MCN's first ride of the CBR500R and CB500F

My wife and I looked at these at the Indy motorcycle show. I've been pushing her to upgrade from her Ninja 250, and these seems like good options (but I'm still leaning toward the Ninja 650 or FZ6R).

My wife liked the CB500F in white better than the CBR500R. I was a bit surprised. I've very disappointed that ABS is only available in black on the CB500F and in red on the CBR500R. She also likes the Ninja 300 in white, but in white, and the ABS only comes on the special edition green which adds another $200 and THEN the ABS price.

Now I need to find a place for her to ride all these different bikes. I know she will love the power increase, but all she knows is the Ninja 250r. While it's a very nice bike, it's not suited for highways with 'fast' moving traffic, where the standard speed is above 70-75. It will do 90-95 top speed, but it gets pretty gutless after 65-70.

Thanks for the video. I hadn't seen that yet.
 
Looking good. I can see my wife on one of those. The 6R is a bit too much for her (first bike) She drove it once and struggle a bit. More than likely I'll get her a Ninjette 300.

BDazzler: Go for the 6R, very nice machine for the $$$. I'm at 39K miles on mine and still going strong. There's not a ton of aftermarket parts but enough to cover about everything. Going with the Honda that might take a little while before you get options on goodies.
 
I had a GS500F as my first bike. It was a decent bike, I think. I was as green as a spring meadow so I had no concept of handling or chassis performance or anything but I remember it giving me lots of confidence. I put 10,000 km and desired something different, though. It was a decent bike despite looking and feeling like something designed in the 80s. It had typical nasty Suzuki trim and switchgear and the engine was a bit wheezy but I still maintain it was a perfect beginner bike for me or for anyone who is tall or fat.

This CBR500R is that 500 twin class brought back into the more modern days. On paper, the bike is something like 30 lbs lighter than the GS500F and makes more power, plus a fuel injected Honda motor which has got to be worth something. :) Modern chassis, better suspension and standard sized tires (120/70R17 & 160/60R17). I bet it's a blast to ride and the fact you can get real hypersport tires on it means it probably blows the old Ninja 500R and GS500 out of the water. It's probably even a better handling bike than the Ninja 300 all things considered. I wonder!
 
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Dustin said:
I had a GS500F as my first bike. It was a decent bike, I think. I was as green as a spring meadow so I had no concept of handling or chassis performance or anything but I remember it giving me lots of confidence.

It was a decent bike despite looking and feeling like something designed in the 80s. It had typical nasty Suzuki trim and switchgear and the engine was a bit wheezy but I still maintain it was a perfect beginner bike for me or for anyone who is tall or fat.

This CBR500R is that 500 twin class brought back into the more modern days. On paper, the bike is something like 30 lbs lighter than the GS500F and makes more power. Modern chassis, better suspension and standard sized tires (120/70R17 & 160/60R17). I bet it's a blast to ride and the fact you can get PROPER hypersport tires on it means it probably blows the old Ninja 500R and GS500 out of the water. It's probably even a better handling bike than the Ninja 300 all things considered. I wonder!
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That is one of my biggest knocks on the Ninja 250/300 are the bias ply tires. (besides a bit more power and top speed headroom) There aren't many options. I'd love my wife to experence a good set of sticky radials like the Michelin Pilot Road 3's or the Pilot Power 3's or the Dunlop Q2's.
 
BDazzler said:
That is one of my biggest knocks on the Ninja 250/300 are the bias ply tires. (besides a bit more power and top speed headroom) There aren't many options. I'd love my wife to experence a good set of sticky radials like the Michelin Pilot Road 3's or the Pilot Power 3's or the Dunlop Q2's.
Click to expand...

Hummm... didn't know about the tires. I wish my wife can just jump on the 6R right away.
 
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