2024 Honda NX500 Review | LAMS Motorcycle Test

2024 Honda NX500 Review

Honda’s entry-level soft roader CB500X has been updated and rebranded for 2024. Meet the NX500. The NX model prefix will bring back memories for some, with the old Dominator NX650 being a more off-road-oriented option from 20-odd years back. But that’s not quite the case this time around. Honda has stuck to what they call their Adventure Cross line, which is more of a soft roader-do-it-all kinda deal.

You may have seen some tweaked NX500s on social media smashing off-road trails, and while that might be possible with some serious suspension among other things, let’s be clear, as delivered from the factory they are very much road-oriented. Tarmac yes. Smooth gravel, yes. 4WD tracks? Mmmm… doable with better rubber but that’s not really the design brief.

Whether or not a more rowdy variant is on the cards for those looking to go further off the beaten track remains one of those unanswered mysteries, much like the question of why there isn’t mouse-flavoured cat food. But what I can tell you after spending a few weeks on-board the little 500 is that this bike is very much a multi-purpose tool that will appeal to a fairly broad spread of riders.

Much like its sister-bike the CBR500R I reviewed recently, the NX is relatively small and relatively light. The keyword there is relatively. It still tips the scales at 196 kg but holds that heft nicely due to its low overall height compared to bigger Adventure offerings. Dead easy to manoeuvre around at standstill. Very learner friendly.

At 834 mm its an easy thing to throw the leg over and sit flat-footed. The bars are also comfortably low, which makes for an easy sitting ride position for every day riding, although I found them a little low for standing. For me, at just over 180 cm, it wasn’t a show stopper, but I’d probably consider bar risers if I were to have one in the shed and throw some mods at it.

One of the big differences from the CBR500R is the suspension. Longer travel 41 mm Showa SFF-BP forks and a Showa pre-load adjustable shock. That’s a lot of letters for those uninitiated into the world of Showa, it stands for Separate Function Fork Big Piston which means the spring is in one fork leg and the damper in the other. A design that should give the best suspension performance. I found the standard setting of 2 (out of 5), to be too soft for my 85 kg, even without bags or a pillion, but tweaking that to setting 4 did improve things.

At that setting, it’s still skewed towards comfort rather than performance, but it was noticeably less prone to fall through the stroke, where it would wallow and bounce off repeated bumps at the factory setting.

I think if you’re looking at loading the bike up with luggage or a pillion regularly you’d probably do well to consider a stiffer spring (not unlike the Transalp then in that regard). But if it’s just you most of the time, and you have more willpower against the evil that is raspberry and white chocolate muffins, it’ll be close enough.

That seat wasn’t as comfortable as I thought it might be after a few hours in the saddle. If you’re not doing big seat time it won’t be an issue, but I was looking for respite after one 300 plus kilometre morning.

Steers nicely though. There’s a 3 kg weight improvement over the outgoing model and the spring rates have been revised – I can’t tell you how that compares to the old model as I didn’t ride it, but I can tell you it tips in nicely and gives plenty of feedback from the front mid-corner. Probably helped there by a combined 1.5 kg saving off the wheels. The longer I had it, the more I gelled with it.

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Not a lot of grip in rocky gravel with those road-oriented tyres, as you would expect.  Something like a Pirelli Scorpion STR might be a nice choice for this one I reckon, if you had the occasional gravel track in mind.

Rounding out the comfort side of things, I did notice a little bit of wind getting around that screen. I wouldn’t say it felt like buffeting as such, though I’m pretty resilient to that at the best of times. So I’m aware that some are more sensitive in that regard so it’s worth a test ride to see what you think there. I’m sure there’d be plenty of optional and aftermarket taller screens available if it was an issue for you. Not enough of a problem to concern me and I’d leave it as is.

I’ve talked plenty about the lovely little 471 cc parallel-twin previously, so won’t dwell on that too much here other than to say it’s a peach. Tuned for a little more torque in this guise, it’s still beautifully fuelled, delivering its power from nice and low in the most no-fuss Honda way imaginable. Bottom end and mid-range are smooth and strong – which is where you’ll be most of the time on the road.

It has a 17.5 litre tank which is good enough for around 400 km from a tank in normal conditions. It’s pretty frugal on the juice that little engine, which just adds to the low cost of ownership, remembering that lower-powered bikes use less tyres and brakes too.

Easy controls and switch-gear includes a simple one press button to deactivate TC if you feel the need for wheelies or skids. Seems to work… 😉

And on the road it’s a proper adaptable thing. Great for day trips. I took it down the coast with a mate. I used it on my 230 km return commute into the city a number of times. I ran into town for shopping trips. And ultimately got the feeling that there wasn’t anything it wasn’t up for on-road. Quite the fun thing to just jump on and ride.

Brakes look the same as the CBR500R and I had no issues at all with them here. I think you’re less likely to be hammering them as hard as that bike and they felt right for the longer travel setup on the NX.

That new 5 inch TFT dash is nice and bright and clear, with a decent design. It’s a little reflective in some light conditions but definitely worthy. On-screen turn-by-turn nav is included on the NX which will be a major tick for a lot of riders.

The lights on the other hand are a bit ho-hum. Full beam was pretty tight and the auxiliary lights are very much that. Not what I’d consider spotlights.  I’d be looking into upgraded bulbs for high beam and better spotties to give me a bit more kangaroo-dodging confidence if it were to stay longer at Casa del Wayno.

It did come to me with some nice accessories though as you can see in the pics. Centre-stand, crash-bars and fog-lights, plastic hand-guards, rim stickers and a bunch of luggage options.  I had a tank bag, top box and soft panniers. All the luggage! Tank bags aren’t really my thing but it was a cinch to put on and off – as they all were actually. The top box didn’t seem super strong in its plastic material, but was lockable nonetheless.

I liked the soft panniers the most. Dead easy to put on and off onto the accessory racks (without the need for a key), and I think they looked pretty smart too. I did spot an optional 15-22 L rear seat-bag that can be put on without the rear platform too, which I’d personally probably opt for as I wouldn’t have a pillion.

So where does that leave us. Quite the decent option for an entry level Adventure-Tourer slash crossover. Good build quality, easy, accessible, forgiving road manners.

It’s probably not awesome at anything in particular. But it’s pretty damn good at everything. Cruise control and an adjustable screen would be nice, but probably aren’t show stoppers at the price Honda is asking I don’t think.

A worthy bike to consider if you’re in the market for sure. The red looks very nice, but I think I like the white even more.

Honda NX500 Hits

• Nice and low, easy to ride, comfortable ride position.
• Does nearly everything pretty well (on-road)
• Lovely parallel twin engine is a peach
• Nicely priced at the entry level market and could be tweaked over time as the rider gains more experience and wants to broaden their horizons a little.

Honda NX500 Misses

• Suspension is on the soft side if you’re carrying pies, luggage or pillions.
• Plastic hand guards won’t guard from much more than insects
• Lights are a bit ordinary if you’re trying to keep an eye out for wildlife
• Seat will start to feel firm after a few hours on it.

2024 Honda NX500 Specifications

2024 Honda NX500 Images

Images by RbMotoLens