with good used examples costing around 4k that means you can have a very useful bike for around 6k.

For this price the supsension and added components are of far better quality than that offered by Yamaha on the tenere, bmw on the gs and triumph on the tiger, with the latter two bikes costing a great deal more to boot.

with the fuel economy etc I'd say your getting a damn good bike with a lot of the off road agility only offered by maybe KTM or CCM and yet a much better bike for soaking up the road miles.

I can't really see what a larger adventure bike would offer for RTW riding other than more weight, cost and speed (in reality how fast do you travel in countries where road safety and conditions are far more risky than in the UK)

I should have added that I also had a 2008 tenere and loved the bike but being short of leg found it a bit top heavy, I also found the seat shape and width restrictive in that it was too wide and the stepped seat meant I struggled to get my weight over the rear when needed.

I loved the power off road but found it lacking on longer road runs.with the additions of better suspension components even better fuel economy and lower height this honda makes a good alternative then when you add in a better motor for road work and you have a great all rounder, perfect for the commute, a spot of green lanning and the annual blast to warmer,dustier and rocky climes

This is exactly our thinking too Stu!

There is no doubt these modern 800-1200cc 'Adventure' bikes are wonderful forms of transport (I was riding a Triumph Tiger XC yesterday for example), but how practical they genuinely are for round-the world or even just an extended overland trip over weeks/months in differing terrain is always going to be a point of contention?

Certainly until the advent of the CB500X (and I would add with the Rally-Raid kit fitted, as I'd agree with earlier posts that the stock CB500X is very much a road-biased machine), there really hasn't been a bike that offers a genuine 50/50 compromise - that is, a bike that doesn't compromise it's behaviour on one surface at the expense of the other...

In the past, 400-650cc thumper has been the overland bike of choice for those who wish to venture off the beaten track a little further - but they inherently have compromises as a highway (certainly long distance and higher speed) machine?

Conversely, even the smaller capacity twin/multi cylinder machines have been physically much larger, and with a distinct on-road bias too...

The nice thing about the CB500X is that it sits exactly in the middle of the two established extremes - it offers all the on-road performance and refinement you would ever need on a long distance trip - including excellent fuel economy coupled with plenty of power to cruise at 80mph all day if needs be, a comfortable seat and ergonomics, and decent provision for a passenger or plenty of luggage if required...

At the same time, with the RRP Adventure kit fitted it also offers excellent on-road and off-road suspension, and being physically that little bit smaller (and with a lower centre of gravity etc) than a 700/800GS or larger twin, it is also far more nimble and manoeuvrable in the rough stuff.

It's by no means an enduro bike of course, but I honestly can't think of any other twin cylinder bike that invites you to 'have a go' at something you might otherwise pass up on a physically larger and more unwieldy adventure bike - it really does inspire a lot of confidence, and at the same time flatters your riding, which further encourages you to explore.

Inevitably any long-distance travel bike is going to be a machine of compromises to a degree, but honestly, there is very little about the Honda with the RRP kit fitted that doesn't meet or exceed all those 'wish list' criteria for this sort of bike...

I can't wait to get one of my own!

Jenny x

I'm certainly not an expert rider, but have over 50 years riding 2 wheels with a motor. I've owned and ridden an XT1200Z, Tiger 800, KLR 650, TR650 and a CRF 250L. For me the CB500X Rally Raid is the perfect blend of power, weight and ability. Surprisingly quick and nimble. It is also a very capable little mule. Throwing 50lbs of gear over the seat and you don't even know it's there. I'm satisfied that this is indeed my long haul traveler. Oh yeah, it's a Honda.

Some excellent aerial footage of the CB500X Adventure mixing it up with those 'proper' dirt bikes in the Australian Simpson Desert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDks...ature=youtu.be

I'm amazed at the quality of filming that can be achieved with relatively affordable drone cameras these days - just think how much that video would have cost if you'd had to commission a helicopter to follow the ride...

