Best Honda Motorcycles Motorbikes

What a Cracker of a Motorcycle! – I bought the CB300R as a second bike after reading every review I could find on this model and overthinking it of course. The most comprehensive… Read more

review I read was by Mark Pullen in Britain and that sold me. My comments address some points raised in other reviews after taking delivery of my bike in June and putting 2000km's on it. For perspective I weigh 85kg and 5' 10" tall. Most of the riding I do on the CB is hilly tight cornering on poor road surfaces so handling comfort and suspension are big priorities for me. Those in Queensland familiar with the Mt Mee Road (my back yard) will be familiar with the road conditions - rough.. Seat comfort is fine - I fitted a sheepskin pad (as I do on all my bikes) and have never noticed any discomfort at all after over 2 hours in the saddle. When I rode the bike back from the dealer without sheepie (50 min ride) I did not notice the seat at all - a good sign. The suspension is a standout and when riding over poor road surfaces I can feel the quality of absorption and rebound which is excellent. Full marks to Honda using the Showa Upside-down big piston forks which are truly impressive. The rear suspension compliments the front and I have not altered the rear from stock. Handling is razor sharp with very quick steering and stable in wet and dry with the stock tyres. The gearbox action is one of the smoothest I have had on any bike (if not the smoothest) and selection of 1st (no clunk) and finding neutral faultless. The slipper clutch is super light. The gearbox ratios are very close with 1st being lower than I am used to. Found that you can be in 5th gear at 60kmh and 6th gear at 70kmh without stress then the bike will pull effortlessly to over 100kmh and hold that speed on hills without effort. I had thought that it could do with slightly taller gearing to make highway or open road running a little more relaxed, but have decided otherwise. A reviewer (Da Bin Che) in Asia did upgrade to a 15 tooth front sprocket for a long trip he was doing, and then swapped it back to the standard 14 tooth on his return as he felt that the 15 tooth messed with the power/torque characteristics of the engine on hilly roads meaning frequent gearchanging on hills. With only 286cc to play with I could see his logic and Honda have clearly put thought into the overall ratio's to suit the engine. If you were doing mainly of highway work then maybe the sprocket change would make sense, but otherwise leave it stock is my thought. You do have to get used to those short gearing ratios though. The engine itself is a peach - incredibly smooth at all revs and has torque and good engine braking in all the right places. A gearchange shift indicator light on the dash is fitted, which to me seems to be mainly for the amusement of reviewers or boy racers to look at when they rev the ring out of the engine. I find changing up at around 5000 rpm is absolutely fine and no need for the light which shows at 8000rpm. Showing my age maybe.. The CB300 will be fine for touring as long as you adjust your expectations with how much you carry and ideally not with an adult pillion as it is a short wheel base and things could be a bit cosy seating wise. As I mentioned, it will hold 100kmh plus easily and you will not have the anxiety of that falling back to 80kmh at the sight of a hill with traffic on your tail. I have fitted a Givi 30L top box which is perfect for general duties - there are a lot of luggage options available for the CB300R. Fuel Tank: There has been comment that the 10.1L fuel tank is too small and a limiting factor. Not so. I have regularly achieved a range of 250km from the tank showing 1 bar fuel remaining only to find on refilling that there was 2.84L left in the tank so effective range could be closer to 300km which is excellent. I use 95 RON Fuel and riding is a mixture of open road, hilly terrain and shorter trips. The tank filler set up is not ideal and comment has been made on this by others. There is a bar placed just beneath the filler neck which means you cannot insert the bowser nozzle much below the base of the filler opening. There are two large holes in the baseplate of the filler which helps relieve back pressure when you are refuelling and lets you see when the tank is full. But it means you have to refuel carefully to avoid fuel splashing depending on the characteristics of the bowser pump - not a show stopper but can be a nuisance. The instrument display is excellent day or night and the gearshift indicator a welcome update on the 2019 model. Comment has been made that the Select and set buttons on the left of the display are too stiff and cannot be easily pressed with gloves on. Yes, they are stiff, but I find no real difficulty resetting the trip meters with gloves on at the servo and at this bike's price range you cannot expect these controls mounted on the handlebar switch block as I have on my other VStrom XT. Do not recommend attempting to actuate the buttons when riding because of their location. The full LED lighting is superb and I can attest to night riding effectiveness as well. I have fitted R&G offset rear bobbin adaptors which enable use of my paddock stand for easier chain maintenance (no brackets are fitted by Honda for bobbins) and a Puig short screen to make the front look more "complete" I get do not get any dirty air or much of a wind sock effect at any speed to be fair with or without the screen. Servicing: Basic oil and filter changes are very simple and well within the scope of anyone who can differentiate between a spanner and a screwdriver, although the Owners Manual clearly would like you to go back to the dealer for all maintenance so is less informative than Honda Owners manuals used to be. A reviewer I read grumbled that you had to raise the tank to get to the (maintenance free) battery and yet access to the battery would only be required every 3 years or so, however the air cleaner is easily accessible under the front seat which you will need access to much more frequently.. Honda have also provided an easily accessible top up reservoir for the coolant complete with dip stick for coolant level - nice touch and shows how much thought Honda puts into the little things. Service Intervals: Honda claim a 12000km service intervals for the CB300 which I find baffling to put it politely on this engine. The oil Honda recommends is their standard mineral 10W-30 grade - nothing special and yet journo's extoll the virtues of this as a great cost saving measure. The sump holds only 1.5L oil and the genuine Honda oil filter costs less than $9.00. To my knowledge, there has not been a dramatic change in engine or oil design in recent times to feel comfortable about having extended 12,000 km service intervals, let alone using a mineral oil. My Suzuki VStrom XT has 6000km service intervals on full synthetic oil and I think this is more realistic. Honda is not the only bike manufacture to start specifying extended service intervals presumably to "save" the owner money in running costs - but I think is just false economy if you intend on keeping the bike past its warranty period and care about engine longevity. I will be doing 6000km or 6 month service intervals on my CB and have peace of mind. Conclusion: Apart from the fueling up issue and Honda's silly design of reversing the Horn and blinker switches to usual set up on the switchblock I think that this is a brilliant, well thought out bike and finish is typical Honda quality which shows throughout. It is a bike that really shows that you do not need big capacity to do the job well and I have no difficulty in keeping with my group riders unless the speeds get silly - just a terrific all rounder that will suit new and seasoned older riders very well indeed. Will put a smile on your dial with every ride. Highly recommended.

