The 2020 Honda CB500X Takes The Long Way To Work
A few quick taps in Google Maps and you’ll instantly discover that the journey from Margate, Prince Edward Island, to Centennial Auto-Sport And Tire’s Summerside location is 21.1 kilometres. Estimated duration is 21 minutes.
Assume you’re due at work at 8:00AM. To be safe, you’ll depart at 7:35, leaving time to spare for traffic and construction.
Or you could – as we did on Friday, July 7 – hop on a 2020 Honda CB500X at a quarter after seven with a slightly different route in mind.
We call it The Long Way To Work. The CB500X, Honda’s affordable sibling for the Africa Twin, initially took a westward aim for Summerside but very quickly detoured, veering north on Irishtown Road. The end result was a 47-kilometre trip that didn’t end until 8:26.
Oops.
Motorcycling has that effect, of course, the effect that causes you to ride right past your own home because your ride just. isn’t. over. yet. But the 2020 Honda CB500X is in a class of adventure bikes – ADVs, for short – that amplifies the syndrome precisely because every type of road (and path) seems to spread wide its welcoming arms.
WHAT’S THE BIKE?
CB500X isn’t a new nameplate in Honda’s motorcycle lineup – Honda launched the model line back in 2013. But for 2019, Honda decided to take a deeper dive into the ADV category with the overhauled CB500X. Now there’s a bigger front wheel (a 19-incher to go along with the 17-inch rear wheel) to aid maneuverability in more challenging terrain, more suspension travel, and more ground clearance.
Yet with a 32.7-inch seat height, the 2020 CB500X isn’t something you feel you have to climb up and over. At 434 pounds, the CB500X’s weight isn’t intimidating, either. Combine the bike’s reasonable weight with the origins of its underlying platform – the obviously road-oriented CB5600R – and you soon discover why this adventure bike is fun in the twisties, too.
As a Honda, of course the engine comes first. It’s a 471-cc parallel twin mated to an exceptionally intuitive 6-speed shifter and clutch. The twin loves to rev, finding a sweet spot in between 5,000 and 7,000 rpm. But it doesn’t beg to be revved. In fact, there’s more than enough torque to lope along, short-shifting if you feel like it. While there’s plenty of punch, particularly for the type of riding the CB500X is designed for, the CB500X’s powerplant is more likely to win you over with smoothness.
In other words, there's enough power for an experienced rider; enough refined progression for a first-time rider.
Meanwhile, the CB500X’s surplus of suspension travel creates all kinds of rough-road comfort, too. You know the feeling we're talking about? You’re too late to swerve around that pothole, then you cringe, and then... wait a second. Nothing happens. The CB500X’s feathers are unruffled, its composure far too difficult to undo. Smoothness is the name of the game when it comes to braking, as well. There’s ABS and a big 310mm disc up front with tons of bite.
Perhaps most importantly, the CB500X is comfortable. The riding position produces terrific posture, the two-tier adjustable windscreen pushes away a lot of the disturbance, and the wide seat was designed with long rides in hand. You’ll want that comfort, because you’re going to spend a long time on the CB500X.
The fuel capacity is 17.5 litres. We averaged 3.7 L/100km on our journey (2.9 L/100km from Summerside to Margate the night prior), which translates to a range of 470 kilometres all the way to an absurd 600 kilometres per tank.
WHERE’D WE GO?
The 47-kilometre journey between Margate and CAST Summerside began at the corner. Or should we say, The Corner. You enter Margate’s long, sweeping, uphill, Route 6 left-hander at the bottom of a steep hill coming from Clinton. Tracking toward Kensington, you'll slip through a side street to the Irishtown Road, Route 101, which would eventually take you to Park Corner and an array of stunning beaches if you hadn't already turned left onto the 104 and taken a quick right-hander onto Spring Valley Road.
But hold on a second. Was that a statue of a black horse? No wonder the intersection of Route 104 and the Irishtown Road is called Black Horse Corner. The origins of Black Horse Corner reach back to 1869, when Thomas Tuplin opened a tavern. As the story goes, the tavern was eventually torched by friends of the widowed second owner. The third owner allegedly acquired the property unjustly, so rather than let him take possession, it was burnt down. The current statue was erected in 1964.
