I think the child in the Wendy’s parking lot with his mom assumed I couldn’t hear him once I closed the visor on my helmet. “Wow, I bet he’s really fast!” But alas, I’m not fast. I’m the farthest thing from fast. I’ve had a bike licence for months, not years. When I first threw a leg over this bike, I barely knew what I was doing. But now having spent a little time with the 2024 Honda CBR500R, I’m starting to think I could be fast. Such is the magic of Honda’s sensible starter sportbike.
For 2024, the CBR500R receives several significant tweaks to help keep it contemporary. The front fairing design is overhauled, borrowing cues from the 1000cc Fireblade with new, brighter LED lights and subtle winglets. It’s marginally softer-edged than before, but no less edgy, and Honda says the fun-sized wings actually do help with front end stability and steering feel.
The rider gets a new five-inch TFT display with customizable layouts and light or dark backgrounds. It’s crisp, bright, and has excellent contrast for easy viewing even in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, Honda’s Roadsync app that pairs with your phone to display media and navigation is not officially supported in Canada, so while this makes a nice upgrade, there’s still room for improvement.
Mechanically, the 471-cc parallel-twin engine remains largely unchanged, putting out the same 47 horsepower and 31 pound-feet of torque as before, albeit with slight tweaks to the engine mapping for smoother performance at lower engine speeds. On the chassis side, the only change is that the rear swingarm is slightly lighter, and this combines with lighter wheels and aluminum footpegs to drop a few pounds over last year’s bike—down to 421 pounds with a full fuel load.
The chassis didn’t really need much in the way of work. It was already stacked with Nissin four-pot brake calipers clamping on dual 296-millimetre discs, and a beefy Showa inverted front fork lifted directly off the twice-as-powerful CBR650R. Frankly, there’s far more chassis here than this motor will ever need, and that makes this great for someone like me to get introduced to a sport bike, or for someone who values versatility over outright speed.
The CBR500R has always been a middle ground, a carefully considered compromise. It’s positioned such that it can be a beginner bike to build confidence and learn how to ride well and fast without relying on overwhelming power, and as such, it can also be enjoyed by a seasoned rider who wants something that’s fun to play with and sensible enough to use all the time. It’s designed like a Mario game in that sense, with a very low skill floor so that anyone can play, but a very high skill ceiling that rewards even the most accomplished rider, with an impeccable degree of polish throughout.
Like a first-party Nintendo game that you can count on to look, feel and play a certain way, this middleweight Honda is no different. Its build quality is terrific, switchgear feels of quality, and the rider controls all feel intuitive and forgiving, like anyone can hop on and get it immediately. In typical Honda fashion, the engine is completely impervious to … anything. Hot, cold, lugging in traffic, screaming along—it doesn’t care; its torque curve is dead-straight and response is always consistent and sharp.
Prior to this, I had only ever ridden a big BMW adventure bike and the dirtbikes favored by rider training courses. I had only ever been upright. This little CBR is less aggressively designed than its more powerful siblings, such that you can adopt a somewhat relaxed, relatively upright position and be fairly comfortable. That’s how I rode it home, because that’s what I knew how to do.
But over the course of the week, I found myself getting lower, and lower, and lower. I was scooting further back and starting to rest my chest on the tank, the squat crotch-rocket position I never thought would be comfortable until this bike steadily goaded me into it. I wasn’t sure about serious lean angles either, until I skimmed my toe across the ground for a split second on a fast sweeper. This bike has been amazing for developing confidence, getting me more familiar with the core tenets of riding fast, and doing the things I didn’t think I’d be capable of. I didn’t realize I was doing them until it was already happening.
There’s a healthy suite of driver aids to protect you, too. New for 2024 is Honda’s Torque Control system, which detects wheelspin and wheelies and puts a stop to them before things get out of hand—don’t worry, it’s defeatable. The standard ABS system made itself very useful on one particular rainy ride, as did the forgiving slipper-assist clutch. Whether you’re just getting started or have been riding for years, it’s nice to know there’s a safety net for those just-in-case moments that happen to all of us.
The CBR500R’s real ace-in-the-hole is in just how sensible it is to own. This engine has been around forever, and is very inexpensive to maintain and fuel—I averaged an impressive 3.8 L/100km in my week with this middleweight sport bike. Pricing starts and ends at $8,449 before taxes and delivery, and being under 500 ccs, it’ll be cheap to insure, too.
The joy of the 2024 Honda CBR500R is that it encourages you to play with it and have fun, whether that comes in the form of developing skill or finely honing it. It’s approachable, satisfying, and looks the part, even if you don’t feel like you do just yet. It’ll get you there.
