Good starter road bike

VFR on knobbys? Perfect bike?

In reply to Appleseed:

And a 21" front wheel ;).

Picking this up Saturday

It's a leftover 2014 CB500X. Sort of a fake adventure bike, but super comfy and a bit more power than the 300 I was previously considering.

I'm super excited. And it's actually supposed to be nice this weekend, so I'll actually get to ride it too!

Awesome choice

Nice! That is a fantastic choice.

Picked up the bike Saturday, and the ride home from the dealer was the longest trip I've ever taken on a bike. I had my wife navigate, so as to avoid highways. When we got home, she said she was freaking out the whole time, staring in the rearview mirror to make sure I didn't crash.

I had a blast! Then I spent most of Saturday and Sunday tooling around on all the nice 30-35mph curvy roads around here. I'm hooked.

I've never been impressed with the 500's. Glad you like it though. I'll assume out the door somewhere around $5k though?

In reply to yamaha:

That is because everything I have seen you post leads me to believe that you prefer things in excess. A 500 isn't your speed, literally

Nice bike! I'm very interested in the cbr500 myself.

In reply to yamaha:

Not everyone likes liter+ bikes. That's why there is more than one type :). Personally I think they're kind of a one trick pony.

Well, it is my first bike, so what do I know. It's very easy to ride, fits me well, I don't have to think too hard about the controls and it seems to just go where I want it to without having to try too hard to make it do so. It's got significantly more power than the 250/300 class bikes and doesn't shake the crap out of me. I sit up nice and high on it and I'm not leaned over the bars. All of which are pluses to me, but you know, opinions and all that.

I know that the 2013s had a valve check/adjustment at the 600 mile service, which would have been a tough pill to swallow. They seem to have worked that out though and for 2014, no valve adjustment until 16k.

You're pretty close on price. I could have probably found a better deal but I was impatient. The one big Honda dealer out here seems to have quite a few leftover 2014s, especially the X model. It's a bit of an oddball - not really enough ground clearance to be good off road, but higher and maybe a little goofy looking for people looking for the street bike look. There does seem to be a pretty decent aftermarket popping up though.

In reply to singleslammer:

You must have missed my glorious praise to the 250r ninja then....

The thing that always gets me with the oddball sized or purposed Hondas, is that they appear to all be niche vehicles. And they aren't even better than the competition at things that they should be. With the 300 class making 35-45hp now, the 50hp 500's just seem out of place in the grand scheme of things.

After all that though, you should choose what you are most comfortable on and enjoy it.

In reply to Flynlow:

Let me guess, you're the editor for the drivel website "Do You Even Ride?"

Happy ending for both guys getting first bikes! Both are great starter bikes. I started out on a Yamaha Radian. I would suggest it as a starter bike for more people if it wasn't such a pain to find parts for it.

yamaha wrote: In reply to Flynlow: Let me guess, you're the editor for the drivel website "Do You Even Ride?"

Nope. Though I've passed the phase where I pop wheelies on my mountain bike hoping someone's watching, which is pretty much the same thing

In reply to Flynlow:

I don't like wheelies.....at least since I spent 6 years growing up and realizing I wasn't immortal. Bigger bikes are just better commuters IMHO.

In reply to yamaha:

I have to admit that I can't ride a wheelie on anything heavier than I can actually pull the front up on. When the front does come up on a corner exit from a bit too much fist I quash it with the rear brake instantly out of fear I can't hold it. I did it once on a 175cc scooter and hurt my tailbone and pride something fierce. So... my mountain bike is pretty much it. Maybe a 125 motocross bike.

cmcgregor wrote:

Fantastic choice for a first bike, ticks all the right boxes. Ride safe and enjoy!