Jx

Halfway through a Morocco trip on my Level 3 Rally Raider. So far so good. More about the set up here and how the bike's been running here:
Rally Raid CB500X – the first 2000 miles | Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

<very interesting thread .
I have recently seen and felt what an enduro-trend machine can do ( not everything but what I could do ) and so I can appreciate the vids' put here mostly on fast tracks with sometimes sand traces ( in Oz) .
Definitly a twin is a good solution if you have a lot of roads to make ( tested that too several times ) .
ANd with the "kit" stuff , it is a very good bike .
You opinions compared to an DL 650 well prepared . I can finf easily a good one quite cheap around here
In case on a twin story of course
for pistes i will continue with the drz ( Morocco espisode 2 )

Nearer £7k than 6. RR level 3 with vat is 2200, plus bashplate, bars, pegs, fitting of kit.
Am currently on the cusp of going this way for my rtw next year.

Even if you are light MB, I'd go for the 120Nm sprung shock (i.e.: stiffest spring), assuming you will have panniers etc.
Then, assuming all the Tractive CB-X shocks are all delivered at the same spring preload setting, crank the ring down at least 3 full turns (add preload) before you fit it - saves a lot of faffing doing the same later in the tight space.
Important: to make further changes OTR make sure the single lock screw for the ring ends up where you can get to it to undo - i.e.: between the LHS frame rails once you've removed the LHS alloy front footrest hanger.

Jacking up the spring should put your much more accessible 3 damping settings closer to midway rather than 75% (assuming greater damping correlates with greater spring preload - not certain about this - maybe someone knows).

For racers it may be different, but IMO for a travel bike they have the accessibility of the shock settings the wrong way round: I would much rather have spring preload readily accessible and all your hi speed- low speed- rebound damping buried. Once they're set for your ride you can leave them (IME) - but modifying spring preload is regularly done as loads or terrain change.


Ditto for fork preload, btw: give the top nuts a full turn or more - easier when forks are off.

I can recommend the tubeless wire wheels too after ~3000 miles.

Fyi my bike may be at the Adventure Travel Show, Olympia, in Jan. Or/and/maybe at Excel Docklands in Feb too.

Re DL650 and all other big singles by comparison. Part of my pref for a 500 twin is the smoothness (esp at very low speed on the piste) for more or less the same power and weight and fuel economy - maybe even better economy.
A single up to 450 may be fine but IMO at 650 or more they get too vibey or lumpy at very low speed = hard on the trans and chain.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

Agree, crank up preload pre-install ... BUT ...
I would think about ditching that shock altogether and swap in one with remote preload adjustment ... common feature on modern shocks and a MUST for a travel bike. Worth it to upgrade if one will fit the Honda.

You're right, getting to preload collar rings is a PITA ... then having to bash your knuckles bloody trying to knock the rings round a few turns.

But good advice anyway, and if ride is then too stiff/harsh, it's easier to back off the collar than going tighter. Just be sure to UNLOAD rear wheel of weight, spray WD40 (or similar) on threads ... and be patient. You're in for lots of tiny hits to rotate the preload collars a few turns back.

More preload does not equal more damping.
What cranking preload up does is put you into a firmer range sooner, it may also raise ride height depending on Link design. But actual damping rates do not change ... but things will "feel" firmer, especially at low speed. (10 to 30 mph) This is often simple way to correct geometry by raising the rear end a bit, but does not affect actual damping rates.

To change damping you would adjust compression and rebound (bump) damping adjustments. (if that shock has them?) Both are separate circuits (on most shocks).

One thing to consider ... if shock spring rate is VERY stiff then it's possible the stiff spring will overwhelm the rebound (bump) damping, especially if bike is heavily loaded and ridden on very rough tracks at speed. But if the rebound circuit is quality and offers actual adjustment you can FEEL, then all will be right and will keep bike stable and prevent "Floating" at speed or after hitting a good bump.

Compression will affect the "feel" of the shock as it reacts to hitting bumps and also needs to be set to prevent frequent bottoming out. Bottoming out once in a while (on a SEVERE hit at speed) is NORMAL and it's what you want. (you should be using up ALL your travel for best performance overall ... but always best to be operating most of the time in the upper 30% of travel)

With too much compression damping your ride can be unnesessarily harsh. When it's right, you should have stability at speed and some plushness going over rough, rocky terrain at speed. Low speed may not be ideal.

Setting all this up requires fiddling and test riding on a variety of terrain with
normal load. It's very hard to get a bike to work perfectly at walking pace and at high speed as well. But with lots of fiddling you may get close. A quality shock makes a BIG difference ... and of course perfectly set up forks as well.

Forks are the "other half" of this equation and equally important. Balance between front and rear is key. Many end up chasing their tail on this. So tackle one at a time. ... then go chase your tail!

