2013 Honda CB500F First Look Review

2013 Honda CB500F – First Look Big Red’s budget naked 500cc Twin.

We used to call bikes like the new 2013 Honda CB500F just “motorcycles.” Then the market evolved and got really specialized with sportbikes, adventure bikes, cruisers, etc., to the point that we started calling the plain old all-rounder a “standard,” which then evolved into “naked,” honoring the stripped-fairing sportbike.

Let’s call the CB500F a standard naked, since Honda has segmented its own new parallel-Twin lineup by introducing the CBR500R and CB500X, and the F is a stripped version of the R. The bodywork removal makes the CB500F the least expensive of the trio.

Like its brethren, the CB500F is propelled by a brand-new liquid-cooled, dohc, four valve-per-cylinder, counterbalanced 500cc parallel-Twin with 180-degree crank. Bore and stroke dimensions are nearly square at 67.0 x 66.8mm. Honda’s Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI) delivers fuel through a pair of 34mm throttle bodies. Honda wasn’t talking horsepower, but expect it to be in the 50-at-the-wheel range.

The CBR500F’s steel-tube frame is shared with the CBR500R and CB500X. Suspension consists of a non-adjustable conventional 41mm fork and a Pro-Link single shock with nine stages of preload damping. Chassis geometry is identical to the CBR500R’s: 55.5-inch wheelbase, 25.5-degree rake and 4.05-in. trail. Cast aluminum wheels are wrapped in a 120/70-17 front and 160/60-17 rear tire. A 320mm wave-style front brake disc is pinched by a twin-piston caliper, while out back is a 240mm disc/single-piston-caliper setup. Like the other two models in the five-hundie lineup, an ABS model will be available but price has not been announced (we expect it to be a $500 premium).

A low 30.9-in. seat height should be inviting for a wide range of riders, and the F’s light 420-pound curb weight (with a full tank of fuel) should make it quite manageable. Honda hasn’t released fuel-economy figures for and of the three new 500s, but you can bet mpg will be emphasized as it has been on recent models like the NC700X and CBR250R.

Two colors will be available on the $5499 standard CB500F: Black or Pearl White. The ABS model will only be available in Black.

2013 Honda CB500F (Black) - action right-side view

2013 Honda CB500F (Pearl White) - right 3/4 view

2013 Honda CB500F (Pearl White) - action left 3/4 view

2013 Honda CB500F (Pearl White) - action front view

2013 Honda CB500F (Pearl White) - right-side view

2013 Honda CB500F (Pearl White) - studio right-side view

2013 Honda CB500F ABS (Black) - studio right-side view

jstock

I think Honda is onto something w/ this basket of smaller machines, but they are definitely turning a blind eye on the retro craze. This thing would sell like hot cakes if they went more vintage with it’s styling……

B Conner

You are not the first that has said they should have built a retro bike…

911jason

This is my new realistic “dream” bike… although I also would have loved a CB500 of similar styling to the CB1100 they announced.

Pat L

Completely AGREE ! They would sell like hotcakes !!

Renato Valenzuela

they’re bringing over the CB1100 also.

jstock

Here’s my personal issue w/ the CB1100. It’s just too big. I’m a small guy and I’d want something small, compact and lightweight in another retro styled machine. The styling is excellent, but I’ve never been a subscriber to the whole “bigger is better” thing. Bring over something with the same twin shock style at around 800cc and I’d run to the dealer with my checkbook in hand.

Also, my insurance provider rates my motos based on engine size (State Farm), not category. My 2006 Bonneville was more expensive to insure than my 2003 CBR600RR (863cc vs. 600cc) even though some would say the sportbike is way more of an insurance risk. My current 2012 Triumph Street Triple R even came back cheaper to insure than the Bonnie. Again, this is just my personal situation.

