Thoughts on Honda's new CB500x

[Madone1]

Originally Posted by xGunslingerx

My wife currently has expressed no interested in riding with me as a pillion. Just curious. What is the 2 up ability of the Versys or Ninja 650?

To a certain degree, that may depend on your wife. My wife is just under 5ft tall and weighs all of about 95 pounds. For us, the Versys is perfect. We both have plenty of room to move around,yet she feels secure enough and not like she is a mile away from me.

[fasteddiecopeman]

Originally Posted by xGunslingerx

...Don't hate me for drooling over a HD!

Check out the Sportster XR1200S....

Drool away!

[Capn Kirk]

Originally Posted by Madone1

To a certain degree, that may depend on your wife. My wife is just under 5ft tall and weighs all of about 95 pounds. For us, the Versys is perfect. We both have plenty of room to move around,yet she feels secure enough and not like she is a mile away from me.

+1

I ride with my 11 year old daughter with a Givi top box backrest. Works great for us! My wife rides her own motorcycle but I have carried adult passengers (around 150 pounds) with no problems. The Versys has a sport bike seat so it is relatively small and hard so the longer distances become harder for the passenger. I have taken a friend with us on a ride about 5 hours round trip and her azz was tired and sore but she said the fun was worth it. The bike performs flawlessly with the added weight. I can feel the added weight (with an adult ~150 pounds) both in power and handling but I get used to the difference in a few minutes. I do not feel any difference with my 85 pound daughter at all. If your passenger is a little on the large size, they may feel cramped.

In summary, the size of the passenger and the length of ride make a difference in the overall comfort.

For a reference in this photo, I am 5'8" tall, 30" inseam, 158 pounds. My daugher is 4'7" and 85 pounds.

[Holden]

OP, you sound like a prime candidate for a WeeStrom.

My first bike was an EX500. I had it for 16 months, then bought a Versys. I rode that Ninja everywhere, including a solo 2,400-mile camping trip from D.C. to South Florida via the Blue Ridge Parkway. It handled the load and distance like a champ.

Anyway ... the Honda 500s and WeeStrom would work for you.

[xGunslingerx]

Probably a better chance of getting a deal on the wee strom since it can be purchased pre owned. It is a special kind of ugly though.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Motorcycle.com Free App

[invader]

I had tried a friend's V-Strom 650 before I got my Versys. It's big, heavy, uninspiring, and not very powerful. Versys also has better suspensions, and can be ridden much harder off-road.

[xGunslingerx]

I'm starting to think that a two bike system will be best. A smaller, commuting, fun bike for me for the next couple of years to get more experience. Then get a larger touring bike that offers some real comfort for my wife. Honestly I don't think she will by into riding unless there are creature comforts for her.

I have 2 uncles with Goldwings. Perhaps after I get a bit more experience I can take a test ride and see what a bigger bike is like. There is a Victory Demo ride coming up in town next month. I'm thinking of dropping by to ride some bikes. I really have no experience on any bike other than the 250 cruiser in the MSF class and my ninja 500. Because of this, I really can't even decide for sure the type of bike I want.

The biggest turnoff for some of the cruiser type bikes are the lower seat height (as it affects visibility), but mainly it's the crowd I see riding them. I personally love some of the HD's(Nightster, Switchback), but don't want to be "in the HD crowd". I'm not much for the pirate costume. I will eventually just ride what I like, just gotta find out what that is.


Victory seems to have some mechanical advantages to the HDs. But that sound isn't there. When I sat on the bikes in the showroom, even the very large touring bikes felt very light. Must be a very low center of gravity. When I have sat on larger HD bikes at the dealership they felt much heavier.

Truthfully, it may be a couple to several years(read:whenever my wife gets on board) before I get a touring bike anyways. At this point I'll keep the focus on the smaller "for me" bike.

Versys is still my favorite. Only disadvantage is lack of ABS. I may just get over ABS. We'll see. Then again, maybe it will be available by the time I buy.

[xGunslingerx]

Another thought is that it's a shame Honda no longer makes the NT700V. This bike has a great mix of everything. ABS, storage, passenger capability, agility, Fuel Injection, etc.

After looking, it does appear that there is some availability on this bike. Non local, but there are some.

[Streeter]

If overall you are happy with your Ninja 500, I would just add some handlebar risers and maybe some Givi luggage. In the future when you do decide to move up to a larger bike, you can take both the risers and the bags with you. You'll have to buy new mounts for the bags, though.

Even 1" handlebar risers can make a big difference.

Good luck,