A friend of mine and I decided to get away for a weekend, as December was so busy for him that he hardly rode his motorcycle. I heard via Dave Cilliers about self-catering accommodation in Kaapsehoop which sounded perfect. The owner of the house passed away a few months ago, and while the family is deciding what to do with the property, it was made available for visitors.
I was planning to go with my Ducati Supersport 950, but then Honda delivered the new CB500X the day before we left and that got me thinking: why are we so obsessed with buying the top-of-the-range, most expensive machines, when all we actually need is something like this little Honda? And moreover, how many people are not riding motorcycles, purely because they cannot justify the massive outlay for a big adventure bike? So let me try and make a case for the CB500X.
Affordability
At R120 000, the CB500X is priced very aggressively to take on other smaller capacity bikes like the BMW G 310 GS and KTM 390 Adventure. Now, this might not be a hotly contested sector just yet, but as top-end motorcycles are getting more and more expensive, more people might see this as an affordable entry into the adventure market.
Practicality
Honda only recently released this particular model in South Africa, but it has been available in Europe for a long time. This means that they have ample OEM accessories already developed for the CB500X. From crash bars to full luggage systems, you can specify your CB500X to your heart’s content.
Off-road manners
On the launch of the CB500X last year, Honda took us on a really gnarly, muddy route. Even with the road-biased tyres, all the bikes came through the route unscathed. And I, for one, can testify that negotiating that route without a tip over was largely down to the bike being low and light and not my superior off-road skills. What this proved is that the bike can take you literally anywhere, although I doubt buyers of this category of bike will be hard enduro riders. This bike can tackle the odd gravel road, even if it has a few ruts in it. I have heard people mumbling that it should have had spoked wheels, but if I’m honest, if you require spoked wheels for where you are going, this is probably not the bike for you.
On-road manners
As we have already experienced its off-road capabilities, the trip to Kaapsehoop was an ideal opportunity to find out what it will be like on a long journey. The bike lacks a luggage rack at the back and you have to make do with the passenger grab handles to tie things down. I am sure there is a luggage rack in the parts catalogue, but the test bike was not fitted with it. I strapped a bag on with clothes for two nights and set off in the searing heat that Pretoria dished up. The Honda is supremely comfortable, even with a rider of my height. We hit the N4 at a very gentle pace as there were quite a few speed traps lurking.
At Waterval-Boven we visited the old NZASM-tunnel and by the time we got to Milly’s, I decided to fill up. With our gentle riding, the bike returned a respectable 33 km to the litre. From there we wound our way up to Kaapsehoop. The CB500X is such a rewarding bike to ride fast. And by fast, I don’t mean superbike fast. Just fast enough to be a lot of fun. The suspension is sorted and it smoothed out any minor imperfections in the road.
As we pulled into Kaapsehoop, we recced a place to have dinner, consulted the load-shedding schedule, and checked into our overnight accommodation. Being free of the bulky bag, we headed back out and rode around to get some photos and see if we could spot the horses that this town is famous for.
The next morning, we set off very early and headed back to the N4 to get to the R539 that leads to Sabie. This short little pass was a delight on the CB. The bike just felt confident in any corner at any speed. We had a quick breakfast in Sabie and headed to Pilgrim’s Rest. Although the town is neat and well-kept, it seems to lack the atmosphere that it had. The Joubert bridge at the edge of town is a national monument, but nowadays it only serves as a bridge over a river, rather than being appreciated for what it is.
We rode back the way we came and as I filled up at Ngodwana, the fuel consumption dropped to 28.6 km/L. Not bad considering that our trip involved some enthusiastic riding. For lunch, we met up with Dave Cilliers at Die Nagkantoor in Kaapsehoop for a quick catch-up. The town itself is well worth a visit if you have not been yet. But make a weekend of it, as there is just so much to explore. For the more adventurous there are a few nice hiking trails.
As we packed up the bikes on Sunday, I realised that the Honda CB500X is really all you will ever need for a gentle adventure ride. Also, it is the ideal companion if you are new to adventure riding and you are not quite comfortable with the larger adventure bikes. With that said, I urge you to go and take the Honda for a test-ride. It really is a fantastic bike that ticks all the right boxes.
Honda CB500X
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