**Thanks for watching this Episode of the Versus Series!** What ya reckon? Harley or Honda? Make sure to come find me on Instagram @Kwackajack_ for loads more motorcycle content, community discussion and to get involved in future giveaways! See you there!
I love my Rebel 500. It's nimble and smooth and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The only thing I really didn't like about it was the stock exhaust, but I got a great one that looks sleek and sounds 10 times better :D
I own the 500 f version of the CB line. Even tho I never rode the Rebel I could tell from the beginning that Harley Davidson’s bike has nothing on this. Price and Performance were instantly better since it is a Honda and because it’s a beginner cruiser they made it light. 2 Kg lighter than my 500 f as a matter of fact. The style comes to personal preference but in my opinion Honda made that cruiser look as best as they could being way better looking than the Harley. As a beginner bike The rebel has literally everything a young fresh rider would need. Great mileage with decent power and a great price with excellent Handling and learning curve. All in all I don’t think it was really fair to compare the rebel 500 to the Harley since every bike company can make a better cruiser than Harley Davidson with their bikes being strictly vanity items to show off or bond over.
I bought a Street 500, was a 2019 with 300km on it and was nearly half price (had an engine light) I would have been silly to not buy it. I did spot on 10,000k. In 3 months on it. I rode it everywhere, road, dirt, mud trucks, hail, freezing cold and super hot Aussie days. I didn't have any real issues except that the rear brake locked on around a corner and put me into a giveway sign at 70kmph. I've test rode a friends Rebel for about 200km and can say, in every retrospect other then aesthetics and sound, it's a better bike. I ended up getting a XVS650 for more comfort when riding long distance.
In my opinion, the Honda stock exhaust sounds way better than Harley's. Rebel's looks are also way more "bobber". And it has better performance specs. Clear winner, Rebel 500.
1y later... That is because one is recorded inside a garage where there is a lot of reverb, and one outside, so the comparison is not fair for sure. In real life I am sure that both sound amazing.
I love my Street 500 for my first motorcycle!!! It handles well, great on curves and just fun to ride. Not out for a fast bike, just a bike to learn on!! I owed the Street 750 and hated it for my first bike and sold it. Although Honda own on everything you mentioned, Harley has this girls heart!!
I work for harley, I recently convinced my wife to get her licence and I would buy her a bike. She is short, so seat height and center of gravity were of great importance. narrowed it down to the street 750 and the rebel 500. I bought her a Rebel 500, put a Vance & Hines slip-on and we are very happy with our purchase. Great Bike for a beginner with short legs.
I used the street 500 in the HD MSF course when it came time to get a bike I bought a rebel 500. The rebel is lighter, trimmer, has better brakes, shifting is more positive, looks alot better, has a full shift indicator, the anti slip clutch is substantially easier to use than the clutch on the street 500 and most significantly I was actually able to find a new Honda rebel at a dealership can't say the same for the street series.
my experience owning a rebel 500cc 2020. 1 year now and 5000km. one word....amazing on photos, it is not an awesome bike...but in first person, you fall in love with her. Has a lot of power , no problem on highway, stable 120-130kmh with no issues... first week i changed the seat...very bad seat was that.... now i have a mustang tripper 400$ and is another level of comfort. one thing hate about it: i tried a cb500f and the first gear was wayyyy larger than on the rebel 500 with the same engine...and that aloweed me to start better every time..i dont know why they changed that on the rebel. with full tank i do 240km every time... i love the sound of the engine. any way ...i love my rebel 500. is really a nice bike. recommend it
I’m new to bikes, and always wanted a Harley, but I think the rebel wins this one for me. It also looks pretty easy to customise, which is awesome, since I would love to be a mechanic one day. And to ride something of that quality, and also being able to make it look how I want to, that would be the dream
I recently began my process of getting my motorcycle license and looking at bikes. I’ve been looking these sportster/street bikes and have narrowed my search to these two bikes. (I really like the Harley iron 883, but that’s too expensive for me, I live in America where the iron 883 is I want to say $9,995, and the street 500 is in the mid $6,000 range) And while I love Harley Davidsons, after watching this video I’m probably going to go with the Honda. Thank you for the video, great comparison that definitely helped me come to a clear decision.
Well, thats from your own perspective, because where I am from in Asia, Honda stands for quality and prestige while only a few very old people own Harley Davidson.
I've never ridden a Rebel, but I do have a Street 500 and I absolutely love it. A family member owns a Sportster and I'll take my bike any day of the week. In fact, I'll be riding mine to Sturgis this year from Ohio. Can't wait!
I prefer the Honda because what I want from a bike is the durability and performance, the Harley is going to be a nightmare of problems and lots of money. I have a friend who sold his Kawasaki Vulcan for a Harley and now he wants to sell the Harley because of how many problems he had with it.
I don't buy a bike to impress other people, I could care less what Harley people think! And the majority of my friends own Harley's. I looked at the 883, which is a cool bike , but for me the Rebel 500 was just better all the way around, so that's what I got and I love it!!!
I've been looking at the Rebel, Street, and 390 Duke as my starter bike. You've completely taken the Harley out of the equation with this video. Never has a head to head been so clearly in favor of one bike over another.
