Fantastic motorcycle, very fast, very reliable, easy to ride, easy on the pockets, easy maintenance, cheap insurance , you can race them, you can love them 😊
Also have a CB500, from 1994, even the same colour. 😃👍 I love that bike with all my heart. 😍 Back in 1995, my wife and I, plus top case, side bags, sleeping bags and tent, made it from Portugal to Germany and back, 5.500km. No complaint from the bike, no problems, just rolling and rolling and rolling. Even the suspension is the same. 😃 Reliable as can be. 👍
Great to hear about how good the CB500 has been for you and the adventures you have had on it. I hope to add a few to mine next year, will give it a good service over winter.
Had a couple of these in the UK and bought one in Spain this year. I have had many bikes over nearly 50 years and nothing has bettered the CB500 as an all round package.
I had one when I was 22 years old. I loved it. It had beautiful "whisle" engine sound. Everything on it was just amazing and gave you the feel of quality.
Great review. I have one, bought in Stonehaven in 2009 just before I passed my test. I've still got it! Such a nice bike, and I also have a Nonfango rack. I like the panniers, they are slim but quite long. I worry slightly about replacement lenses for the indicators at the back, so I've secured mine with some tape - just in case.
@johnlesax Hi John, seeming many people have kept this bike long term, it's easy to see why after riding it for a while! Great to hear you still have your bike and enjoy it. On a nite of the rear nonfango lenses, mine were missing, I made up some crude ones that never really worked as I just could not get replacements. Eventually I modified the bracket to take small Oxford units, these look pretty good and work really well. Thanks for watching the video
I have a cb 500 s 02 one also in central Scotland amd it is a fantastic all round bike. Had a K100 LT as I thought I wanted a big touring bike, did not like the weight at all , kept it a year and thank goodness still had the Honda. I use it to commute, tour and day trips and it is all the bike I need , 6 speed box is great and eceonomy is similar to yours. I find if I really want to row it along it goes like stink and mates with more powerful bikes are often surprised and they never look like they are having as much fun as me.
Agree, I keep thinking about getting a bigger bike and then when I ride the Honda I just feel content! It's fast enough for our roads, and as you say, great fun when it's wound up!
I've had mine for 23 years i bought it new i have now covered 140,000 miles ,yes you heard right 140,000 miles still going strong. I have now retired and have three motorcycles so she is used more sparingly.
Great bike !! The " Half Fireblade " I had two from brand new and put over 500,000 miles on one of them . I was a dispatch rider in Dublin . They really fly when you give 'em the berries lol !
I've had too many bikes to mention here but l now only have one and that is a 2002 honda cb 500s, probably one of the Best motorcycles ever made. This motorcycle is extremely powerful over 6k revs and will put a smile on the face of any advanced rider. Mine has the half fairing and will sit comfortably at 85mph all day. Top speed is 120 mph but I'm happy at 70.😊 It's so easy to ride and being a Honda it's totally reliable in every way, mechanically and performance wise. The 500cc enjine is perfect for UK and Ireland and suits are roads perfectly.
I did my direct access licence on one in the late 90's. It was good fun to ride and first since the 70's & 80's 250's. I also rode one of the schools GS500 for half a day, the Honda was noticeably better and good preparation for my ZX-6R waiting at home.
I had one as my third bike back in 1998, and it was actually the bike I passed my direct access on, I bought it from my instructor. Thereafter ,I had it for a couple of years and even dispatched on it in London for a year and it was amazing, agile, comfy and handled really well. I sold it and bought a GSX600f , just for the faring and extra engine power, but I have fond memories of this bike 🙂 I got an indicated 120mph out of it too 😛
They were really popular with bike schools then, my brother was an instructor back in the day and he used one and loved it! Amazing these little bikes are still so capable today.
Nice to see a review on older Hondas. Thanks. I've got a 2005 CBF500 and a 2023 CB500X. Enjoy them both. I didn't realise the older 500 had a seat height of 82.3 inches!!.. and I thought my CB500X had a high seat! 😂.👍
i had one, a 1995 model new. i had it for 28 years. great bike. if you get to 5500tpm then the horsepower kick in. I gave it to my brother. Now i have a MT07. Also a great bike. The cb500 was a tour bike, the mt07 is a traffic light to traffic light bike.
@johndocbikerestorations831 the mt07 (tracer) is a little bit more bike. Uhm little bit more mature and the power is great till 6000tpm. The cb500 is great after 6000tpm. Both are great bikes
Great review. I'm looking at one of these this week. I love the screen you've got on it. Where did you get it from? Also, do the cam chains ever need to be changed on these?