At the end the day, it’s still great Honda is putting out smaller machines that just get the job done. I hope they have success with them. The Japanese brands need all the help they can get right now.

baby boomer

Try Allstate Insurance for motorcycle coverage. Rates start at $100 per year. I also have car and house insurance with them (which are also very inexpensive), and my motorcycle policy on a 2000 Kawasaki W650 (676cc old Bonneville copy) was $75. My 2002 Bonneville (790cc) was $75 in 2003 as they rate according to risk factors (sportbikes and high horsepower are the most expensive). And no, I am NOT an insurance agent.
Pat L

I agree with you completely ~ Before reading this article I was just checking out the new Honda line on their site. When I saw the CB1100 my first thought was “Wow Great, they’re coming out with retro’s — but alas, after scrolling down, though I was pleased to see the new mid-weight 500F I would have run down immediately and bought one IF it had the retro style. Very disappointed.

http://www.facebook.com/PeterWyattMiddleton Peter Middleton

Thats cheapppp. Need to test drive!
A Long-Time Honda Fan

Dear Honda: Please consider an updated VF500F for this class! It would easily dominate, & sell like hotcakes! A V-4 500 would put all the budget 500s to shame, just like it used to- my current ’86 will leave lots of bikes (like the Suzuki SV650) in the dust.
Sincerely,
A Long-time Honda Fan
PS- nobody -at least in the US- wants a bike with just a single front disc!

DDS

Wishful thinking. Your 500 gives up 10hp at even weight on 25 yr old tire sizes. If you’re “beating” SV650′s then they’re not racing you.

jim

Why can’t Honda get rid of the messy chain drive on these machines? The cbr250, these new Honda 500′s and 700, even the new Kawasaki 300 would be so much better with a belt drive. Cleaning and adjusting the chain with all the goop on the rear rim along with replacement chain and sprockets for these bikes is not improvement. Belts are cleaner, quieter,require little adjusting, and last longer. Much better and suitable for these models.
Get with it!

Yak Yak Yak

Couldn’t agree with you more, Jim. I was shocked a few years back when Honda intro’ed the Shadow 750 RS with chain drive, esp. considering the other Shadows have shafts. Chains on non-sports bikes are just goofy.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=566261479 Theodore P Smart

I’ve never owned a motorcycle that I didn’t change sprocket size to match my stye of riding. Cannot do that with a belt or shaft. Then again I know several Harley Davidson riders who cannot even change their own oil.

http://www.facebook.com/jonathan.daddario.9 Jonathan Daddario

least thats one goood thing harley has going
http://www.facebook.com/thisisbenji Benjamin Reynolds

Chains are better, it’s a blast cleaning them. Not to mention they’re sporty looking. Until I see a belt drive on a race bike I’m not sold on them.

Dan

I was excited to see the CB500F.. until i saw it was a “Twin” not a true “F” Four.
Someone at Honda really screwed that one up.

Sam

That’s just not correct… The up-to-2003 European CB500F was also a parallel twin. I think the “f” designation by Honda is meant to point to the model being naked, just as the Hornet 600 was also called CB600F and it was also a naked model.

Jonny

The “F” implies a “forward” riding position, as opposed to “R” being a “racing” position. Both entail foot placement/position on the model itself.

Yak Yak Yak

I wish Honda designers would recognize a) that riding around with one’s legs folded in half is uncomfortable and unlikely to engender customer loyalty, and b) that chain drive doesn’t equate to sporty creds; it just adds an unnecessary maintenance chore. On anything but a true sports bike, high, rear-set pegs and chain drive are a major PITA for no real benefit.

http://www.facebook.com/thisisbenji Benjamin Reynolds

I have zero issues scrapping pegs on my Ninja 250, I don’t see why I’d want lower rearsets?

http://www.facebook.com/ChopperCharles Charles Edward Smith

Put a regular headlight on it and get rid of those hideous wings on either side of the tank, and I’d be interested. Make it look more like a motorcycle please. Vintage is all well and good, but all I ask for is a motorcycle that doesn’t look like a freaking spaceship.
Anthony Silvestri

Belt drives reduce torque & horse power just like shaft drives – that’s why they dont put them on sport bikes! (duh?)
endoman38

Preload dampening?