CB500X - Which Year? Rally Raid in USA??
 

I'm new to riding and hoping to do a RTW trip in a few years. First leg: Europe, north of the Black Sea, Caucases, ship to Kazakstan or Turkmenistan, explore some of the more rugged and remote riding in Tajikistan then quickly through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan (already been there) to Russian Altai, Mongolia and eventually through russia to Japan.

I'm 5'10" 150lbs 30-31" inseam

I'm thinking of pickinging up the CB500X and eventually adding the RallyRaid kit.

1) Looks like this is no longer available from Giant Loop. Would I have to order the parts from the UK? Can most mechanics install them in the US?

2) It looks like the 2020 version has some changes to make it more off-road capable. Which model do you recommend? A new 2020? Or an older model with low mileage. I have a pretty flexible budget and want to maximize safety - but don't want to spend extra if I don't have to.

3) Looks like the RallyRaid upgrade raises the bike a few inches. I know this bike is well suited for someone of my stature - do you think it will still fit with the Rally Raid upgrades?

4) Does the RallyRaid Upgrade void any part of the warranty from Honda?

Thanks!

Nick

There are detailed install videos on YouTube, and my impression is that anyone with a bike stand and a set of tools will be able to install most of it. The only tricky bit is changing the internals of the front forks, and that's well within the skills of any dedicated bike mechanic (it's a fairly standard maintenance procedure on an older bike, you're just replacing standard components with upgraded ones instead of new-but-standard ones).

I would strongly prefer the 2019+ second-gen version, with the bigger front wheel. Also includes a bunch of other quality-of-life improvements.

At 5'10" you should still be absolutely fine.

To some extent this depends on how friendly your local Honda dealer wants to be. The rule of thumb is that it will invalidate the warranty on directly affected items - like suspension - but should not affect warranty claims on the drivetrain or subframe, unless the dealer/factory can show that your modifications directly caused the problem.

On the other hand, it's a Honda, so you might as well get a used one that's out of factory warranty - it will still be very reliable.

Seems like for RTW travel I might be able to get away with the newest gen (2019-21) bike with upgraded tires without having to order and install the ralley raid stuff. Maybe the suspension is not as high quality and the wheels aren't spoked but for RTW I think it should be fine - right? Seems like the cast wheels should be OK for most of the terrain I would encounter? Do folks agree?

These bikes are hard to find in the Eastern US right now!

Thanks!

I have a 2019 with about 5000 miles on it. My plan was to leave the suspension alone, for various reasons. Partly because of cost, but also because I'm not a hard core rider. Mostly paved roads. Some gravel. And an occasional random track through the woods.

After putting luggage on it and taking it on a few bumpy tracks, I made the decision to upgrade the suspension. The bike just did not handle the weight and bumps very well. I purchased the Rally Raid Level 1 kit for the front and rear, which includes a new shock with a spring of your weight, plus new fork internals and fork springs. It does not change the suspension travel or stock height of the bike.

I have to admit, it's worth it.

Of course the stock suspension will take you wherever you want to go, but I'm very pleased with how much better the bike is now.

Jamie

I am leaving the wheels alone, can't face tubes or bathroom sealant or second tubes all the time for the tiny amount of time I'll spend anywhere the alloys won't survive. Hassle and cost.

The suspension I want to leave alone but we'll see. In almost 30 years I'm yet to find a working suspension I couldn't live with, so maybe I'm immune from this.

The only things wrong out of the box is the tyres, sump protection, lack of hanguards and screen. The Brazilian Dunaplops are honestly the worse tyre I've ever had and I started on East German Pneumats.

Andy

Hi Nick - there is a huge thread dedicated to the CB500X, and another to those bikes fitted with the Rally-Raid upgrades on ADVrider (including a list of FAQs on the first page) - I would check in on that forum for more detailed info. and plenty of owner feedback, although AnTyx has pretty much covered your initial enquires already above of course.

Also, do look in the ride report section here on ADVrider - I have covered a lot of ground on these bikes over the years, and people have ridden them from London to India, Ireland to South Africa, and all over Australia, North and South America.

I'd say they are the perfect bike for solo all-terrain long-distance travel.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...x4D78WT-XL.jpg

Jenny x

ps. to help with your decision, when the 2019 model came out last year, I also put together a brief model history and summary of the changes over the years: here (which is also linked on that first page of the ADVrider forum).

fwiw. personally I would be inclined to buy a clean used earlier model, and spend the difference of the Rally-Raid wheels and suspension. You still can find a lot of these bikes which people have basically used as a commuter, so have had little use and look like new. These days you can certainly build a fully specced RR bike for the same price as a brand new 2019-on model, and it will be a much better all-terrain machine.

The 2019 model does have some notable improvements over the earlier bike, including fundamentally a 19" from the factory - but essentially they are still the same bike, in that the ergonomics and engine/running gear is essentially the same - and in the case of the suspension particularly, is still very basic and budget orientated.

That said, I'm sure you could easily ride a stock 2019-on model all the way around the world if you wanted - just add some decent all-terrain tyres, and some strong [backbone style] hand-guards and a decent engine guard... In that regard the Rally-Raid cradle design is the one to go for if you plan on riding over rough and rocky terrain, as it is the only one which properly isolates the engine.

Hope that helps...

Hmm. Tincup. I was thinking about trying that.

Worse than Engineer on a loaded bike?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Hi Jamie - yes, Tincup Pass is appreciably more rough than Engineer Pass - particularly on the north side between Mirror Lake and the Pass itself. You can do it, but you'll get a workout... I recommend you travel north towards Tincup, rather than climb that north face heading south.

Jx

Gotcha... I'm not sure I'm interested in anything rougher than Engineer. I came up the Silverton side, and there were a couple spots where I had to stop and assess what my plan would be, and very near the top where the road curves around the edge of the mountaintop, I hugged mountain side and kept telling myself, "Don't look down, don't look down."

Especially fully loaded on stock tires. And that was before I got the upgraded suspension.

Jamie