2024 Honda NX500 review | Honda’s CB500X gets a new name and some key upgrades

On the face of it the new Honda NX500 adventure bike is simply a CB500X with a different name, set of new clothes, flashy TFT dash with connectivity inbuilt, lighter wheels, tweaked suspension and traction control (HSTC) fitted as standard. Which is basically what it is but you have to remember that these updates, while hardly ground-breaking, have been done to what is already the established benchmark in its class.

And that means the result is a bike that takes the already excellent Honda CB500X as a base (a bike that has won the Best A2-legal bike category in the MCN Awards a remarkable five times in succession) and makes it even better – which is no mean feat.

While certainly not the flashiest of machines, although its sharp new look certainly makes it more visually appealing than the CB500X, the NX500 (which stands for ‘New X-over’ if you were wondering...) sells on the fact it is incredibly practical, comfortable and easy-going. A bike that is equally effortless to ride through a city’s streets, on a long dual carriageway trek or spiritedly down a  twisty B-road, the NX is very hard to fault in any given scenario.

Its parallel twin motor is punchy where needed as well as smooth and vibe-free while its chassis, thanks to the upgraded suspension and lighter wheels, delivers a lovely plush ride quality. Add to this a new dash that is wonderfully clear and has the ability to be linked to a smartphone as well as incredible economy figures and you quickly see why the NX500 looks set to continue the CB500X’s success.

Unlike with some budget-conscious bikes, Honda haven’t skimped on the components that matter with the NX500 and you get inverted Showa SFF-BP forks, Nissin brake calipers (with ABS) and Dunlop Trailmax tyres, which makes all the difference to how the NX feels and responds.

A bike that instantly feels effortlessly relaxed, the Honda is pleasingly narrow and has a riding position with comfort at its core as well as a reassuringly low 830mm (it feels even lower due to the bike’s narrowness) seat height. Everything just feels right on the NX and even its new dash (shockingly for a Honda...) is intuitive and clear to read with just a single backlit toggle switch to swap between functions. It feels like a bike that is has done its time and evolved into a final and very compete package, which is exactly how it rides.

In town the NX’s light weight of just 196kg makes it easy to manoeuvre while on bumpy B-roads the Honda’s tweaked Showa suspension and new wheels deliver a wonderfully plush ride quality with compliance to absorb harsh jolts yet still enough support to prevent the bike pitching around when you want to be a bit more spirited.

It’s an absolute joy to ride, effortless in bends and providing the rider with lots of confidence thanks to quality tyres and its light and manageable weight. Add to this a motor that just like the rest of the bike has an air of refinement about it as well as a peppy mid-range punch and brakes with bags of feel and performance and it all results in a bike that is very hard to fault and easy to love.

Arguably its practicality and comfort could be improved slightly with an adjustable screen and a few extra features such as brush guards as standard but the overall balance of the bike, which is far more important than bolt-on trinkets, is spot on.

Honda haven’t seen fit to touch the parallel twin and it is identical in most ways to the CB500X’s unit, which is a good thing. Although they claim ECU improvements see it gain a bit of low-rpm acceleration and enhanced power delivery, you would be hard pressed to spot any difference and it makes the same A2-legal 46.7bhp with 31.7ftlb of torque as the CB did. That said, it does gain Honda’s traction control system (HSTC) for 2024, which can be deactivated if required. Not that there is any need to do so as it is a good system.

Just like the rest of the bike, the parallel twin motor is easy-going and friendly to use and has more than enough power to allow you to keep ahead of any traffic. Flat out it will top 100mph but it is far happier to sit between 60mph and 70mph, which is around 5000rpm and right in the meat of its torque curve.

Smooth and vibe-free, if you are in town the clutch action is lovely and light and when you need to work it, the gearbox is pleasingly slick. Some of its rival middleweight certainly deliver more top gear roll-on performance but the Honda’s engine has a proven track record for reliability and records over 60mpg, which is all you can ask for.

The NX, just like the CB before it, is built in Thailand and not Japan, however this is no real issue as the build quality seems very impressive. Owners rave about the reliability of the CB500X and the updates Honda have done to create the NX500 shouldn’t do anything to harm this record.

Although it does lack a few features that would be nice to see as standard fitment, the Honda’s switchgear feels pleasingly robust (although Honda still insist on swapping the horn and indicator switch’s position) and it is great to see the dash-interface toggle switch is backlit – although none of the other switchgear is!

The NX500 is a cheap bike to both buy and run. Costing £6799 it can be had for less than £90 a month on a three-year PCP deal and you can certainly expect to record over 60mpg, possible even 70mpg if you take it a bit easy. That’s a range of around 250 miles from its 17.5-litre tank.

There aren’t that many middleweight crossover A2-legal bikes such as the NX500 but you could argue the bigger-capacity Kawasaki Versys 650 (£8029), Triumph Tiger Sport 660 (£8954) or Yamaha’s Tracer 7 (£8810) are rivals however its biggest challenge probably comes from the Voge DS525X (£6199), although the Chinese brand is far less established than Honda so it lacks buyer-confidence. To find our which one we reckon is best, head over to this adventure bike twin test.

With a 5in TFT dash that features connectivity to Honda’s RoadSync app and turn-by-turn navigation, traction control and ABS the NX500 is well-specified however an adjustable screen and a few other bolt-on parts wouldn’t go amiss and are quite expensive to buy as official Honda accessories.

If you want to add brush guards it is £105, a centre stand is £180, a luggage rack £305, a 12V output £60 and crash bars £345. There are four official packs – Adventure, Travel, Urban and Comfort – that help reduce the cost of groups of accessories as they can be bought in one lump rather than separately. It is also a bit of a shame the suspension is left lacking much in the way of adjustment with the shock’s preload the only thing that can be altered.