Honda CB 500E

A JACK of all trades, according to the old adage, is master of none and Honda's all-new CB500 does nothing to shake the old theory.

That said, if a Jack of all trades is what you're into, the CB500 should suit you just fine. It's one of those nicely produced, user friendly, well behaved bikes Honda is so good at turning out.

Aimed primarily at new licence holders, but with anyone else who'll buy it in mind, the CB neither threatens to tempt you into behaviour rash enough to lose that crisp licence, nor looks boring enough to be overlooked.

Honda's design team have gone for the "muscular" look. Just how successful they've been is a matter of opinion, but when I think muscular I think CB1000, not a middleweight parallel twin producing 58bhp.

For new licence holders though, there's enough readily available power to frighten the foolhardy and force lessons by inevitable mistakes, but with a dry weight of just 170kg (3751b), the CB can be pulled out of toe-curling scrapes fairly easily.

The all-new ("new generation" in Honda-speak) eight-valve liquid-cooled twin throbs away and makes its two pistons felt with a quick thud-thud when blipping the bike off tickover, but a counter-balance shaft, driven directly off the 180 degree crank, smoothes out vibes as soon as you pull away.

Gussets

Ease of riding was one of Honda's main design objectives and it's fulfilled the brief comprehensively. The motor pulls strongly from standstill and the claimed 351b.ft of torque is spread pretty evenly through the revs, peaking at a buzzy 8000rpm. Cable-controlled clutch action is light and progressive but the lever, along with the brake lever, is non-adjustable, a pointless economy robbing the bike of a feature which should nowadays be standard. The comfortable seat sits 30in high, which shouldn't split too many trouser gussets.

Pottering through town, the twin can be eased down to around 2500rpm in sixth before threatening to shake itself to bits, and accelerates cleanly back up the revs, although it's generally happier kept above three grand. This sometimes means changing down to fifth or even fourth to stay in the really useful power on the high street.

Low speed steering is excellent -but deteriorates significantly two-up when the front wheel goes light and the riding position is upright enough to keep weight off your wrists. You lean into the wind enough for legal-limit cruising to be perfectly comfortable.

ST 1100 switchgear is user-friendly and could never reduce even an entry-level rider in the middle of Spaghetti Junction to a flustered, button-pressing ball of sweat. Clocks and idiot lights are equally inoffensive, all moulded into a single module with the temperature gauge incorporated at the bottom left of the rev counter.

Get out of town and two 34mm flat-slide Keihin carbs (similar to those on the CBR600 and Fire-Blade) feed the motor freely to give brisk acceleration and snicking up through the sweet gearbox reveals no nasty clunks or graunches.

The CB pulls up to a comfortable 70-80mph cruising speed surprisingly quickly, with a noticable but unobtrusive patch of vibes coming in at around 6000rpm (about 75mph in top) and clearing soon after as the motor pulls to the 10,500rpm redline.

The bike should be good for about 110-115mph, and the four gallon (18 litre) fuel tank should give a range, claims Honda, of about 200 miles, at a fuel economy of 50mpg. The half-gallon (2.5 litre) reserve is easily found thanks to one of the slickest petrol taps my fingers have ever had the pleasure to fiddle with.

What the engine refuses to deliver in top end, the rolling chassis makes up for on the twisties. The frame is a curious, though successful mix of tubular and box-section steel. A tubular double-cradle passes beneath the .engine, (the left cradle splits for easier engine removal) while above, 30mm by 45mm box section perimeter rails give good rigidity.

The sub-frame is also box section steel, as is the swing-arm, worked by preload adjustable twin shocks. Forks are 37mm and unadjustable but despite the traditional set-up handling is positive, predictable and confidence-inspiring. Charging at bends, the single 296mm front disc with dual piston caliper copes well despite a slightly vague, spongey feel at the lever and as hero blobs hit the deck mid-corner there's no sign of protest or panic from either rider or bike.

Reassuringly, considering Honda's target market, the hero blobs (lean-angle indicators, or something, in Honda-speak) are the first to touch down and during the brief test session nothing else came close.

I must admit that seeing the bike shod in Dunlop Arrowmax rubber (110/80-17in front, 130/80-17in rear) was anything but reassuring -it's a long-standing and probably undeserved mistrust of the marque with memories of wet-weather nervousness and all-weather tracking. But Dunlop has given them a new tread pattern and they held rocksteady all day. It never did rain though. Bridgestone Exedras will also be fitted as original equipment.

Ease of maintenance was also an objective and Honda seem to have made more than a token effort at fulfilling the brief. The double overhead camshaft directly operates a bucket and shim set-up for valve operation with a service interval of 15,000 miles. The shafts are driven by a central chain which will cause problems when renewal looms, a side-located chain being far easier to replace if you insist on the endless variety, although on a smooth, 58bhp motor, replacing the central chain with a rivet-link item wouldn't be out of the question, though Honda would never condone such rash action. Primary drive is by gear.

The airbox sits below the carbs and gives easy access through a panel on the left hand side to the filter cartridge. The oil filter is the familiar screw-on/off (read skewer with a screwdriver and stain the road outside your neighbour's house) cartridge type sitting at the front of the engine just above the sump. Equally easy to get to are both the oil and cooling system fillers, neither being hidden behind fixed bodywork. (And it's about the subtlest bit of liquid cooling I've seen, with finning on the cylinder head and barrel giving a more familiar and acceptable look to the lump than some retro kettles.) The rear single leading shoe drum brake is another sensible, low-maintenance option and provides ample back-up for the front disc.

The ignition key unlocks the seat which then hinges back to reveal a deep (about 12in) storage box for your chips, lock, waterproofs or whatever with the toolkit sitting under the rear tailpiece. Removing the seat altogether, should you wish to lob it over the hedge in a temper, is just a matter of pulling it free of its rear hinge.

Finish is generally high quality with Honda UK offering Tasmanian Green Metallic (seen here), Solid Black or Fighting Red paint options - ask for them by name. Engine casings come in a durable-looking gun metal finish, but the matt black paint on the exhaust downpipes may not last a British winter after a few thousand miles of stone chips.

Obvious competitors for the CB are Yamaha's XJ600S Diversion (£3999), Suzuki's GS500E (£3299) and Kawasaki's GPZ500S (£3740) and KLE500 (£3840). My guess is it will stand up well in such company and although the price is still to be released I reckon £