- Week Our rides today.

[Boris]

Don't get me wrong, I loved the CB500X. I fixed and kept it for a few years after that crash, and eventually sold it to a friend of mine who still owns it. I had the 2014 model, and I expect that the newer ones are even better. I would highly recommend this bike if it fits the kind of riding you want to do.

The biggest issue for me was totally fixable, but it was spring rate for my weight (235). At the time the bike was completely stock, and if I remember it was a dual rate spring, and I was on the "high" rate often. But maybe my memory wasn't the best and I was actually bottoming out? I also like having a bike that is a bit taller. The tiger 1050 wasn't significantly bigger, but it was a little bigger in the legs and hips, and the footpegs were higher.

My friend upgraded the fork internals (I don't remember what exactly he got) and put a GSXR shock on the back, and the thing is pretty tight on the road, and pretty decent for light off road and any gravel. Also braided brake lines were a big improvement for that bike. Here it is killing it in Canada in 2022.

The newer one comes with a bigger front wheel which was one of my complaints for using it as an adv bike.

 

[DJ_MI]

Great info! Thanks. That looks like an awesome adventure. 👍🏻

The newer ones went to a USD fork and dual discs also.

I just want something with “longer legs” compared to my KLX. I don’t plan on riding any crazy distances but it’d be nice to extend my territory with a bike that can be ridden a little more comfortably at slightly higher speeds than my bike.

I want a T7 but it’s really more than I need. The TA is very nice also but again more than I need. In the midsize bike class the 500X seems to be more like the KLX is in the dual sport class; mid level compared to a high end DS like the 450L which is, again, more than I really need.