Steve, the screen is a generic Givi, they are available on eBay. The cam chains don't give any trouble as far as I know, people have done mega miles on these. Join the Facebook page for these and you will get loads of info. Good luck with your bike!
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, just found your comment. It is a "Nonfango" system, was fitted to the bike when it was new in 1997, works really well, as you say it's pretty slim so better in traffic than some of the wide systems!
I have two cb500's , one has 86k miles(I've put 56k on it) other cb500s has 54k miles(put 34k miles on that) they go for ever , but rust away eventually if not regularly cleaned. One best bikes I've owned also have vfr800& Fireblade...cb500 cruises at 80mph on motorway...it's not lacking in power for what it is...
Hi! I bought the bike a few days ago in Bucharest, 1998 cb500s. Btw you know which Givi Tanklock ring fit to the bike? The tank bag I have from previous bike, but I can’t find a ring for this model. Suggest please if you know? Thank you 🙏
Great to hear you have bought one. Sorry I can't help with the ring, I had a look online but can't find information. Try the Honda CB500 Facebook forum, someone on there might know.
in me notes perfect 500 cc parallel twin project looks lil diffrent thougs for noobs very close setup 👌🏻 at end 2 whells engine seat and drivewhell 😉👌🏻🍿 cb is good bike in its dispalcement class so gs 500 er5 gpz 500 its good and consider power level we csn also add to this class monster 600 or xj 600 diversion or szr 660 close to gs500 /er5 etc 👌🏻 but perfect 500 cc paralell twin look like this 👉🏻 fuel injection weater colling teeth steeel wheell as valve drive train + valves on screw 2 per cylinder nothing more is ncessery for 60 hp from 500 cc engine 🤷🏻♂️ and if you dont need 4 valve per cylinder like in cb than for th they setup as many valves 🤷🏻♂️ nobody knows but whatever ok further 👉🏻 52.5 nm or even 55 nm at 6000 rpm with 50 -52 nm at 4000 rpm and 50 -52 nm at 8000 rpm for daily riding best rpm range be 4-8 k rpm 👌🏻in fact in cb its also this range just me project be there much stronger 👌🏻 and 60 hp at 9000 rpm perfect linear power build 0 bumps holes and other rapidly increasing power 💩 just pefect linear power curve with strong low and midrange and wide peak power 😎🌪️👌🏻 rpm limiter 11000 rpm stroke 55 mm max avg piston speed 20 m/s 👌🏻 + 5 speed gearbox with longer 1 gear than in cb 500 fpr longer time after launch from stop light before you need to upshift = more comfortable setup 👌🏻 cb stpck have like probabaly 60 km/h at 10000 rpm vs perfect be around 70-80 km/h in this case power torque level asf 👌🏻 5 gear at 100 km/h 5000 rpm whells 120-160 /17 suspension front usd fork 40 mm/10 cm stroke rear 2 shocks or one central whatever also 10 cm stroke preload front and rear 👌🏻 overall chasis and frame must be very stable which in cb 500 isint when ypu push bike hard through corners 👌🏻 breaks front 320 mm /4 piston rear like 240 /1 piston weight distribution with rider in newutral position and 50% fuel in tank 50-50 vs cb have 45/47 front 55/53 rear 👌🏻 +/- what mean me bike will be less understerr =faster take off corners 🌪️👌🏻🍿 whats more 185 kg with full tank 15 litres whellbase 140 seat hight 82 rake 24 ergo corpse 20 degree hips 70 degree knee 70 degree +/- +cruisecontrol ,abs ,steel breaks cable , minimalistic single speedo like in triumph scrambler 900 like for me taste + speedo scale on bottom + shiftlight like in triumph sttreet triple 1050 😉👌🏻 and yea that be perfect 500 cc like for me 😎👌🏻 cb is good but not perfect ☕️👌🏻me hipotheticsl project would beat cb in basicallly each aspect including maintenance service costs and capscity of service pr complication ,elasticity ,chasiss stability ,ergo geaometry weight distribution breaks agresivness in max performance also be lil 5 kg less 3 hp more especiallly in 0-100 km/h stats where cb have huge diffrences between 1 and 2 gear where me project will have much closer those gears give it more acg power for sccelerstion at this speed rsnge so 4,6 vs 4,0 sec be like elasticity last gear 100-140 9,5 vs 6-6,5 sec asf 👌🏻 bad news is that thers no perfect bike for me on market today all have some errors from me point of view 🤷🏻♂️👌🏻☕️
You see these for a grand on ebay, sat there for weeks unsold. Then a horrible pile of Superdream, cb500s vastly inferior predecessor, snapped up for twice the money. Funny breed, bikers.
