As I sold my Versys I am considering to buy a Honda CB500F, with a low seat height of only 785 mm. As I was in Chiang Mai it was a good moment to rent a CB500F for a day and have a play with it. I had a bit of trouble finding a CB500F but POP of course had one, but I do not like that they do not have insurance for their bikes. Putting all the risk of THEIR business on the customer. But there seems not to be much choice for big bikes.
Riding the bike was fun. And it is surprising (at least to me) that the bit lower and lighter bike did give me so much more riding confidence. I could ride it in Chiang Mai traffic like a Honda Wave, I did make manoeuvres I would never do with the Versys. What I did not realise is that a naked bike indeed has almost none wind protection, a little wind-shield would be nice on this bike. And the exhaust pipe is a huge thing on the CB500F, I did never realise that on the Versys I had so much rear-space. The handle bar is a bit low but a riser could solve that problem.
For me the CB500F did ride fine, but like the good old CB400 Four what was my first big bike you can hardly consider the CB500F a real highway bike. But that is OK with me, as I am not a highway biker. I am sure I will be missing the acceleration from 120 to 150.
Riding the bike was fun. And it is surprising (at least to me) that the bit lower and lighter bike did give me so much more riding confidence. I could ride it in Chiang Mai traffic like a Honda Wave, I did make manoeuvres I would never do with the Versys. What I did not realise is that a naked bike indeed has almost none wind protection, a little wind-shield would be nice on this bike. And the exhaust pipe is a huge thing on the CB500F, I did never realise that on the Versys I had so much rear-space. The handle bar is a bit low but a riser could solve that problem.
For me the CB500F did ride fine, but like the good old CB400 Four what was my first big bike you can hardly consider the CB500F a real highway bike. But that is OK with me, as I am not a highway biker. I am sure I will be missing the acceleration from 120 to 150.