Honda GB350 – My first Honda purchase after owning four Suzuki's. Purchased the Honda,as Suzuki no longer make the TU250X, which suited me very well. The Honda… Read more

suits me perfectly, 350cc with lots of torque, so very flexible in 3rd,4th,and 5th gears.Top,5th gear is almost like an overdrive, so at 100km/h,the engine is only doing 3750rpm.This aspect of the bike has been very well thought out. I like the simplicity of the bike,single air cooled,upright riding position, low seat height,91 octane fuel,15 lire tank,and very economical. Quality, and finish is excellent, and I consider good value for money.

Great bike!! – Awesome bike!!! Have had this bike for 10 months, never raced it but have given it a good Ride, have never had a single mechanical problem with the… Read more

bike... It's a shame accessory are so expensive but understand with the high quality of the bike.. Won't buy any other brand but a Honda.

Honda 2023 CL500, What is good & not so good – I've now had my bike since October 23, and ridden it 2,000 KM to date, so I have a good idea of this bike. As a prelude, I have a lot of experience… Read more

with new bikes, and with several of the Honda 500 series, both the 2022 X and the 2023 Y, I own.

The CL is a so called Scrambler type, but it is a very 'smooth road' type of light use Scrambler. It certainly is not for any serious off road adventuring along rough or hilly trails. But, I does handle slower speed dirt roads and predictable low speed walking trail type of gravel paths. Jumping over logs and grunting out of creek beds is not what Honda had in mind for the CL500.

I use the CL as a road bike, pure and simple. The same duty I asked of the 500X and my 500F variants. Actually, I bought the CL without a test ride. Much thought by me, on how soft the suspension would be. I bought the 500F a few weeks before the CL and found it was not a comfortable bike in regards to ergonomics. I did not not road ride it first before buying (no demo), and quickly found it was a full on Sports, not so comfortable over a longer time.

I wanted from the the 500X Adventure bike, a good handling bike, good suspension and it delivered in spades, but the windscreen buffeting was a minus for me. So when the CL came into our Market, it seemed to fill the compromise of a Naked 500X and a more comfortable 500F in the one package. But, it is not so in parts - it has it's own character.

The CL, is a comfortable bike to spend several hours riding if kept to 80 to 90 KPH. It's flat slab seat, the high handlebars, and lower peg placement, make it a 'wind sock' at the speeds above 90 KPH. If you are skinny and no so tall, you won't have so much surface area to catch the wind than me. I find the seat is comfortable for several hours of riding too. About 3 hours is my limit in one stretch.

Comfort is a relative term. To me it means a good suspension that can absorb ruts, small potholes without transferring a large jolt up my spine. In stock settings, the front is harder than the rear two shock absorbers. The front end of the bike is basically from the Rebel/CMX500 and the rear end shocks are new, but could have come from a scooter.

Those rear shocks are the biggest problem for the CL. Honda fitted a junk suspension from the get go. The stock settings at the rear and the non adjustable front forks, provide a ride that is too soft. Honda chose a spring rate is far too soft for our bumpy roads and pot holed surfaces and there is little of any damping to compensate for hard thumps that come along unexpectedly.

But it's not incurable. The stock setting of position two can be easily raised up. I used position four, and on the highest of five, while more comfortable on rough roads, oversteered the rear tyre in 90 degree traffic lights turn's. More preload on the front and less on the back DO provide a reasonable ride however.

I modified the forks a few days ago with 10mm of more preload, raised the forks 10mm to re level the bike, and used position 3 on the rear to give a much better ride comfort, but that is another story.