I know that MD. I meant that as one increases preload setting I presume one increases at least the rebound damping too to stop it kicking back. Comp dampings not so sure. Maybe even back them off?

I do wonder if the shock could do with a slightly steeper progression profile on the RR link plates which replace the OEs. Not fully certain what I'm talking about but get the feeling a 120Nm spring should be stiffer.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

You mean one would ADD rebound damping when increasing preload, yes?

Increasing preload alone won't necessarily require more rebound, at least not with standard spring in place. Test ride the bike, give suspension a try, adjust as needed.

But if you add a heavier spring, then (as I mentioned) you may need more rebound. Trial and Error thing once again. Budget shocks lack rebound quality so sometimes you have to add in more rebound for heavier spring on a loaded bike to actually feel the rebound in action. (depends on shock and it's innards). If it lacks rebound it needs a specialist to re-valve it ... and make it like an Ohlins!!

More weight means more sag, which means you're using more travel and compressing spring coils tighter ... so it can kick back harder once compressed further ... so more rebound required.


Linkage design and figuring progressive rates/geometry are WAY above my pay grade too. But if it works ... do it! Riding is ultimate test!
Does the RR kit Raise the bike with a link ... or lower it? This does change rate and geometry. Do you think the change screwed it up?

You ride a lot of bikes so I'm sure you have a good feel for what good suspension feels like and what it should be and when it's bad. That's the key.

When learning suspension I'd always have more experienced (suspension wise) buddies take a ride and give feed back/advice. Slowly I learned what was what ... but it can still be a bit of a dark art and can have us spinning round chasing ghosts trying for perfection. Even the Guru's get stumped sometimes.

Let us know how the Honda's doing on your tour. Hope all is well!

Don't know if the plates raise the back ~2 inches or just the longer shock. A bit of both maybe - J-Mo will know. I think John calculated it on a computer once he realised simply re-using the Honda links was not an option to do a proper job. For fully loaded travel a bit more stiffness is needed and I don't know if drawing in the 3 plate holes by a few mm may achieve that.

We did a rough mountain piste yesterday that typically beats up riders and suspension but is doable on a GS12 at a steady pace. Uphill too, which is a bit more tricky when it comes to modulating speeds. I tried to concentrate on how the suspension performed and I have to say the back is pretty much dialled in now. I could bottom it gently if I tried (launching off a hump at 30kph for example) but generally it coped well. Load is light and rear tyre is hard too (28psi) which may all affect it.

But now I'll be doing my own ride with all my winter and camping clobber, I'll need to crank the preload up one rotation: a 5-second job on a shock with an accessible adjuster knob - at least a 25-minute faff with the RR Tractive unit, but one that gets easier the more you do it. That may be why I have the impression the Hyperpro XCo shock felt better: adjusting the preload to suit the terrain or load was effortless; the 3 damping dials I never touched. But that unit cost nearly €1000 and one bloke on the last tour was buying a £1200 Tractive unit for his KTM starship. So really I think the RR shock suits the budget-oriented CB500X perfectly and anyway, the bloke from Tractive told me a remote preloader was not suited to it (too short; no room).

Front end doesn't absorb low-speed hard edged hits like embedded stones, rock steps or potholes so well, but afaik this has always long been the test of a tele fork for off-roading: swallowing the small hard hits as well as big compressions like a ditch all the while remaining firm and well damped on fast bumpy highway bends. As on some other forks I've had, I hear what I take is the sound of oil squelching through the valves and past shims - or maybe just spring creak?
RR use a full length linear spring and progressive damping with preload adjustment. All I know is last year's ~10% lighter XCo (with a UPD) had a prog spring and no adjustment or modified damping but felt better all round. Intuitively I feel a progressive fork spring would work better, but perhaps only because I can see how they work; progressive damping is less easy to visualise.

Of course, apart from the terrain and loads and rider, XCo and 500X is not a like-for-like comparison. Afaik progressive springs are made individually so cost more but from what I've read are less suited to steady-load-and-surface apps like road racing; linear springs can be made by the mile then chopped up.
Again, I see it as a price-conscious solution from RR that improves and extends and adds preload adjustment to the otherwise cheap OE front end which would have been beaten to a pulp on what we've been riding.

Like you say it's all trial and error plus compromise and budget considerations. The suspension on the XCo cost nearly half what I paid for that bike and I dare say you could easily spend twice as much on 500X suspension than RR charge.

