CB500F (2013 - 2016) review
The vanilla version of Honda's new 500cc family, built to sweep the A2-licence-holder market
WHEN you least want to be on a bike is when you learn to appreciate it the most. Twisting down mountain roads in southern Catalonia sounds great on paper, but add rain, fog, cold and random patches of gravel and animal dung into the mix, and a bit more speed than the Spanish authorities and my mum would approve of, and it gets a bit hairy. However, even as the weather worsened, I was confident the 2013 Honda CB500F wouldn't let me down.
The CB500F is the no-frills naked version of the trio that make up Honda's new 500 family, the other being the sporty-looking CBR500R and the adventure-styled CB500X. I say 'looking' and 'styled' because the three bikes are essentially the same – identical chassis, engine, running gear and so on – with only minor differences in the ergonomics and, of course, appearance: behold Honda's cost-saving modular approach, engorged on the success of the NC700 family. The other penny-pinching measure is the decision to build all three models entirely in Thailand for global sales, targeting everyone from A2 licence holders in Europe to people moving up from utilitarian 125s in developing Asian markets.
WHEN you least want to be on a bike is when you learn to appreciate it the most. Twisting down mountain roads in southern Catalonia sounds great on paper, but add rain, fog, cold and random patches of gravel and animal dung into the mix, and a bit more speed than the Spanish authorities and my mum would approve of, and it gets a bit hairy. However, even as the weather worsened, I was confident the 2013 Honda CB500F wouldn't let me down.
The CB500F is the no-frills naked version of the trio that make up Honda's new 500 family, the other being the sporty-looking CBR500R and the adventure-styled CB500X. I say 'looking' and 'styled' because the three bikes are essentially the same – identical chassis, engine, running gear and so on – with only minor differences in the ergonomics and, of course, appearance: behold Honda's cost-saving modular approach, engorged on the success of the NC700 family. The other penny-pinching measure is the decision to build all three models entirely in Thailand for global sales, targeting everyone from A2 licence holders in Europe to people moving up from utilitarian 125s in developing Asian markets.
