My Honda Test Ride

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Just to add a little balance to that other Honda dealer thread I had the pleasure of visiting one of the oldest Honda dealers in the country recently - a century of bike sales and half that as Honda dealers.

(I found out later that half my family had either bought a bike from this dealer or at least leched over the bikes forecourt over the last 40 years or so!)

No faff getting a test ride (didn't even have my licence back from the DVLA at that point!) and we're on the road! Or not... fecking roadworks outside

And back in the showroom, totally relaxed sales staff... but that's the sort of relaxed I recognise from ppl who don't really need to chase sales. Even so I appreciate sales ppl who admit the factory options are overpriced and not worth having. (I had to look up the options on the Interwebs... they were right!)

Anyoo, I'm not here to give somebody free advertising but there should be enough clues to figure out which dealer I'm talking about

Considering this is a bike forum, would like me to bore you with my thoughts on the actually bike?
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Bhud]

Yeah, go on. What did you think of the Rebel 500?

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tl;dr A tart's bike - two wheeled equivalent of a Fiat 500.

Note: I've only ridden a handful of 125s, notably the Superlight faux-cruiser, some scooters and an MT-07 so my knowledge of bikes in general is limited. Apologies, will try to do better in the future!

Seriously though this thing is small! I had to check the specs but all round it's literally smaller than my previous bike, the Superlight. Obviously the 471cc engine adds some weight but wow...

I'm a 5'5" short arse and the bike is so small and the seat so low that it "can you flat foot it" is not even a question. I doubt even a 4'10" pixie would have trouble with this! Anyone over 5'8" might feel scrunched up on it so but hey, "fuck you, big people" makes a nice change

Having said that, and if you're after a small bike, it's nice to get an alternative to the Grom or Monkey Bike. I can't take either one of those seriously with their tiny little wheels. Again I only have the Superlight to compare to but the wheels and tyres on the Rebel are comparable in size. They pretty much look like balloon tyres which suits the style of the bike nicely.

Overall it's going down the usual "let's make a modern cruiser" look i.e. let's save some money by just mangling up CB500F. I think it looks okay, YMMV Given that this bike should appeal to pint sized hairdressers I'm surprised on the (lack of) colours available


Sitting on a cruiser: low seat - check, arms out fairly straight - check, feet forward - fail! Nope, the pegs are central like any other street bike. There are aftermarket kits to extend the pegs forward (horrendously expensive) if this is a deal breaker. Me personally, I didn't mind. After just finishing with an MT-07 for the Mod 2 I was pretty used to that sort of peg position but besides the seat height this is the other half of the reason why big people should look elsewhere (unless you don't mind your knees being by your ears!)

Okay, we're on the bike. What does it sound like?! Erm... a bike, more accurately, pretty much any small, crippled modern bike with "neighbour friendly" exhaust. Oh dear, the Superlight sounded really, REALLY good with a stock exhaust (could be louder but a nice tone nonetheless) but this is meh Slip-ons aplenty though so best to budget for a replacement early on.

A word now on the controls. The clutch lever is awful! Whereas the the brake is the standard "half a handlebar moustache" shape the clutch is just a curve - a curve that is too far away for little fingers! WTF Honda?! You made this for us little people did you not? Okay, so I only found it a tad annoying but mostly because the asymmetry between the two levers is jarring

All the switches are fine and feel pretty solid, mirrors are surprisingly not terrible and the clock? Speed, fuel, a couple of lights - what more do you want? If you're into minimalism you'll love it

"Enough crap! Tell us how it rides!!!" In a word: smooth. The throttle: smooth, the clutch: smooth, the power output linear (i.e. smooth!) braking? I dunno, it has ABS but just one disk up front but the back brake? You guessed it: smooth It's like Matt Berry doing the advert: "Money Supermaaaaaaaaaaah-ket" Don't get me wrong, it's not slow! But it's not the "disrespect me, boy, and I will fuck you up!" of the MT-07.

A lot of reviewers bitch about the soft suspension but I think they're just fat. I didn't notice any "boing." Handling seemed pretty good - small, light bike so to be expected. Can't say I had the opportunity to throw it through some twisties but it spins around mini-roundabouts with no issues. (Certainly a lot better than the Superlight but that isn't saying much.)

All in all a fun little bike. I bought one! (Read the tl;dr line again.)

Would I recommend it to others? Are you less than 5'6"? Are you a woman? Do you like flicking a 125 about town but hunger for just half an ounce more speed and power? Do you have a sense of humour? Answer yes to any or all of these questions and the CMX500 is for you!
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[ThatDippyTwat]

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I let my riding instructor "Big Jim" have a spin on my Superlight once... fecking hilarious (~6' >20 stone)
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter