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CB500X At 40k And What Next?
Blog Date - 03 April 2024
Oh right. My new bike is no longer a new bike.
Well folks the CB500X is now at 40,000 miles. I purchased this CB500X in November 2019 which means it's been with me for 4 years and 5 months. I'm slacking. I really ought to be up to 50k by now however I have a "reasonable" excuse. We all enjoyed a little less motorcycling time during the 2020 - 2021 period due to a particularly nasty strain of the common cold doing the rounds.
The regulars here will recall this is my second CB500X having traded in the first one at 39,000 miles. There's no shop closing with a good deal on the table this time round so I'll be sticking with this bike for the foreseeable future.
How is the now middle aged motorcycle doing? Fine, but not perfect.
It's starting to look a little rough around the edges.
I recall a comment of here, I can't recall who it was, but the gist of it was the the modern CB500s are noisy on startup and that it only clears when it's warmed up. My first CB500X was a little more "chuff chuff chuff" from the exhaust but I don't recall any mechanical noises worth worrying about. This one, well this one's always been that bit more rattly. On initial start there's a gentle tap for around 3 seconds until the oil gets around and a light flutter until it's warmed through.
Camchain? Valves? All checked and within spec. Sharon's Peugeot 108 (aka Citroen C1 aka Toyota Aygo) rattles all the time. It's knackered innit. Then you listen to countless other 108s, C1s and Aygos and they all sound exactly the same. That's just the noise they make, they last as well as any other engine, they're fine, just rattly. Is it the same for my CB500X? I don't get the opportunity to hear many other CB500X/CB500F/CBR500/CMX500/CL500 at cold start to make a comparison.
It's not the quietest Honda out there.
I recall my training school's early CB500 (mid 90's), and CB400 Super Four, my NTV600 Revere, my NT400 Bros. All quiet as a timid mouse's sewing machine. The SLR650 was a clattery motor and I also recall both my CD200 Benlys ALWAYS sounding like all the tappets were loose and the camchain was falling out and yet both were fine. I'm paranoid I know I am. Imagine what I was like when I owned a diesel car.
Rust. No the X is not disintegrating before my very eyes but I am aware the best of Honda's build quality came from the 90s and early 00s Japanese built machines. The NTV600 Revere just refused to show any signs of aging at all despite my best efforts. This Thai built CB500X has endured winter weather with very little tender loving care and it is starting, just starting to show.
Around the welds on the frame there's the merest hint of rust in places, just a hint. There's a patch on the frame where the rear wheel's washout reaches and the paint is bubbling up a little now. The centre stand is almost all rust which is pretty bad. Even the motor's covering is losing it's integrity and soon the alloy will start to get crusty. Considering the level of abuse and lack of polish on offer most folks would say this is understandable and expected. The finish is fair, not excellent.
Other than that it's been fine. I've destroyed a tyre in '22 but that was a puncture, can't blame Honda for that. I had the creaky front end noise which, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, was tracked down to a loose engine mount. That's probably my fault after fitting the engine bars, can't blame Honda for that. I have a sneaky feeling the battery is on it's way out, the bike is just a little recalcitrant when starting after being stood for a few days. I could blame Honda for that but the battery is now 5 years old.
What I can blame Honda for is the terribly bad access to the tappets. I'm sure the Honda design team were extremely pleased with themselves with the packaging of the CB500-X-R-F range. They managed to neatly ensconce the evap control, pair valve, computer, coils, pipework, tank breather, other electrical gubbins, and a bird's nest of wiring under the tank quite neatly. Well done folks, well done.
What they neglected to do was allow anyone a logical simple path for the removal of their work to get underneath it all to work on the engine. Thanks. I have recently been unreliably informed the Transalp 750 and Africa Twin are both equally miserable for the same reason. Can anyone confirm this?
Honda is in the business of selling new motorcycles. People like myself who service their own motorcycles are bad for their business and bad for their retail outlets too. I am not the target market. Ideally I ought to purchase their motorcycle, have the initial 600 mile service (probably over £100) and the 8,000 mile service (oil and filter change, probably £200), then chop the bike in for a new one. We are not supposed to reach the 16,000 mile tappet service before we buy a new bike. Silly me. Sorry Honda.
Beyond this annoyance I am still perfectly happy riding my CB500X, having now completed 79,000 miles between the 2 bikes. It handles well enough for my skill levels, it has more than sufficient power for my skill levels and aging reaction times, it is perhaps the most comfortable ride I've experienced on 2 wheels, and it generally suits me just fine.
But. There's always a but.
The CBF125 that I ran up to 100,000 miles is I suspect not going to (dis)grace our roads any more. I've done what I hoped to achieve on the bike and I've kind of lost interest now. I like having 2 motorcycles as if one is in bits I can ride the other one. I have a hankering for a second bike.
Now Sharon's gotten the Z400 her Z250SL has been languishing in her shed. How about I take ownership of that? It would mean if Sharon's Z400 is in bits she can use the Z250SL, if mine's in bits I can use the Z250SL. Having ridden it this weekend it needs a new camchain but other than that it's a smashing bike and cheap to run.
It's small but perfectly formed the Z250SL.