Aftermarket rear shocks when they eventually are produced will transform this very budget bike into a better bike. It's a pity Honda did not make the CL500 from the 500X as it's a much better base to start from, but the CL would be a thousand Dollars or so more.

Price reduction was first of mind with the CL. It has no immobliser (HISS) fitted, no adjustable clutch or brake levers fitted as standard. The headlight and speedo instrument is a straight off lift from the Rebel with the front and rear wheels from the 500X. The CL is a parts bin special, which is no bad thing in some ways as it keeps the $$$ cost down.

The speedo cluster is a disappointment. At its brightest illumination setting of 5, it's a bright as glow worms in a cave, but IF the Sun is behind either shoulder, the numerals appear in bright gold. If the sun is overhead or in front of the bike, you lucky to see the actual speed. Time, and other info is very hard to discern. Honda could have used the better speedo head from the Rebel 1100 and it would have been a better outcome. Of course, in the dark it works fine.

In Video Reviews, the volume of the petrol tank comes up as a minus point. I get a bit over 300 KM range which is 9 Litres of 91 grade. Reserve is 2.2 L.

Unfortunately, Honda chose not to fit a yellow warning light when on reserve - you have to watch for the flashing of the first segment of the fuel gauge. But, the display just counts UP from 0.0 in Litre's used once it's begun flashing. IF you don't know reserve is 2.2L to dry, you could well run out out fuel. The fuel tank did not come off the Rebel, the CL has slightly larger capacity of fuel.

The motor is said to be the same as the other 500's. This is probably true, but Honda do not provide in the Owners Handbook or web site, the gear ratio's used, but the CL has the same rear sprockets as the X & F, being 41 tooth. The Rebel has 40 for a higher speed.

I find the CL motor is rather soft in comparison to the X and F. The other two have much better torque than the CL, yet Honda say the CL has been retuned for 1 Newton/Metre more torque and 1 less KW than the X, F and CBR500's. The other two (X/F) will leave the CL in the dust if they had a drag race.

I put that down to the CL having been gifted the Rebels tiny air box to breathe in the air from. I find the CL, once up to speed, does pull more strongly than lower down in the gears, so it's fuel injection mapping is not the same as my other two too.

In conclusion, I think the CL will be better in it's next Generation. Worldwide, it's not been a good seller for Honda, and Honda have a record of discontinuing poor sellers. It should have been given better kit to start with, but remember it was designed in the peak of Covid-19 times of part & chip shortages, so I will cut Honda some slack as they needed some incoming profits in a hurry.

So, do I regret buying this bike ? Yes and no. It fulfills a need in basic transport like commuting, lane splitting is good too. It's just the Honda 500X and the 500F do it better for not so much more.

Bob.

EDIT 12/12/23 I've now clocked up 3, 200km in 59 days with the CL500, and now it is a better bike than when new. The motor has finally freed up a lot just recently and pulls stronger down low than before. The 500F is still more torquey I feel however.

I've experimented with the fork preload to match the rear on position 4 setting. This needed 6 mm added under the fork cap (3 by 35mm OD washers) each fork leg, and now it feels really comfortable over my rutted tarred roads that should have be ripped up and remade 50 years ago ! The distance from the top of the fork cap to the top handlebar yoke has been reduced from 12 to 6 mm. Fuel economy ranged from 2.8 to 3 L/100KM, but you can add 0.5L as the gauge reads optimistically.

The question I asked of myself: So, do I regret buying this bike ? No regret's now, BUT a CL800 with the Honda Transalp motor would be a terrific bike if Honda chose to make it for us.

The Best Adventure Bike BUT – Purchased a new 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT and in the last year have done 13,500kms on it. Honda advertises this bike as an… Read more

adventure bike with their promo material showing the bike going over all kinds of challenging terrain, water crossings, mud & sand.

I don't do any of that on my Africa Twin. I'll tour on it over the bitumen and every now and then check out some gravel roads to go somewhere different.

Well after about 11,500kms I had a front fork seal start to leak. Thinking it might just be something in the seal I had a dealer inspect & clean the seal. But it kept leaking.....and leaking.....and leaking.

I Googled the problem and it seems this has been an issue on the Africa Twin for several models in the past for many riders world wide.

You'd think Honda would've fixed it.

Recently I had a 13,000kms service on the bike at a Honda dealer and explained the issue. They stated to me that it's not covered under warranty. So I emailed Honda and this is the exact email I got back: ---------------------------------------- Dear Brett,

Thank you for contacting Honda Australia Motorcycles and Power Equipment.

We recommend speaking with an authorised Honda dealership as they would be in the best position to assist with your concerns.

For your convenience, you can use our website to locate a dealer for an inspection. https://motorcycles.honda.com.au/#!/finddealer

Notwithstanding, this enquiry is now closed. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please contact our Customer Relations department on 1300 559 846 or customer.relations@honda.com.au

Kind Regards,

Xxxx | Honda Australia Motorcycle and Power Equipment Pty Ltd

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Pretty disappointing considering it's a $25,000 bike that's been advertised as an "Adventure Bike"