get two years warranty, I don't have to worry about the bike's history, and I have the max legal power limit for my class of license.
As pretty as the ER6N is, the CB500F outweighed it on the pros to cons list.
 
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#29 ·
Doing the trade in less than two days now. Getting excited!
 
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