There is a detailed review of the Rally-Raid CB500X Adventure and a comparison test with the KLR here on ADVpulse:

Rally Raid CB500X Adventure First Ride - ADV Pulse

Jx

Also a feature in the new April issue of RiDE mag.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Just a quick heads-up... Rally-Raid will be at the UK HUBB event in June this year, with their latest 2016 model CB500X Adventure in Heritage colours - plus a second demo bike available over the weekend...



I also hope to be at the HUBB in California later this summer (Well September is still summer in California ;o) on my own version of this bike - and for those who simply can't wait, we'll also have a handful of CB500Xs at Overland Expo West (AZ) in May...

In the meantime, the first public showing of this brand new bike will be at the Ace Cafe Adventure bike day on 20th March in London UK.

Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

Jenny x

Having spent four years travelling around the world on a BMW R100gspd, I realised you don't need such a big heavy bike, thus my new ride, honda CB500x.

Interesting alternative to the Rally Raid route.

Just realised we met Ham46 in Islamabad in 2008, just after they did the Marriot.

There he is thinking "One day Honda will bring out a nice <200kg 500 twin that does 90mpg…"

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

I totally agree - the CB500X certainly is the sweet-spot, particularly for the solo rider...

During a rare appearance in front of a camera, I said much the same thing at the Ace Cafe Overland Day recently: video here, and it's an ethos we all share together with our partners Giant Loop in the USA...

Behind the scenes Adventure Rider Radio interview: audio here.



I can't wait to get back to the US and build my own version of the Heritage edition based on my 2014 model.

Jx

Hi, folks. I'm considering seriously to sell my Honda Integra (wich is obviously not able to be an RTW bike and go for a cb500x. I have a question to you, ham46: wich upgrades have you made in your bike? I see stock wheels on the pic. Also, for Jx, I visited the RR webpage and seems to be no longer available (at this moment) the stage 3 wheels. I will use the bike for world trip, aprox major part of those milleage will be on tarmac (asphalt, good or bad) and perhaps 20% on off-road only 5% of this very bad condition. Then, as I am not an off-road rider (no good skills) but an "adventure rider" with some asphalt skills, perhaps is more important to me to have tubeless tyres, due to its easy fit when puncture, and with tubes you need to do an extra job to repair the think. What do you think about this factor, and, being out of topic (please don't laught out loud): I have a rented flat that gives me 400/500 euros per month. Do you think this is enough to travel almost to Thailand by tent and sleeping bag (I am vegetarian)? I choose this bike 1st for the fuel consumption, that is near the half of the travel cost. Sorry for my bad english.

Hi, Ham46. Do you have stock wheels?

Hi Tosko, mods to my bike, had the seat made higher by 2 inches and reshaped, designed and had custom made the luggage racks, engine sub-frame/guard and crashbars, Wilbers custom built suspension to my weight/s, solo/rider-pillion/rider/pillion/luggage, with hydralic adjustable pre-load on rear manual on front, barkbuster handguards, better quality chain with 16 tooth front sprocket, spotlights (more for safety here in Thailand), just working on screen bracket currently, Mitas e07 rear, Tck80 front tyres and stock wheels. Hope this helps you with your thoughts! Oh and SW motech lowered footpegs!

Thanks a lot for your quick answer! Are you in Thailand for something or are you from Thailand? Have you readed my doubts about the money to do this kind of trip? Please, PM me to don't disturb this thread. Thanks in advance, Ham46.

Tosko, on your budget, I rented my house out in the Uk, I got around £650 per month, I used this to travel around the world from 2008-2012, on an old Bmw r100gspd, so using the 500x would have halved my fuel bill, going to Thailand was easy with only the flight cost from Nepal the Thailand, which I used additional savings (as with all my flights), if you get out of Europe quickly you money goes along way, till you hit Australia if you go that far. Camping is hard in some countries, eg: most parts of India, to many people! But guest houses cheap.
Good luck with your planning.
Graham.
After my adventure I moved to Thailand, now teaching under privileged children in Lamphun.

Hi Tosko -

To explain: currently Rally Raid are commissioning a new CNC lathe to machine their hubs more quickly and efficiently in future, bring the current lead/wait time on their spoked wheel set down significantly.

They have chose to postpone orders for a couple of weeks to ensure they don't end up with a huge back-log of orders before the new machine is up and running again.

With regard to the % use you envisage, it would not be essential to have the 17/19" spoked wheels fitted by any means; however, in combination with the +2" longer travel suspension that encompasses the complete LEVEL 3 kit, you would have much more comfortable and genuinely capable all-terrain bike than it is as standard, that is for sure.

The weakest part of the stock CB500X is it's basic and rather harsh suspension. Rally Raid also offer upgraded front and rear components in standard travel length too (LEVEL 1) - available individually front and rear or as a pair, so that would be my first recommendation, particularly if you don't want to increase the seat height and don't feel the need for any extra ground clearance.

The stock cast 17" aluminium wheels would be perfectly fine for the sort of riding you describe - just fit some more all-terrain tread pattern tyres and you ought to feel a lot more confident on broken roads and unpaved trails.

I really would fit a decent engine guard to the CB500X too - particularly if you retain the standard ride-height/ground clearance - as the sump is very vulnerable to damage otherwise.

Hope that helps - whatever you decide, they really are a great and fun bike, whether modified or stock.

Jenny x

ps. with regard to tubeless vs. tubed tyres, without going into every detail (there are well documented pros and cons for both) - regardless of how you chose to contain the air, ultimately, if you chose a quality tyre, then fortunately the occurence of a puncture is relatively rare anyway - especially when you consider how many thousands of miles ridden.

note. if the puncture you do receive in a tubeless tyre cannot be plugged successfully, then you're going to have to remove the tyre and fit a tube anyway - and this can prove more difficult with tubeless tyres on tubeless rims.

Jenny and Ham, your gentile answers are such a treasure to me. It's a joy to get your acknowledgment and experience. Thank you very much for give me your time.

Anyone know if the Rally Raid kit works on the CB400X, which is sold in Japan, Singapore, and some other Asian markets?
We don't get the 500 here in Japan.
I heard that the springs and dampers differ between the two models, but most non-engine parts are the same.

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Japan touring information

Hi Chris - there is no reason why you cannot fit the Rally Raid kit (both the LEVEL 1 standard travel or the LEVEL 3 +50mm longer-travel kit) to the CB400X models - they are physically both the same bikes, and the Rally Raid suspension completely replaces the front and rear OEM components anyway.

Hope that clarifies things...

Jenny x