Honda CB500 (1994-2003)

I bought this bike after five years away after a big accident. I love it and cant bring myself to trade it in for something bigger. Had it for three happy years now. Its fast enough for the streets of London. The engine is smooth and powerful enough to comfortably cruise at 90mph on the motorway. I have had it up to 120mph but this is not its forte. Much better to take the A roads and enjoy the corners. 200 miles to a tank. Above 8000rpm it can move along nicely and can surprise a few other bikers when they haven't shaken you. Others of course fly on by! I ride this thing come rain, hail or snow. It always starts, never breaks, tough as nails. The alloy on the engine is corroding due to the year round riding. I wash is about once a couple of months so am definitely not religious about it. The bike is 14 years old now so its gotta show a few signs of age for a year round bike hey!? Suspension has its limits but have replaced the front springs and oil to stiffen it up as well as replaced the crappy Hagon shock someone put on it. Bought it for £1250 three years ago with 10k on the clock. Cost £110 a year for insurance. It just doesn't make sense to get rid of this little beast!

Absolutely love this bike, it hardly breaks, and if it ever does you can guarantee that you (the rider) is most likely to blame. The bike is so forgiving, if you thrash it about it just gets on with it. MPG is brill, even in heavy traffic.

I have taken this bike two up touring (with all camping gear) into the alps and it has been completely reliable. I use it for a 100 mile round trip commute twice a week in all weather and to bust traffic in London. It is cheap to run, enough fun on smaller roads to make you grin and holds its value very well, there are always people wanting one after their test. BT45s are the best tyres for it. Frequent oil changes will see the engine last forever. 180 miles / tank cheap spare parts cheap insurance cheap servicing loads of mpg BUT I still can't wait to get a bigger bike after 5 years!

I've done 15000miles on it and its only done just over 480000! Seen some people with over 100,000 "!"""!!! Best tyres I have found to be are bridgestones bt 45's. It's so trouble free only gotta replace the clutch cable but tht can wait and i like to race the couriers lol I can beat most :). It's been to bout 140 and I've got 130 with my mate on the back on the motorway. 0-60 I've had it over in less than 5. I love it and can't wait to get a cbr600f next April. Strengths: Engine its a Honda!. Petrol consumption is wicked, at least 50mpg or bout 100miles per £10. Weaknesses: The brakes could be a bit better, but better than my old 250 wetdream lol.

I bought my CB500s the day after I passed my test. I did think about getting a 600 but common sense kicked in and I parted my cash and bought it. After a year's ownership I haven't looked back, it's economical, servicing is cheap and it's mega reliable. OK, it's not the fastest bike in the world but for a 500cc it's great. I've shocked some bigger bikes quite a few times! I've never had any problems with it. It's fun to ride and a great bike to learn your skills on as it's really forgiving. I recommend it to anyone! Strengths: It's fast for what it is, economical, reliable, brilliant bike. Weaknesses: Brakes could be a bit sharper (but they're fine) Gearbox is a bit clunky in 1st and second.

Great introduction to larger bikes. Easy to learn and very forgiving. Quick enough round town and M/ways, nippy on the twisty stuff too with gr8 handling. Feels like its never going to trip you up other than a slight run in with some black ice and a mini roundabout. Brakes could be better. Corrosion on downpipes is a bit quicker than expected although it was ridden all thru' winter. Buy one !!

First bike since passing my test. Good solid handling machine, found this out during my bike training course with MAC. Good powerband. A bit blustery at the higher speeds requiring you to hang on.

This is my first proper bike and it is excellent. It handles well. The only thing I dont like is the exhaust. I think I will change this in the future.

I bought this bike as my company vehicle and as such it was used for eight months commuting to and from Macclesfield to Milton Keynes (250 mile round trip). With a weeks worth of clothes in the topbox and a laptop bungeed to the seat . The bike did suffer power wise on the bends and twists - but once on the motorway it was fine. Cruising at any speed between 70-100 is no problem and gives over 55 MPG. The only (big) problem I find with this, is severe hand numbing vibration - tightening the bar ends didn't have any effect. It's a great bike to ride in the wet (and snow) as the power in both quantity and delivery is very mellow, while the handling is great. The finish isn't great, but regular spraying with WD40 seems to keep most of the corrosion at bay. I don't really use the bike for 'fun' as I also own a Triumph Speed Triple, but the CB is great around less than perfect, bumpy little lanes and is probably faster than my Triumph in quite a few situations (don't tell anyone..). Easy predictable handling and power is often overlooked these days in the pursuit of power, but it's these very traits that make some bikes a lot quicker round the bends than their spec says they should be. The CB is one of these... It would be good to see the CB updated with a CC/Power Increase and maybe a more protective fairing - but I guess this is then getting into Deauville territory?

Feels very stable, very reliable. Has just about enough oomph with no passenger on board. fuel efficient, cheap to insure. Not enough oomph, especially with a passenger. Jittery engine at low revs.