- Sign in
- Write a review
Honda CMX 500
- 2 reviews
- 2 likes
It's a nice bike ruined by poor equipment
I have had my 2020 CMXA for 1000km now, I am around 1.7 M tall and 90 KG, both well within the bikes ratings. In the first week I had removed the binnacle fairing (a CMXA extra) due to wind buffeting, I could not ride it over 90kmh. I also wear tinted glasses while riding, it is Australia after all, forget trying to read the instruments if it's sunny, I have put a phone mount on the bars and use my mobile as a GPS speedo. The instruments are brilliant of a night, very clear and easy to use. Suspension, one word woeful, and mine is the improved ...
Read more2020 model, with my 90 kg on board I have 15mm front and rear travel left before bottom, the bike sags 50mm at front under it's own weight, the constant jarring on rougher roads gets old very fast. Honda offer to help upgrade it at my cost. The seat does get hard after about an hour as well. Now the good, the brakes are brilliant, very strong and user friendly. The engine and gearbox are sweet, the engine is smooth and the gears are precise and easy to use, power is more than enough for getting around. Mirrors work well as does the switch gear, although I did have to roll the handle bars back a bit to get some of the twisting out of my wrists that eventually ended up as shoulder pain after a few hours. Fuel economy is quite amazing for a 500, a larger tank would be nice as 200km to reserve at highway speed in Australia can be getting a bit tight, around town perfectly fine at 240km.Purchased in for $9,800.
- Build Quality
- Value for Money
- See all answers
- 2 reviews
- 4 likes
Not all that's is all crack up to be.
After visiting my local sunstate motorcycle dealership to try out the new honda rebel cmx500 i was rather surprised at just how heavy this bike really is. Sadly i was unable to lift this bike of its side stand. I weigh all of 55kgs and stand all of 145cms tall. This bike is certainly not suited to the smaller rider. If you are heavier in weight maybe so but not in my case. Don't get me wrong this bike is a looker and i could see myself on long weekend rides if only i could ride the thing. Be warned the only way one is truly ever going to know is to try before you buy and do your homework.
- Build Quality
- Value for Money
- See all answers
- 2 reviews
Brilliant ride great handling
The bike is a brilliant learner bike and I have been very happy with how it performs in all conditions. I had test drove the Harley Street 500 and found it under performed in power and only being a 5 speed it didn't offer what was needed for bigger riders. The Cmx 500 offers that cruiser style traditional to a Harley without the name tag attached. I had feedback from a Harley sales person even saying the Cmx 500 is one of the best Lams bike and Harley would have loved to badge it up with Harley on it.
Purchased in for $8,300.
- Build Quality
- Value for Money
- See all answers
- 18 reviews
- 26 likes
Good cruiser for a new learner
Bought this bike for my son (I have been riding for decades) as his first bike and it is easy to ride and good fun. This is his main transport to uni and part time job. The main complaint is the seat and on long rides this becomes an annoying problem, we are going to change the seat to a better version. I have ridden it as well and I agree with the seat problem. My bike has a gel seat which is way better. Spares for this bike are not expensive as it was dropped and dented the tank which was replaced for approx $300.
Purchased in at Bikebiz.
- Build Quality
- Value for Money
- See all answers
Find out how Honda CMX 500 compares to other Naked Bikes
Know better, choose better.
- 15 reviews
- 12 likes
Good for a cruiser. Mediocre if you want a motorbike.
Is that too harsh? Maybe. I wouldn't call it a -bad- bike, and to be fair, it does make a great first impression. It sounds good for a paralell twin, and the 'circular aesthetic' they have going on with the styling is very pleasing and probably quite timeless. Ok, so I've been nice to it. How can I call it mediocre then?
Well, the handling, engine, and ergonomics package only works on roads that wouldn't challenge a cb125. So you ride it around town, maybe squirt it up to 80 km/h, and it feels pretty impressive. Flick the bars around side to...
Read more side and the bike responds well. So on a short test ride, perhaps around the back streets near your friendly honda dealer, it all feels fantastic. But the moment you take it off slow, smooth roads, the intrinsic limitations of this class of bike become apparent. There is limited suspension travel available, and the dampers feel pretty budget (bulk purchased with the cb125 perhaps?) so when you hit mid corner bumps the bike gets flustered and untidy. There is limited ground clearance, which means an early, hard limit on lean angle, which always sticks in the back of your mind if you enter an unfamiliar corner a bit too hot. Which is likely to happen given that this is a LAMS bike aimed at new riders. Not good. The tyres are of the rock hard high-miler type: standard fare for cruisers, but it's the type of rubber you'd reluctantly fit to a 50cc scooter because there isn't any other option available. Again, I didn't have any issues with them, but how much grip is really in reserve? For a new rider with perhaps sharper than normal braking and throttle inputs, is it really a good idea to have such limited grip available? The ergonomics, well, you either like cruiser ergonomics or you don't. You can probably guess by now that I don't. It's not a problem unique to this model of bike, but rather this class of bike. Having your legs splayed out in front of you is just crap for controlling a bike. You can't shift your body weight around, you can't lift your seat off the ground to absorb bumps from the crude suspension, and your whole crotch/torso catches the breeze like a parachute. So although you feel like the terminator when you quickly ride this bike around town, at higher speeds the ergonomics are an impediment. A similar theme carries through to the engine, although it's not so bad here. It's very punchy about to about 80-100, beyond that, it's merely providing adequate amounts of grunt. Engine access is pretty good, probably the best out of honda's 500cc family of bikes. And being a honda you won't need to do anything beyond routine maintenance on this machine. So that's it. As per the title of this review, if you have decided that a cruiser is for you, then this is probably one of the better ones on the market. But if you're just interested in motorbikes in general, well, this is basically a very flashy and expensive city scooter in drag. I would not recommend this bike if you are planning on riding any kind of country roads, or in the wet, or just in general really.- Date Purchased
- 32 reviews
- 17 likes
Better value than it's counterpart
I recently test rode one of these at a test day and was impressed by most of it's attributes.
To me it is in direct opposition to the Harley Street 500 and if I were a new rider, the Honda would be my choice hands down. It provides more assistance to a new rider in terms of dash information which let's face it, comes in handy when you're learning to ride. It took off better and it just felt better to ride.
The downfalls for me, being over 6 foot 3, the mid range pegs don't feel comfortable and I tested it on an extremely windy day and being...
- Date Purchased
- 9 reviews
- 18 likes
AND I THOUGHT THE YAMAHA 250 VIRAGO CRUISER WAS GOOD
This is a great bike, i took the plunge and bought it on its release date in Australia, one of the first in NSW, and i can tell you now what a bike, it won't break any records, but it is a real head turner, everyone asks about it, at the lights, at the car park, it is comfortable and easy to ride, and the grip from the wide front and rear D404 tyres will give you confidence. It will beat most cars from take off at the lights and the fuel return is amazing 248km commuting on 11 lts, smooth gear changes and great brakes all make for a great bike ride and lots of fun.
Related Articles
Questions & Answers
Sorry, there are no questions yet.
Get an answer from our members
Details
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.