The Honda NX500, the successor to the CB500X, has been launched in India at Rs 5.90 lakh and is going to be sold via the CBU route. It is a parallel twin-cylinder adventure bike with a 5-inch TFT display, smartphone connectivity, and selectable torque control. It rivals the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 and KTM 390 Adventure.
The Honda NX500 looks like the spiritual successor to the CB500X. More modern styling elements, USD forks and a 5-inch TFT screen are some of the major changes it gets over the bike it replaces. The ADV stance remains and it continues to get a 19-inch front and a 17-inch rear wheel that feature Y-shaped 5-spoke wheels and wear dual-purpose tyres. It gets a Pro-Link mono-suspension at the rear with a 5-stage preload adjuster and as aforementioned, a USD fork setup. Braking duties are performed by dual 296mm front discs with two-piston calipers and a 240mm disc with a single-piston caliper at rear with dual-channel ABS as standard. It is available is three colours – Grand Prix Red, Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic and Pearl Horizon White.
Honda NX500 engine
The Honda NX500 gets a 471cc, liquid-cooled engine with a parallel twin-cylinder layout that puts out 47bhp at 8,600rpm and 43Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. It is mated to a 6-speed gearbox with a slip and assist clutch.
Honda NX500 features
The Honda NX500 gets full LED headlights and tail lamps with emergency stop signal feature that communicates sudden braking by flashing turn signals. It also gets a switchable HSTC (Honda Selectable Torque Control) system to manage rear wheel traction while riding on slippery terrain. The instrument cluster features a 5-inch TFT colour display with optical bonding for better visibility in sunlight and three display modes – bar, circle and simple, along with a background colour of white, black and auto. It gets on-screen navigation as well as the option to make calls or listen to music (via a Bluetooth headset) controlled via a backlit 4-way toggle-switch.
Honda NX500 price and rivals
The Honda NX500 is priced at Rs 5.90 lakh (ex-showroom) and rivals the RE Himalayan 450 that is priced at Rs 2.85 lakh and the KTM 390 Adventure that is priced at Rs 2.81 lakh. The main contributing factor to the high price tag is that the bike comes to India as a CBU and attracts a higher tax than a CKD or a locally manufactured bike. Bookings are open for a token amount of Rs 10,000 and deliveries are slated to being from February, 2024.