tl;dr. Can the bike handle 2 up, luggages and +500mile trips combining freeway and normal routes?
New rider here about to get my license (not restricted) during next week.
Currently doing my bike training on a Kawasaki er6n and so far I really enjoy
riding the bike.
I haven't even tried other bikes but somehow the look and what i've
read about the Honda CB500F would make it a really good first bike.
I'm a little concern about the possible 'extra' power I might need in the future.
Looking to travel with luggages and possibly even 2 up, 500-1000km (300-600mile)
weekend trips.
My other option is to look for some more future proof bike to suite my needs, but those maybe aren't so good for starter bike.
You couldn't ask for a better first bike IMHO. I have owned it for less than a week but I have not ever ridden any bike that is easier to ride than the cb500f.
As to two up riding with luggage I cannot speak.
As to freeway speeds riding solo, which I did for the first time on the CB earlier today, I'd say you're good up to 70mph or so and still have a little left for defensive moves but in the US cars typically drive 80-85 mph and I feel the bike cannot accelerate forcefully beyond those speeds, which could be problematic from a defensive standpoint.
But let me be clear, this bike is awesome :spin.
You should try and demo one at the speeds you will be riding.
EDIT...since you've ridden an er6n, a great option would be a Versys 650, same motor and power as the er6n. It has a very tall seat height but can be lowered if needed but having owned one I can testify it will meet all your needs.
Plus it is cheap to buy, reliable as a chopping block and very nearly easy to ride as the CB. (Before buying the CB I used to claim the Versys 650 was the easiest bike I ever rode, now it's been bumped to a distant second place)
The bike weighs 423-lbs wet. It's got a maximum payload rating (rider, passenger and luggage) of about 400lbs (I believe.) Fully loaded, you'd have 823-lbs motivated by 47HP. That's about 17.5lbs/HP.
For comparison, a new Volkswagen GTI has a curb weight of 3031-lbs and a rated payload of 1045-lbs giving a GVW of about 4076-lbs; with 210HP this car would have a ratio of 19.4-lbs/HP.
Another example: Just about any Harley; with a loaded weight of over a thousand pounds and, what, 60HP to work with they do fine.
It might require some downshifting on longer highway hills; leave a bit more space ahead for braking; crank in some suspension preload; add some tire pressure.
However, if you find fully-loaded, long-distance cruising is what you do the most you might consider changing to a different bike (e.g. CTX700; CBR650F; VFR800) with longer legs...
It is a very good all around performer. It's not a dedicated highway cruiser. It's not a dedicated canyon carver. It's not a dedicated touring machine. It's not a rocket. But, yet, it does many things really well. It will carve. It will tour. It does fine on the highway. The gas mileage is fantastic. I've bought groceries home on it. It's fun and economical. It really hits a sweet spot as a jack of all trades.
I've run it every week for almost an entire year - through summer, autumn, winter and spring in New England and it's been essentially flawless the entire time. I've never wanted "more bike." That's not to say I haven't lusted after other bikes. But I don't think I ever want to sell mine - even if I can find room for another bike in my driveway. I love it.
Coming from 115,000 miles on a Kawasaki 650 Ninja to the CBR500R, I think two up on the CBR would be a stretch, unless your combined weight is below 300 lbs. It's a fine bike for a relatively small solo rider, but two up with luggage, not so much.
Depends on your total expected weight. My wife and I combine for about 250 lbs so we don't struggle at all and I could easily see adding 50 lbs (roughly what two side cases and a monolock top case would allow for) without the bike feeling too sluggish. By myself the bike feels very sporty, with my wife a little less so (but not that much).
Wrong bike for two up, one person and luggage maybe OK.
The bike lacks power in my opinion. I've run into trouble getting around cars with this bike pulling steep grades. It can do that, but you need to go down 2 gears minimum or you will end up head on with something coming the other way.
The passenger pegs are a joke. I'd never consider two up with this bike other then maybe a short ride down to the grocery store.
I've got another bike for two up or long rides and freeway work. This bike can do the freeway, but as mentioned, and I feel the same way, it's limited after about 75 miles per hour. It can pull the higher speeds but you won't really have any emergency pull away throttle left.
