Lots of reasons all added up to me buying a CBR500R. I've been riding for a long time, over 30 years, and in that time I've had lots of bikes. The two marques I've owned the most of are BSA and Honda. I most recently had a 1994 Honda CB500 which was, pretty much, all the motorcycle I needed. It was getting a bit long in the tooth though, and I fancied a change. On a whim, I had a wander around my local dealer's and was quite taken with the latest generation of 500cc Hondas. A test ride confirmed what others have already put forward; here was a bike that was a really good balance of all the features I really wanted. Compact dimensions and light weight, adequate power, smooth and easy to ride, economical, good looking, not too dear to buy and not too dear to run. Something capable, should I choose to do so, of a trip the length of the country, but not too big to thread through traffic in town, or too expensive that sitting unused in the garage for extended periods would be wasting huge amounts of cash.
Experience has shown me that too small a bike is, ultimately, frustrating and unsatisfying; too big a bike is just as frustrating and unsatisfying, but for entirely different reasons. A middleweight like our 500s is, for me, the best compromise I can strike. A few carefully chosen accessories and a determination to look after it as best I can should give me a bike I can live with for a number of years. There is a real possibility that I will keep it indefinitely, and there again, maybe after I've finished paying it off, I might get bored...