Honda Rebel 500 Review at fortune over three decades ago, the rebel was born, stealing and style from the Harley Sportster. It was left deep within enemy territory. This is a motorcycle that fought its way out of 250,000 sales and immortality kind of motorcycle as a 32-year production run ludicrous rebel earn it a second life.
Do you want to hear a funny joke? On the rebel alright, nothing less rebellious than a Honda as a vanilla motorcycle yeah, well you can deny let’s means to paint clips retro blacked-out engine looks modern. It’s a slicked-back, or maybe it isn’t. Decide for yourself.
The tires are fatter than the old rebels forks 241-millimeter cannons designed to make the little bike look tough. The trellis frame is weird on a cruiser, but I think it looks cool, if only because the 471 cc parallel-twin fits. See, you can also get the rebel 300, which is identical in every way except that bike has a 286 cc single.
It looks comically tiny inside of the rest of this motorcycle.
Bear bars look slick until you turn them on. Putting a rectangle display in the middle of a round gauge is sacrilege. Even worse word on the street is that it is not bright enough to read under sunlight. A couple of other beaks, the tail light is ample and squared. You know it should be round and small. And then there are the gaps where the tank doesn’t quite fit. It’s subtle, but once you see it, it’s all you can see.
Sorry, I see some more stuff too. I see a rear fender that a child could remove. Knowing how to chop off the subframe at the seat on the rebel would be easy to customize. I see easy-to-world steel everywhere. I see serrated footpegs with rubber inserts. You were thinking about scrambler mods Honda, I see you. I also see a vast catalog of 100 accessories in the future. Or hell, if you’re going to start a rebellion, you might as well take part in it.
But more than anything, I see. I see the plastic pieces that were made on a budget. I see the overly punchy styling, which borders on cheesy. I see Honda execs patting each other on the back, reveling in the custom craze ignited by the Grom and plotting how to do it again. I can see the boardroom where this rebel was born. Nothing is less rebellious than a boardroom.
I knew the rebel wouldn’t be a winner. And then when we came for, and we got a long ride home.
Alright, let’s do this.The rebel is more challenging than it looks on the jacked engine from the CBR $500 but returned it to make more power and torque in the first half of the rev range. They also ditched the tooth from the rear sprocket, so the sport-like power delivery is slightly less jumpy.
As a result, this engine waist the competition. It feels Meteor than it is up until 5000 RPM. You’d swear you were on the leader bike, and the power is beefy. It’s responsive, minus the annoying jerkiness that often comes with a weightier engine. Honda takes a few hits on braking though, they nicked a decent front caliper for missing but mounted a single rotor up front and a bicycles rotor on the rear. That might be enough stopping power for the 364-pound rebel 300, but it’s decidedly weak on this 408-pound rebel 500 Honda punches back with killer abs. It works with a quintessential Japanese precision, and they only charge 200 loonies for it here in Canada. The soft suspension is a severe shake-up. However, it’s comically under sprung and underdamped, so I’m getting bounced and bucked all over.
Speaking of which, the 4.7 inches up front disappears way too fast and is a pothole.Honda Rebel 500
And before you start whining about settings, know that the show is not adjustable, and the 3.7 inch rear shocks can only be dialed to preload. But the rebel ultimately scores the deepest cut because it’s handling sharp as a razor blade 100 ditched the old 18-inch front wheel for twin sixteenths to make it more clickable, and there’s gripped us somewhat with fat d 404. Is this bike has more rubber than power? It is a good thing, too, because the urban warrior will leave. His pigs are higher and more rear set than before, resulting in a sporty body triangle that can drop four degrees lower before scraping asphalt.
One hour on the motorcycle, and I’m sore. The rebel is a popular beginner’s bike, so my head understands the 27.2-inch seat, but my ass does not, especially since Honda kept the height low by using paper-thin cushioning. And remember how the sporty footpegs are high and underfoot. Odd doesn’t leave much room for six-foot-three me.
The rebel is a great city bike. I’ll stand by that statement market put my name on it, but I’m not taking the rebel for a long highway ride. I’m just not.
All right, fine. The rebel 500 makes about 45 horsepower, which is plenty. But because Honda cooks such a meaty engine in the low range, it buzzes a bit at highway speed above 6000 rpm. And when I say 6000 RPM, I’m judging by the borderline inappropriate vibrations on my crotch. Because the rebel has no tech odometer, the bars vibrate as much as the seat objects, and mirrors are fuzzier than they appear.
However, I can’t help but think how much better This must be than the rebel 300. With 25 horsepower and less weight, the mirrors will be downright unusable at 110. I’m not sure I’d be able to zip past a car at that speed, either. So the rebel 500 is the best rebel for highway use. I won’t call it a great touring bike, especially since Conde considers my pillion seat an optional extra in the USA. But this bike is functional enough out here, which you can’t say the 300 home is on the other side of this bridge—this metal-graded slippery hell for motorcycles deathtrap.
I’m nervous because Honda steepens the rake on the new rebels to make up for their fatter tires. And we already saw how that sharpens the handling, but we haven’t seen how that affects rolling stability. On most bikes crossing the Victoria bridge is enough to induce a bowel movement. But not on this bike. Holding mega legendarily balanced motorcycles, the fat tires and low center of gravity probably help. And this is the second time I’ve been thankful for the extra weight of the 500. Whatever the cause, this is one of the comments most accessible motorcycles to ride in a straight line.
I make it back on an empty tank of 11 liters, and change was enough for 200 kilometers tonight.Honda Rebel 500
But no more.
You know what? The rebel 500 was a lot like this place is a little bit kitschy the seedings cramped like a child, but damn if it wasn’t fun. Damn, had the character the guts. Damn it. When the sun rises, I’m going to miss it. Yeah, let’s do this.I would own a rebel despite the beating it took tonight. I’m sure the rebel 300 will sell in 1000s to rider schools and people who weigh 90 pounds. The rebel of 500 is the bike you’ll want after six months, six years. 60 years it’s got the character of a forever but
Thanh for watching
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