@@johndocbikerestorations831 infact, other than the one I owned, Ive never seen one in the flesh. If I were in the market now for a cheap middleweight I'd go for a 650 deauville over the cb5. They're much more nimble than people realise.
@@tombartram7384 I had a 650 a while ago, used it as a winter hack, nice torquey engine, rusted badly around the water pump and exhaust. good weather protection and reliable, got knocked off it and it was written off. I would go for the 700, nicer engine and other improvements.
Fantastic motorcycle, very fast, very reliable, easy to ride, easy on the pockets, easy maintenance, cheap insurance , you can race them, you can love them 😊
Also have a CB500, from 1994, even the same colour. 😃👍 I love that bike with all my heart. 😍 Back in 1995, my wife and I, plus top case, side bags, sleeping bags and tent, made it from Portugal to Germany and back, 5.500km. No complaint from the bike, no problems, just rolling and rolling and rolling. Even the suspension is the same. 😃 Reliable as can be. 👍
Great to hear about how good the CB500 has been for you and the adventures you have had on it. I hope to add a few to mine next year, will give it a good service over winter.
@ take good care of her, she deserves it. 😍👍
Got a 97 cb 500 as a daily driver, love it.
@@patreich3637 😍👍
@@patreich3637 Great to hear
Had a couple of these in the UK and bought one in Spain this year. I have had many bikes over nearly 50 years and nothing has bettered the CB500 as an all round package.
@nicktunstill249 Yes, hard to beat as an all rounder!
I had one when I was 22 years old. I loved it. It had beautiful "whisle" engine sound. Everything on it was just amazing and gave you the feel of quality.
It holds a lot for being an unassuming bike
One of the best bikes Honda ever made.
You don't even need to include "Honda" in that sentence!
Just purchased one of these today, I’m so happy.
Took it for test ride last week and loved it
Great review. I have one, bought in Stonehaven in 2009 just before I passed my test. I've still got it! Such a nice bike, and I also have a Nonfango rack. I like the panniers, they are slim but quite long. I worry slightly about replacement lenses for the indicators at the back, so I've secured mine with some tape - just in case.
@johnlesax Hi John, seeming many people have kept this bike long term, it's easy to see why after riding it for a while! Great to hear you still have your bike and enjoy it. On a nite of the rear nonfango lenses, mine were missing, I made up some crude ones that never really worked as I just could not get replacements. Eventually I modified the bracket to take small Oxford units, these look pretty good and work really well. Thanks for watching the video
I have had my for 8 years, 55000 on the clock and it runs like new love it.
The bike grows on me the more I use it!
Great review just sold my interceptor too much chrome and alloy to clean so this Honda looks favorite thanks for taking the time to upload this video
I don't think you would be disappointed in the CB.
I have a cb 500 s 02 one also in central Scotland amd it is a fantastic all round bike. Had a K100 LT as I thought I wanted a big touring bike, did not like the weight at all , kept it a year and thank goodness still had the Honda. I use it to commute, tour and day trips and it is all the bike I need , 6 speed box is great and eceonomy is similar to yours. I find if I really want to row it along it goes like stink and mates with more powerful bikes are often surprised and they never look like they are having as much fun as me.
Agree, I keep thinking about getting a bigger bike and then when I ride the Honda I just feel content! It's fast enough for our roads, and as you say, great fun when it's wound up!
I've had mine for 23 years i bought it new i have now covered 140,000 miles ,yes you heard right 140,000 miles still going strong. I have now retired and have three motorcycles so she is used more sparingly.
That's fantastic and proves just how good these bikes are, I am only up to 7K miles, good to know it will go the distance!
Great bike !! The " Half Fireblade " I had two from brand new and put over 500,000 miles on one of them . I was a dispatch rider in Dublin . They really fly when you give 'em the berries lol !
Brilliant to hear! You prove the reliability point in these bikes. I would imagine it being ideal for courier work
@@johndocbikerestorations831 Bulletproof !
Half a million miles!! Blarney.
@@ekspatriat No , Dublin . Blarney is in the countryside .
I've had too many bikes to mention here but l now only have one and that is a 2002 honda cb 500s, probably one of the Best motorcycles ever made.
This motorcycle is extremely powerful over 6k revs and will put a smile on the face of any advanced rider.
Mine has the half fairing and will sit comfortably at 85mph all day.
