HONDA CB500F (2016 - 2018) Review

Ive had to soften the forks a couple of clicks,whick greatly improved things.Also not happy with front brake so fitted sinthered pads,now 1 finger breaking ,a cheap but worthwhile mod,considering doing the same with rear.Bike handles very well,not affected to much by side winds,comfy,flickable,fun and compitent

its as fast as my 650 Transalp and 93 R80 BMW,except its that mpg,amazing.Would appreciate a bit more power and torque,nut it is what it is.

Honda quality,dont expect any reliablity issues

service myself,for the performance the mpg is incredable,your looking at easly over 200 miles per tank,currently on an average of 81 mpg,and Ive not been hanging about

So when I decided it was a keeper I have added the following mods,extended front gaurd,rear hugger,front screen,seat pad,helps comfort,front sintered pads,hand protectors,rad protector,and centre stand,which should be a std fitting.also have heated grips to fit.Aslo fitted a Givi rack and top box for those weekends away.Lastly fitted a handlebar riser kit,didnt like the slouch,Im 6 ft,this enables an upright sitting position,much more comfy.all this came to around 400,and very worth while

I live in country Australia and local roads are terrible for my wonky old back and the suspension on this model is too sporty for with the front forks in particular are too short a stroke and to stiff.

I am a retired mechanic and have been riding for over sixty years and have always service my own motorcycles

This is one of the best engines of have ever owned and I have had lots, it super smooth sound beautiful and goes like the clappers and its redline is only 8500. The engine is very torque loaded. Its one of the only bike that I have used the redline performance occasionally. I have ridden 15Kms. in fourth gear of six on a motorway due to the smoothness of the engine before glancing at the tacho. and realizing my error

Quite limited feel / harsh suspension I guess given pricing. Adequate though whilst I done like the Dunlop Sportmax, never have got on with them, seem wooden to me. Going to replace with Avon 3D XM’s when worn more, should be much better for all weather riding and confidence. Front end lacks feel, again, think limited suspension ability. Brakes are ‘ok’ for commute, too weak for very spirited riding.

It’s a parallel twin so never going to set the world alight. Usual parallel twin unhappiness if laboured at low revs and slight rock left/right at lights when stood still. Still, you can tell that Honda have tried to make it as refined as they can and it’s got good enough power / torque for a middle weight 500.

Feels solid, whilst solid in a 2018 Honda Way; not in any way as you’d have expected from a, say, 1990’s Honda. Dash is a bit buzzy at certain revs, clutch is heavy and (a super seen reported on net) the gearbox is very agricultural. Extremely noisy gear changes and not at all slick. Appears nothing wrong, just the quality level, understand sorted for 2019 bikes.

Wow, the most frugal bike I have ever owned. 88.5mpg, it’s sssoooooooo cheap. Easy access for servicing and relative simplicity should help here too. Again, wow, so cheap on fuel.

Nice little lcd dash, displays / works well, fly screen on my cb helps a bit with wind, would suggest a hugger as does not have one as standard and throws mud / muck everywhere. As mentioned earlier, I don’t like Dunlop Sportmax, they feel hard / wooden....or it could be the OE ones that they come with from factory are often said to be never as good as replacements are.

ABS as standard front and back, and the grab from the single brake on the front is more than enough at any speed, add in the back brake with ABS and the stopping power is brilliant for the light bike. The suspension is super comfy and has adjustable preload on both the front forks (individually) and the rear shock. Changing either takes a matter of seconds with the under-seat toolkit.

Pretty torquey for it's small displacement, but limited to 8.5k revs (probably to keep within the A2 class!) so not masses of power on top. Besides that, the bike is very easy to ride and cruising along at 30mph, the bike is as comfortable in 2nd gear as it is in 6th!

My bike is now over 3 years old with 16 months of it being mine, and it's had zero issues at all and shows no signs of any major wear. Servicing is cheap and quick, regular maintenance is super easy, besides the engine access, and customizing (i.e. added screen, seat cover, exhaust muffler) is so so quick, just a few screws.

Super super cheap to service, just the couple of cyclinders, small amount of oil and filter, tyres are smaller than A class bikes (160 rear vs a 180 size from the norm) and single brake back at front saves on brake costs too.

Not much equipment really, comes with ABS but no TC or rider modes, dash is an older style LCD, has basic trip computer, revs, speed, lacking a gear indicator for newer riders.

The seats not bad. I can manage a few hours before I get numb bum. Have done 300 miles in a day with just 3 stops. The brakes are reassuring and ABS is rarely needed, even with hard braking. As the bikes quite light the single front disc is sufficient. The rear is fine for slow braking around town. The bikes great on twisty roads, it handles corners with confidence. Its very easy to flick the bike around.

The bike is surprisingly nimble and agile. While the engine isnt giving out masses of BHP, its enough to be fun as its a light bike. The engine is very smooth with no vibration as its a parallel twin. Unlike some V twins i've ridden. Occasionally its jumped out of 2nd gear into neutral if i've not engaged it hard enough. Someones 1st and 2nd gear can sound rough when selecting.

Its a very cheap bike to own. The service is normally cheap and not much gone wrong in 2 years (20,000 miles) Usual tyre, brakes change etc.Needed a head baring change at 10k which did cost a bit in labour. The only downside is that the engine is hard to work on without removing a lot of accessories. So for valve clearance checks etc, theres added costs for labour in taking tank off and panels.

A standard MOT and service is around the £120 mark I believe. (Valve clearance check can add quite a few hours labour) Due every 16k miles I think. Normal service is every 8K. 1st valve check is just after a few hundred miles. The bike has great fuel economy with usual returns of 60-70mpg with day to day riding. I've had 90mpg once on a run.

Its quite a basic bike. The display works fine and have had no problem viewing the display in daylight. Theres a little space under the pillion seat for tools etc. I've added a small from screen (Puig) to stop the wind hitting my chest on motorways. (Works well). Also added heated grips (Oxford) as I ride this all year round. Have a pannier at the back which is useful for commuting. Front and rear cameras linked to unit in storage space. Very easy to route the wiring.

bike is best in sharp to moderate corners but also great on the highway. I commute on mine 40 miles daily and will often ride all day on 2 or 3 breaks. recently did 400 miles on 3 breaks

Could rev a bit higher but all around excellent. EXTREMELY smooth for a twin. power is smooth and predictable from idle to limiter

Based on what I can work on and what needs to be dealer serviced. haven't owned a full year yet

Needs a windscreen for highway speeds. Puig is the best fit. looks factory foam grips or slip on for large hands

Decent all round bike with good handling. Seat requires work as you have about 50 miles before the backside pain becomes excruciating. Brakes work, you are however pretty unlikely to lock it up or even provoke the ABS into working. Experienced riders might prefer more bite.

Engine appears to be very under stressed. Probably a lot more performance available within the motor. Useful overtaking power between 30mph and 70mph in 3rd and 4th gears. It will cruise at 70mph but it feels like you your having to make it work.

Failed to start once in 8000 miles, due to sidestand cutoff issue.

There was a deal on when I got mine so a full set of hard luggage was thrown in by Honda. A brilliant freebie. I ride all year round and have fitted a hugger, heated grips and an MRA screen. I think the hugger or something like it should be standard to prevent crap from the back wheel fouling the shock. As its basically a commuter machine a centre stand would not be out of place as well.

Honda quality so second to none

No gear indicator, side stand can be tricky due to positioning.