Just passing cars I need to always go down a couple gears or maybe one if I'm already above 6 grand on the tach. I live in a hilly area and find this bike probably was not the best choice for my area, the Sierra foothills. That said I do like the bike and just manage the limitations accordingly. I use it for short twisty rides and an occasional run up to Tahoe area and some of the mountain passes, I really need to be careful on those mountain passes with this bike, it runs out of steam fast pulling grades.
Two up this thing would flat out be awful. Wrong bike, I would consider the CB650 or that Yamaha FZ-07, because you need a minimum of 70 HP for two up riding to do it safe, or something with a large torque factor like any HD. The NC700 could be OK, I would ask guys that own one of those. They don't have much more then 55 HP but have some torque built into it. V twin engine on the NC700 and it bores me to tears.
Thank you all for the input on this. Highly appreciated since i've been trying to get my head around this on what purchase.
Currently i'm leaning on towards CB500F 2016 model and will later on consider different options for more specific needs, such as longer road trips two up.
I have a 2016 CB500F, just hit 233 miles today. Great little fun bike for tooling around town and riding the nearby canyons with their twisties and steep grades. Mine is the ABS model, and I got to use that feature today, when some idiot pulled out in front of me. It will stop! :-O I have a CRF250L dual sport, also a fun machine, but too tall to be as flickable as the 500, top speed of around 75 while the 500 is good for somewhere upwards of 90, if you can stand the wind. For serious road work, I have a Kawasaki Nomad, great cruiser, locking bags, top box, fairing with stereo, highway bars with foot pegs, but for around town, it stays in the garage while I ride the 500.
I have a CRF250L dual sport, also a fun machine, but too tall to be as flickable as the 500, top speed of around 75 while the 500 is good for somewhere upwards of 90, if you can stand the wind.
Waldowales, the CB500F is capable of reaching speeds much higher than the 90 mph mentioned in your post. In fact, testing shows it can attain an indicated top speed of 188 km/h. (117 mph) Assuming the speedometer is generous by 10%, this means the "actual" top speed is about 169 km/h, or a little more than 105 mph. Either way, it is plenty fast enough to get you in trouble with the law in very short order!
I've hit 106 indicated on the speedo a couple times and that was about as fast as the bike would go. Level ground with light winds. I've never been able to get it over that speed. I think the speedo on the 2016 models could be more accurate then previous models.
I've noticed when I've passed those radar speed traps that give you the speed are always dead on with my speedo. Carbon copy accurate.
I had always thought a bicycle path up on top of that thing would have been a nice addition. I remember when they built that thing in the 1960's. Back then people said that they would put a road on top of that thing.
There IS a bicycle/walking path on it.
Remember that big building nearby which had antiques and a ton of old bath tubs and doors?...Torn down for development.
Sounds like they are cleaning the chit hole up finely. New Bedford's been behind the curve for like a 100 years. Went from Whaling to textile sweat shops and never recovered.
Well they certainly have their work cut out for them but they are trying. LOL
There is a resteraunt that serves a great chicken around the corner from Knucleheads called Neuva Mundo or some such thing. It looks like a dump from the outside but is a great place. It is in an area loaded with meth-heads.
Good Portuguese food all over the area though.
To the OP. If you're still reading this thread, I took the CB out on the highway for a decent amount for the first time today. I weigh 180 lbs or so with no gear. The CB has just enough power to hold its own in high speed traffic with just me onboard. I think that two up with luggage and this great little bike will be woefully underpowered.
You should be looking at something with at least 100 HP for your purposes. I had a 60 HP Versys and it would have been OK but sometimes you just need to boogie for safety purposes.
I owned a Kawasaki ZZR1200 at one time. They are highly underrated and not widely popular but can be bought used very cheap. That thing ate the highway alive. 140+ HP at the wheel, tons of torque and great wind protection.
It's light for a sport tourer but top heavy and gets only 30-35 MPG. Grab a handful of throttle at 100 MPH and you better hold on, the party is just getting started.
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