Top speed is 120 mph but I'm happy at 70.😊
It's so easy to ride and being a Honda it's totally reliable in every way, mechanically and performance wise.
The 500cc enjine is perfect for UK and Ireland and suits are roads perfectly.
I had one of these in the mid 2000s, and apart from not being very pretty, the bike was awesome.. nothing like the modern detuned counterparts !
It does seem a pity the modern incarnations have less power than these do
living in usa ive never seen this bike, but it looks perfect to my taste
Yes, I think Honda made a mistake by not exporting it to the USA
I did my direct access licence on one in the late 90's. It was good fun to ride and first since the 70's & 80's 250's. I also rode one of the schools GS500 for half a day, the Honda was noticeably better and good preparation for my ZX-6R waiting at home.
Ahh, loved the good old days of early 250s!
I had one as my third bike back in 1998, and it was actually the bike I passed my direct access on, I bought it from my instructor.
Thereafter ,I had it for a couple of years and even dispatched on it in London for a year and it was amazing, agile, comfy and handled really well.
I sold it and bought a GSX600f , just for the faring and extra engine power, but I have fond memories of this bike 🙂
I got an indicated 120mph out of it too 😛
They were really popular with bike schools then, my brother was an instructor back in the day and he used one and loved it! Amazing these little bikes are still so capable today.
Nice to see a review on older Hondas. Thanks. I've got a 2005 CBF500 and a 2023 CB500X.
Enjoy them both. I didn't realise the older 500 had a seat height of 82.3 inches!!.. and I thought my CB500X had a high seat! 😂.👍
Lol, my mistake centimetres!
@@johndocbikerestorations831 Damn this new fangled metric system!! Enjoy the Honda. 😁👍
i had one, a 1995 model new. i had it for 28 years. great bike. if you get to 5500tpm then the horsepower kick in.
I gave it to my brother. Now i have a MT07. Also a great bike. The cb500 was a tour bike, the mt07 is a traffic light to traffic light bike.
Agree the CB500 is such a good bike. I look forward to riding the Tracer, the short ride I had on it felt good!
@johndocbikerestorations831 the mt07 (tracer) is a little bit more bike. Uhm little bit more mature and the power is great till 6000tpm. The cb500 is great after 6000tpm.
Both are great bikes
Great review. I'm looking at one of these this week. I love the screen you've got on it. Where did you get it from? Also, do the cam chains ever need to be changed on these?
Steve, the screen is a generic Givi, they are available on eBay. The cam chains don't give any trouble as far as I know, people have done mega miles on these. Join the Facebook page for these and you will get loads of info. Good luck with your bike!
Thanks for the advice.@@johndocbikerestorations831
Could not agree more. I sold mine back in the summer, regret it ever since.
Keep thinking of finally selling mine on too and getting something like a Wee-Strom, but then I see comments like this!
@@graememorrison333You'll not go wrong with a V Strom 650. Wish I'd kept mine.
Did anyone ever make a fork brace for these? (Can't seem to find one on t'internet...)
I would ask the racing guys on FB, if anyone knows of one it will be them!
Bike in lovely condition 👍
Nice review. I don't believe these were available in the states, but it reminds me of the GS500 (air-cooled) that we could get.
Yes, I believe you are right, it was only exported to the European markets which seems stange!
What kind of luggage system do you have? Looks very slim!
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, just found your comment. It is a "Nonfango" system, was fitted to the bike when it was new in 1997, works really well, as you say it's pretty slim so better in traffic than some of the wide systems!
I have two cb500's , one has 86k miles(I've put 56k on it) other cb500s has 54k miles(put 34k miles on that) they go for ever , but rust away eventually if not regularly cleaned. One best bikes I've owned also have vfr800& Fireblade...cb500 cruises at 80mph on motorway...it's not lacking in power for what it is...
They are great work horses, just get the job done with minimal fuss!
Good review. Seasons greetings.
Cheers Frank, Boab and I send you our best
Hi! I bought the bike a few days ago in Bucharest, 1998 cb500s. Btw you know which Givi Tanklock ring fit to the bike? The tank bag I have from previous bike, but I can’t find a ring for this model. Suggest please if you know? Thank you 🙏
Great to hear you have bought one. Sorry I can't help with the ring, I had a look online but can't find information. Try the Honda CB500 Facebook forum, someone on there might know.
@@johndocbikerestorations831 Thank you! I will try 🙏
Very sorry to bother you, but could you very kindly tell me who the manufacturer of the screen is please ? Many thanks.
@@clivecartey Sure, it is a generic screen by Givi
Great, thanks ! Much appreciated.
