The Honda Rebel 500 – originally known as the Honda CMX500 Rebel – has made its entry in the Indian market after years of speculation. For those of you who may not know, we’ll learn in our Honda Rebel 500 overview that the new bike is a cruiser, which the manufacturer has brought to India via the CBU (Completely Built Up) route. What this means is that the Rebel 500 is a complete import, and therefore attracts the taxation on import units, implied by the Government of India.
The Rebel 500 is Honda’s take on a bobber. Having seen the popularity for these motorcycles over the past couple of years, Honda has finally announced its entry into the segment with the new Rebel 500. We discuss all you need to know about this motorcycle right below and give our take on how this fares against the competition, and what should be the mindset before considering this machine for your garage.
Design
The design is the most flattering part of the Rebel, and it might be the one aspect that will draw consumers to this motorcycle. We’ve seen bobbers and low cruisers in this price range earlier, but not from a mainstream manufacturer like Honda, where the consumers know this will last them a lifetime, if not more.
The cruiser styling does work well for the Honda Rebel. It almost gives itself away as a product from the house of Harley-Davidson, which says a lot about its design and proportions. The low stance, chunky tyres on both ends, and a huge wheelbase are the best defining factors that work in favour of this design.
What we see here is a motorcycle that’s completely blacked out from front to back, and we like how stealthy it looks in the flesh. A teardrop shaped fuel tank that sweeps up towards the handlebar, round cluster for all the lights, and curved fenders at both ends are some of the other design highlights from the Honda Rebel. In essence, the design of the Rebel is not something new but this is going to draw a new set of buyers in this price bracket.
The bike now comes in a single Matt Gunpowder Black Metallic paint scheme. The
paint quality is great on this motorcycle apart from the overall fit-and-finish, and that significantly enhances the overall appeal of this motorcycle.
Equipment
We do not typically expect cruisers in this price range to come with a lot of equipment. These are typically retro machines that are not introduced with the idea of packing in more equipment to entice the buyers.
Where these low riding cruisers typically excel is having the right amount of safety net that works in the background to protect the rider as much as the bike can. That said, the Honda Rebel 500 comes with an LED headlight and LED tail light, a negative LCD instrument cluster, and dual-channel ABS. The feature set is simple and shows the focus on keeping the bike as basic as possible.
The negative LCD instrument cluster is housed in a circular pod right before the handlebar and in clear vision of the rider. The instrument cluster is good for displaying basic information like trip info and odometer, however do not expect it to pack a plethora of features since Honda has kept the feature list as minimal as it can here. Being a negative LCD unit, however, it reads well out on the road and even in case there’s direct sunlight falling on the bike. The display is legible and shows quick and necessary information at a glance.
Engine
The Honda Rebel 500, as the name indicates, comes powered by a 471cc, parallel twin engine that produces 46 bhp at 8,500 rpm and 43.3 Nm at 6,000 rpm. This is the same engine we’ve seen from the brand on other models like the NX500. The engine comes paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.
The bike features a sizable 11.2-litre fuel tank, which offers decent overall range on a full tank. The Rebel 500 runs on 16 inch wheels at both ends, featuring chunky rubber that adds to the overall appeal of the motorcycle. Specification-wise, the front uses a fat 130-section tyre while the rear gets a 150-section unit.
As far as rideability is concerned, there is plenty of low-end torque for getting off the line and enough horsepower to pull the taller gears for cruising and moving at highways. The clutch also does not require a lot of effort, making it an easy bike to ride. Now what we’ve seen usually with the other cruisers is that while they are great on the highway, city consumption is difficult thanks to a slightly heavy riding feel. The Rebel solves that and it feels easy to ride both in the city as well as out on the open highways. The suspension setup, however, is on the stiffer side given the overall appeal of this motorcycle, which makes it somewhat firm on city undulations while making it excellent to ride on highways. The handling is also taut, but overall the motorcycle feels lazy to turn and given its intentions, it suits the overall calming appeal of this bike. After all, the Rebel is not something consumers will buy to get the best lap times, rather just to revel in the utmost comfort on the highways while also watching the serene scenery pass by in the background.
On the chassis front, the body panels are attached to a steel diamond frame, which is suspended by a telescopic fork at the front and Showa dual shock absorbers at the rear.
Competition
The Honda Rebel 500 overview above suggests that the bike goes against the Kawasaki Eliminator 500, and the likes of the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 and Super Meteor 650. It also undercuts the NX500 from Honda’s stable, which is also a CBU unit and comes powered by the same engine.
Prices and Verdict
Being available in a single variant touted as Standard, the Honda Rebel 500 price is INR 5.12 lakh (ex-showroom). The bike is available in a single paint option, as we discussed below.
While we feel there could have been more variants or paint schemes with the Honda Rebel, it comes in a single spec form from the dealership. Regardless, if you plan to buy one, it will still be a unique machine out on the road given that Honda has priced the bike quite high and now it directly coincides with the likes of RE 650 machines, which seem to be more value for money.
Despite that, the Honda Rebel is a unique offering in this price bracket owing to its low slung cruiser stance and a Honda nameplate, which assures reliability for years to come. It comes powered by an engine that’s easily rideable in the city and also shines out on the highway. Combine all of these, and the Honda Rebel 500 makes for a very interesting proposition, despite the hefty price tag.