I rode a Tornado for a few hours yesterday - a 75,000km rental that ran like new. Great little bikes with un-Jap-like long, hard suspension that eats it all up. Getting back on the 50% heavier 500X the word 'plush' came to mind.

More impressions shortly.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

That's the point Molly - there isn't a shock with a remote preload adjuster that will fit the CB500X, which is why, even though we had a shock specially developed for this bike, we were not able to fit a remote preload adjuster - there is no space, particularly on the ABS equipped bikes (well, not for a hydraulic one anyway, we are still looking at the feasibility of manufacturing a mechanical cable driven worm drive).

If I might address a number of the comments between you and Chris (without trying to quote all the individual posts) to the thread in general...

As Mollydog explains, preload of the shock is essentially for setting the ride-height depending on the load carried (unladen vs. with luggage and/or a pillion etc.) and that it is the damping settings that will affect how the spring reacts under various conditions - thanks for the summary of what each adjustment will do btw. Molly...

To answer Chris - The Rally-Raid/TracTive Adventure shock is longer to give more travel, while the new linkage plates are designed to retain (as closely as possible) the original leverage geometry, so that the full length of the shock is utilised*.

*This enables the shock to work more efficiently and feel more plush than if the reverse were to happen and the ratio was changed so that less shock stroke = the same distance travelled, and why that ultimately a 1:1 ratio would be the most efficient of all.

It is interesting that Chris is suggesting a stiffer rear spring for the bike - it's not necessarily something I disagree with, but as I trust everyone will appreciate, the primary purpose of the Adventure conversion was to bestow greater rough road comfort and ability on the bike while travelling over long distances, not turn it into some sort of enduro machine.

Fundamentally, not only does soft[er] suspension help to soak up the bumps at a modest pace, but it also helps to maintain traction (and steering and braking) by allowing the wheels to follow the ground more accurately - all things we considered important on this sort of bike.

At the end of the day, this bike only has 170mm of travel at each end, so ultimate speed off-road is always going to be limited by the physical.

Interestingly, the editor of Adventure Bike Rider commented recently that the 'problem' we now have is that actually the Adventure conversion to this bike is so good, it encourages you to ride the bike far harder and faster than you might otherwise consider prudent on any other mid-size (on indeed full size) twin-cylinder 'adventure' bike - and where ultimately the limits of the suspension travel become apparent. The saving grace perhaps is that the quality of the damping means that at least when the limit of travel is reached, it is not harsh or abrupt.

Indeed, we consider it flattering that he chose to compare it to something like an XT660 which is far more dirt-bike derived, rather than our original target which was the F700GS, and to a lesser extent the [more road biased] 650 V-strom, and the venerable KLR650 of course.


As both Molly and Chris have commented, the forks on this bike - despite the revised internals - are still of a basic design, and I would add can only ever offer limited overall travel. While the Rally-Raid kit offers a huge improvement in the action and damping control compared to the OEM, it is not going to ride like a bike with a £1000+ set of forks on it.

We are currently speaking to TracTive with regard to offering some stiffer rate springs for both the front and rear of this bike, for those people who want to go harder and faster - but please be aware that is likely to reduce the feeling of plushness you get at slower speeds and in more technical terrain.

Everything is a compromise.

Jx

Thanks for added details and explanation, JMo. Was out today recce-ing routes. On the road ride here (full load) the suspension felt plush and balanced now it's been cranked up all round.

But of course I could not be arsed to back off the preload for today's unloaded day ride and paid the price with harshness as expected. Not that drastic, just tiring at the end of the day. So a mechanical remote preload sounds like a great idea. Never heard of them but just looked up an XTRIG.

Suggesting a stiffer spring was not so much to go harder and faster (last 2 fill ups 91 and 88mpg - that's how slow I am ;~) but to cope better with heavy loads on such tracks. Although I suppose that adds up to the same thing - go slow enough and it won't bottom out. My loads have been quite light on the piste - yours looked the same on TAT, JMo. But I would visualise someone with a full hard-luggage/camping set up as this kind of MoR bike (in OE form) might attract. I guess time will tell once L3s start getting properly overhanded.

Good reminder that it's only 170mm (<7") travel so again it partly comes round to easily adjustable preload - that would greatly broaden the compromise (or give that impression). Full steam ahead on that worm drive, then!

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail