The 2024 Honda NX500 is Honda’s midsize adventure bike and the replacement for the CB500X. Along with the new name come a new fairing, a TFT display, traction control, lighter wheels, and revised suspension settings, while the approachable character of the CB500X carries over.
The NX500 is built to cover a rider’s whole week. It is big enough for freeway duty without being too heavy or too tall for casual riding, so it works as a commuter, a weekend adventure bike, and a canyon companion. Its 19-/17-inch wheelset handles dirt roads for light adventuring.
Power comes from a 471cc DOHC parallel twin with a 180-degree crank. It is responsive and forgiving, with a flat torque curve and smooth delivery that newer riders will appreciate. Honda revised the ECU for stronger acceleration and added traction control, which a left-thumb switch turns off on the fly. The 6-speed transmission has an assist-and-slipper clutch.
The seat height is 32.7 inches, though the NX500 looks taller than it is. The upright riding position, wide handlebar, and 432-pound curb weight make it easy to manage in traffic and at low speeds.
New five-spoke wheels cut 3.3 pounds of unsprung weight, so the non-adjustable Showa SFF-BP inverted fork and linkage-assisted shock received revised damping. The fork has 5.9 inches of travel, and the rear wheel gets 5.3 inches; shock spring preload is the only adjustment. Nissin calipers grip 296mm front discs, and ABS is standard.
A customizable five-inch TFT display replaces the CB500X’s LCD, with three display layouts and backlit switchgear. In our testing, the NX500 returned close to 60 mpg despite hard riding.
The NX500 suits riders who want one practical, versatile motorcycle for commuting, weekend trips, and the occasional gravel road. The 2024 Honda NX500 has an MSRP of $7399, $100 more than the CB500X it replaces.
Hello and welcome again to the Motos and Friends Podcast. This episode is brought to you by Leod Escapes.
* * * * *
Aprilia is bringing a scooter to North America, and it’s one designed to appeal to adventure motorcyclists. The SR GT 400 is a mid-size scooter built around a steel motorcycle-style frame, a 399cc single, and off-road-ready hardware. It reaches US dealers as soon as this month. Don Williams and Kelly Callan spent some time riding the Aprilia and were surprised by what they discovered. Is this a real motorcycle or just a good-looking urban scooter?
* * * * *
Cat McLeod is founder and owner of Leod Escapes, the ultimate tour company for sport-minded motorcycle riders. Cat talks to us this segment about some of his amazing European experiences and tours that include of course, riding some amazing MotoGP tracks on new BMW S1000RRs. If you like what you hear, now is the time to book your trip of a lifetime, so visit LeodEscapes.com to find out more.
* * * * *
Our guest this episode is Terry Vance, the multiple Motorcycle and Motorsports Hall-of-Famer. Terry is of course the former professional motorcycle drag racer, team owner, and co-founder of the high-performance parts company Vance & Hines. Teejay Adams chats with Terry about his incredible career that includes being the first rider to hit 200 mph in the standing quarter-mile.
Having won this year’s MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers championship with Hayden Gillim riding the Vance & Hines factory Indian Challenger, and with Harley-Davidson’s recent withdrawal, Terry gives us his thoughts on where the series might go from here.
* * * * *
Here’s quick reminder to check out our monthly digital magazine. It’s filled with everything you want to read on motorcycling, including some things you’ve probably not seen elsewhere. It’s absolutely free and you will find it on the Apple App Store and of course on Google Play as well.
Don’t forget to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!
We use cookies and browser activity on this website
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Advertising helps us keep our content available for free, so adjusting your ad blocking settings will help us.
We appreciate your support!
i
How to Allow Ads on This Site
Depending on your setup, ads may be blocked by a browser extension, VPN, antivirus software, or other application. Here are some common ways to allow ads:
Browser Extensions (e.g., Adblock, uBlock, etc.)
Click the extension icon in your browser toolbar.
Look for an option like "Don't run on pages on this site" or "Pause on this site".
Save the change and refresh the page.
VPNs with Ad Blocking (e.g., NordVPN, Proton VPN, etc.)
Open your VPN app.
Go to settings or features.
Disable any ad blocking or tracking protection features.
Refresh the page.
Antivirus Software or Other Privacy Tools
Check for web protection, ad filtering, or browser privacy settings.
Click the power button to disable it for this site.
Refresh the page.
Not sure what's blocking ads? Look for tools with privacy or filtering features, or check your browser extensions. We only use respectful, non-intrusive advertising.
![2024 Honda NX500 Buyer’s Guide [Specs, Price]](https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-honda-nx500-first-look-american-model-3-768x512.webp "2024 Honda NX500 Buyer’s Guide [Specs, Price]")