However it's not right for ME when it comes to touring. It's not the size or the performance, it's the lack of luggage options. You've seen my bikes when we're off camping. Tour-A-Plank works for Sharon but she doesn't take the tent and the cooking kit as well as the regular stuff required for living on the road. I have the 500 for touring? Yes but in a perfect world I'd like a "backup" bike also capable of touring. I think I'm at risk of being greedy.
I have considered a NC750(X/S). Plenty big enough and I've been liking them for eons now. I can't help but feel it's too similar to the 500 though. A nice older example with say 25,000 miles can be had for around £3,500. Not an insignificant dollop of wonga but achievable.
I test rode the 700 (not 750) back when it was first released. Nice.
I'm still rather sweet on the CB300R. If that's the case then I might as well use the Z250SL? Similar performance, similar characteristics. There are luggage options available for the CB300R but for the cost of one in good order it'd be not too much of a jump to the NC750 range. Sharon's Z250SL does rather put a spanner in my thinking.
CB300R? Nice bike but why not just use the Z250SL.
How about an old Deauville of even a NTV600/650? Good solid reliable bikes, plenty good enough for touring. Cheaper too, much cheaper if you get a rough one. Fuel economy's nowhere near as good though and I wonder if parts will be getting harder to source.
I know the NTV600 Revere can carry a load.
Speaking of which I'm considering an older bike, old enough to be tax and MOT exempt. But then I put myself in the position of struggling to find parts? I don't surely know because I've never ran a bike that old. I know it'll be easier to fix without electronics I suppose.
Anyhow I am indeed happy with my CB500X, there's no quandary about that, it's what I acquire as the "spare" bike that I'm considering. I'm happy to listen to your advice but be warned, I'm a stubborn old mule, I'll listen but it's doubtful I'll take it onboard.
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Reader's Comments
Bogger said :-
'the bike is just a little recalcitrant when starting'
Indeed! You have obviously read many a UBG magazine to come up with that phrase. Cotcha.
Bogger
03/04/2024 21:42:10 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'll take that as a compliment Bogger, I was a big fan of the UBG back in the day. Mind you it would put you off almost any motorcycle much as modern online reviews will put you off any purchase. I don't recall any bike had an entry that stated "nothing goes wrong, lasts forever, totally reliable". Of course the idea was to give those in search of a used bike hints and tips of what to look out for on each model, but after reading you'd want none of them.
04/04/2024 07:44:00 UTC
nab301 said :-
Quote Ren
"This one, well this one's always been that bit more rattly. On initial start there's a gentle tap for around 3 seconds until the oil gets around "
Ren, I can confirm my '21 CBR 500 depressingly sounds the same since new but presumably confirms that it's not a problem ? Annoying , because the Y2k version I had back in the day was whisper quiet in the valve train area from new with just a hint of chain rattle when cold after nearly 100k miles. Cam over bucket always is quiet though. ( I'm guessing there's a price to pay for easy (once dismantled ) valve adjustment .
It's hard to read what sort of second bike you're looking for, bargains are usually spur of the moment things that suddenly become available, do you want a single , twin triple , four?
My suggestion, buy another 500X or one of the Honda 500 range, maybe the naked version , interchangeability of parts might be useful or maybe an F/G 650 single BMW, carbed ones are quite old now , fuel injected ones are much more economical and you have 3 dedicated specialists / breakers in the UK , and loads of luggage availability.
Nigel
07/04/2024 16:02:33 UTC
Snod said :-
Woah woah hold up - the Z250SL needs a new cam chain?? What mileage? How often was the oil changed?
Some interesting stuff is becoming tax free now, very early GPZ900s or BMW K100s or CBX550/750s. Heck even the VMax came out in 1985!
07/04/2024 19:17:41 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Snod - The Z250SL now has about 36,000 miles on it. I cannot be sure... if it's the very well know KLR/KLX 250 camchain rattle due to the weak tensioner spring OR if the chain is "gone" which is again quite well known for this engine. I've removed the spring and pushed real hard on the tensioner ratchet, gotten a click out of it and the rattle is less but still there. It feels as though if I fitted a manual tensioner I'd have to put a lot of tension on it to take the rattle out - hence me thinking it needs a camchain. Oh, the oil's been done every 4 to 5 thousand miles. "Proper" motorcycle oil, Motul and Shell if I recall.
Thanks nab301. I figure with bucket over shim there's not a lot to actually rattle! With followers there's bound to be some shenanigans moving around in the motor. I've seen folks running the CB500X up to 240,000 miles so it can't be that bad. I'm paranoid, I just fear mine's the Friday afternoon motor...
Another 500X? Yeah that would help with any testing because you'd swap parts until the problem goes away, therefore diagnosing the problem part. BMW? I've never tried the 650 singles, I'll have a gander. Snod - the K75s have an excellent record for reliability - dunno what they're like to ride. I can't own a BMW surely? Sacrilege?
08/04/2024 08:03:24 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ren said" I can't own a BMW surely?".
When I got my stop gap BMW over 5 years ago I was surprised how good it was. I remember saying to my son that I always thought they were an old man's bike. He replied " You were right then ".
Maybe you are getting older than you think Ren.
08/04/2024 10:13:49 UTC
Bogger said :-
Yesterday I MOT'd my BMW R1200ST. I'd not ridden it for 4yrs. I'm going to sell it.
But not after my trip to the MOT station. The Bee-Emm is just ace. Smiley face.
Bogger
09/04/2024 17:59:52 UTC
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