@@clivecartey No prob
Anything Honda 500 is all you need.
Agree, it will do the job for you
I think anything upward 40hp suffices.
I’d love to restore a CB175 and turn it into a cafe racer. 😬
Me too, that is a lovely bike!
in me notes perfect 500 cc parallel twin project looks lil diffrent thougs for noobs very close setup 👌🏻 at end 2 whells engine seat and drivewhell 😉👌🏻🍿 cb is good bike in its dispalcement class so gs 500 er5 gpz 500 its good and consider power level we csn also add to this class monster 600 or xj 600 diversion or szr 660 close to gs500 /er5 etc 👌🏻 but perfect 500 cc paralell twin look like this 👉🏻 fuel injection weater colling teeth steeel wheell as valve drive train + valves on screw 2 per cylinder nothing more is ncessery for 60 hp from 500 cc engine 🤷🏻♂️ and if you dont need 4 valve per cylinder like in cb than for th they setup as many valves 🤷🏻♂️ nobody knows but whatever ok further 👉🏻 52.5 nm or even 55 nm at 6000 rpm with 50 -52 nm at 4000 rpm and 50 -52 nm at 8000 rpm for daily riding best rpm range be 4-8 k rpm 👌🏻in fact in cb its also this range just me project be there much stronger 👌🏻 and 60 hp at 9000 rpm perfect linear power build 0 bumps holes and other rapidly increasing power 💩 just pefect linear power curve with strong low and midrange and wide peak power 😎🌪️👌🏻 rpm limiter 11000 rpm stroke 55 mm max avg piston speed 20 m/s 👌🏻 + 5 speed gearbox with longer 1 gear than in cb 500 fpr longer time after launch from stop light before you need to upshift = more comfortable setup 👌🏻 cb stpck have like probabaly 60 km/h at 10000 rpm vs perfect be around 70-80 km/h in this case power torque level asf 👌🏻 5 gear at 100 km/h 5000 rpm whells 120-160 /17 suspension front usd fork 40 mm/10 cm stroke rear 2 shocks or one central whatever also 10 cm stroke preload front and rear 👌🏻 overall chasis and frame must be very stable which in cb 500 isint when ypu push bike hard through corners 👌🏻 breaks front 320 mm /4 piston rear like 240 /1 piston weight distribution with rider in newutral position and 50% fuel in tank 50-50 vs cb have 45/47 front 55/53 rear 👌🏻 +/- what mean me bike will be less understerr =faster take off corners 🌪️👌🏻🍿 whats more 185 kg with full tank 15 litres whellbase 140 seat hight 82 rake 24 ergo corpse 20 degree hips 70 degree knee 70 degree +/- +cruisecontrol ,abs ,steel breaks cable , minimalistic single speedo like in triumph scrambler 900 like for me taste + speedo scale on bottom + shiftlight like in triumph sttreet triple 1050 😉👌🏻 and yea that be perfect 500 cc like for me 😎👌🏻 cb is good but not perfect ☕️👌🏻me hipotheticsl project would beat cb in basicallly each aspect including maintenance service costs and capscity of service pr complication ,elasticity ,chasiss stability ,ergo geaometry weight distribution breaks agresivness in max performance also be lil 5 kg less 3 hp more especiallly in 0-100 km/h stats where cb have huge diffrences between 1 and 2 gear where me project will have much closer those gears give it more acg power for sccelerstion at this speed rsnge so 4,6 vs 4,0 sec be like elasticity last gear 100-140 9,5 vs 6-6,5 sec asf 👌🏻 bad news is that thers no perfect bike for me on market today all have some errors from me point of view 🤷🏻♂️👌🏻☕️
You see these for a grand on ebay, sat there for weeks unsold. Then a horrible pile of Superdream, cb500s vastly inferior predecessor, snapped up for twice the money.
Funny breed, bikers.
The CB500 will eventually be recognised for the brilliant bike it is! Buy them now for a grand!
@@johndocbikerestorations831 Actually I wish I'd bought a vt500e when still some left. Unbelievable bikes. The ntv 600/650, however, was absolute poo.
@@tombartram7384 Yea, don't see too many Vts these days
@@johndocbikerestorations831 infact, other than the one I owned, Ive never seen one in the flesh. If I were in the market now for a cheap middleweight I'd go for a 650 deauville over the cb5. They're much more nimble than people realise.
@@tombartram7384 I had a 650 a while ago, used it as a winter hack, nice torquey engine, rusted badly around the water pump and exhaust. good weather protection and reliable, got knocked off it and it was written off. I would go for the 700, nicer engine and other improvements.