Back on Spring Valley Road, we stopped to gauge the condition of one portion of the snowmobile trail, aka Hall Road. (It’s a bit dry for sledding.) Hall Road is part of a network of dirt roads in the area that make for perfect dual sport/ADV riding, a network we traversed extensively when filming a pair of Honda CRF450L dual sports in the summer of 2019. O’Dell, Holmes, Leards Mill, Simmons, County Line, St. Andrews, Baltic River, and Crafer are all dirt roads worth exploring in the area, not to mention all the roads that lead to the water’s edge: Branders Pond, Cousins Shore, Cape, and Cape Tryon Road, just to list a few.
Eventually the CB500X made its way to downtown Malpeque. In a normal non-COVID season, you’d take in a Small Halls Festival ceilidh in the Malpeque Community Centre. In a normal tidal season, you’d take a swim at Cabot Beach Provincial Park at the end of King Street.
And on a normal weekend morning, you’d keep riding. But this is Friday, so the CB500X is pointed toward Indian River for one last photo at the historic St. Mary’s Church.
WHERE’S IT FIT?
Honda’s motorcycle lineup includes over three dozen bikes, from the CRF50F dirt bike all the way to the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP and the Goldwing. The CB500X is priced at $7,799, albeit discounted by $500 right now.
That price point highlights not just the CB500X’s affordability but also the breadth of appeal in Honda’s best-selling line of motorcycles. You can find this same engine in a bunch of entirely different bikes: the Honda Rebel 500, a $7,299 cruiser; the Honda CBR500R, a $7,699 sport bike; and the $7,299 naked Honda CB500F. One engine, four bikes, four totally different characters.
Honda offers more aggressive off-roading ability in the $12,099 2021 Honda CRF450RL, a genuine motocrosser that’s also a truly road-legal bike. The $11,999 CRF450L is another road-legal Honda dirt weapon. Closer to the CB500X’s price spectrum you’ll find the $5,999 CRF250L and the $6,699 CRF250 Rally, which brings more ADV flexibility to the CRF250L’s dual sport style. And don’t forget the NC750X, a motorcycle we covered in some detail just a few weeks ago by taking The Long Way To Work.
SO WHY DO I WANT THE CB500X?
Let’s count down 10 reasons, in no particular order.
#10: The Big Wheel: The 19-inch front wheel is a big upgrade to the CB500X’s off-road demeanor.
#9: The Fuel Economy: We shouldn’t be surprised that Honda, renowned for engine efficiency for some five decades or more, is able to make a 500-class motorcycle ridiculously economical. But when you’re winding it out time after time and you still don’t see the fuel gauge budge, you can’t help but be at least a little surprised.
#8: The Clutch: Honda just gets it right. Every time. There’s no learning curve on this bike – you get on, and you’re comfortable with its character.
#7: The Lighting: Brighten the night with LEDS all over the place.
#6: The Features: There’s a slipper clutch, a gear indicator, Pro-Link rear suspension with five stages of adjustability, ABS, and storage space under the seat.
#5: It’s A Honda: From resale value to reliability to the security of buying from the world’s best-selling brand of motorcycles, there’s a reason Honda’s reputation matters to you.
#4: The Engine: The smooth progression of power delivery makes the CB500X so easy to ride yet so enjoyable to rev.
#3: The Style: On the one hand, it’s subtly handsome. On the other, it makes a real visual statement in Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic. The CB500X makes onlookers want to know more about it.
#2: Comfort: The whole point of an adventure bike is to visit far-flung locales. You want to be able to sit on it all day. With the windscreen, the contoured seat, and the high-but-not-too-high seating position, the CB500X keeps you comfy for hours.
#1: The Roots: The 2020 Honda CB500X is two bikes blended into one. It’s an adventure bike, but it also has Honda sport bike heritage. And rather than that combination of characters resulting in a compromise, the Honda CB500X turns out to be more than the sum of its parts.
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