@@ChrisJones-yt8zp It's a great bike z650. For me personally, the z650RS takes the cake, but it's solely based on the styling since they have the same chasey and engine
I have been looking at buying a Honda Rebel 500 for a couple of years now. I have never seen the Harley Street 500 before. I think the Harley looks good and quite macho. The Honda Rebel 500 wins hands down when it comes to engineering and pretty sure that it will be more reliable than the Harley over time. The Honda Rebel seems to be the better performer also. I personally prefer the position of foot pedals. The price of the Honda Rebel 500 is a bargain compared to the Harley. The Honda Rebel 500 wins for me. I have a Honda Rebel 500.
Man, you said you'd throw up some images to compare their style, and just then an advert, flickering different images of cheese came up and for a second I thought I was on the wrong video! All jokes aside though, I will be buying a 2021 Honda Rebel 500 this June as my first bike
I had a Street 500, I did nearly 10,000km in 3 months on it and moved to a 2018 XVS650 Vstar. Also a learner bike in most countries. It's not as quick in the corners but is a much better bike. It's larger, faster, more reliable and has a lot more aftermarket options.
Yea, I'd say that the lack of availability will push the prices up because a lot of new riders see the Street 500 as a great entry point to Harley Davidson. How do you guys find it?
@@Kwackajack exactly that's why we bought one as there are no other Harley options for learners. It's a great bike feels really solid and planted on road. We are happy with it.
All I’ll say is that my Rebel 500 is an absolute blast, it’s light, nimble, and easy to handle and the size coupled with the riding position makes it super beginner friendly
@@Kwackajack I’d have to say how approachable it is even as a complete beginner, like on my first ride I was actually riding it pretty hard, but because of the light weight and peppy but fairly small engine I never felt like I was in over my head
I dunno, 3K is a lot to pay for Harley branding, especially when the Rebel is an all round better bike. Seems like it has no shortage of fans of its own either.
I love this style of bikes but I find it hard to pass on speed for the style so a Honda Rebel 500 is basically my savior because I can get both the style of the motorcycle that I love AND the horse power I really need because I have to ride 40 km every single day to work
I looked at FortNine's analysis of first change engine oil and the chance of me buying a Harley are therefore zero. I'd get a Royal Enfield Meteor 350 before I'd get that Harley. Well actually I could get two for that price...or a Interceptor 650.
Got a Street 500 used as my first and honestly I love the bike. Rebel is the better bike but the street 500 is underrated. Either is a good starter and couldn’t be happier. Seat is awesome too.
See I love to hear this! Just because one bike might be 'better on paper' doesn't necessarily mean it's the right one. The Street 500 does have a certain charm and a lot of people really like it. Happy you're enjoying yours mate!
@@Kwackajack Thanks man!!! I appreciate it and the more I ride it the more I love it. Sometimes I’m like wow I’m riding a Harley! Would say to anyone to give it a try because it has a ton of charm.
Forget the name. The Rebel is better all around, and you know you’re getting a reliable bike. I’ll be looking to get one once the spring rolls around. I’m tired of riding sport bikes, and need a cruiser.
Got a Harley street 500 2020, already put 22000km on it, KN air filter and TBR full exhaust stage 1 dyno tuned with 3inch tank lift, drag bar, lower suspension, tail tidy and folk LED indicators as well as front control, the bike is a eye grabber, wouldn’t call it small, after the stage 1 it’s got 50hp and 70nm of torque, the thing about Harley even on the beginner bike there are a lot of mods (although there are less for XG500 compare with other models) there is even a turbo kit for it as well. So far the bike has been reliable and the power is almost like a 883
I can say confidently that I love both Bikes, and I wanted to get into riding because the Street 500 looked so nice and looked good. The advertised $5k-ish MSRP certainly interested me, but dealerships near me marked it up to $9k-10k. Immediately I was turned off from riding a bike, because they were clearly being predatory and didn't care about their customers at all. I'll likely buy the Rebel when the time comes, Harley hasn't done much to control their trash dealerships so I don't want anything to do with the brand. If it values it's near retiring customers more than new riders, and wants to suck every cent from either set of pockets, I want nothing to do with them. Edit: I also found out that the Street series was "poorly" built, as in ride quality wasn't nice, the bike was heavy and harder to control enough so some riders said they were concerned giving it to new riders, and it's lack of power. Just...seems odd when things like the Honda Rebel, or Grom just have a level of quality that's apparent amongst it's competitors. I'm no expert, just illuminating that Harley dropped the ball in my view.
Awesome comparison. I took my rider course on the H-D Street 500 and really liked it. Going to look at the Rebel 500 today and I think, based on your comparison, I. may be sold on the Honda! Got to sit on it and ride it first!
Ill go for reliability, performance, looks, money 's worth = REBEL by the biggest motorcycle company in the world😊 with a winning heritage in the most important competition... motogp😅
I own a 2022 Honda Rebel 300 and I am so happy with it. It may not be as fast as the rebel 500 but I love it and I get a lot of compliments on it. Specially now I added some mods to it. It looks amazing.
It’s hands down the Rebel and I’d like to go for it but while there have been rumours of it being launched in India soon there have been no signs of it since start of 2020. Can’t wait for the Rebel to be launched here soon.
Honestly a article I read made the Rebel 300 seem so great I think I'd recommend that over either of these for beginners. It's just over 400 pounds and very easy to handle. I'd sure rather my son had something like that over a more powerful bike when he was young because he liked fast a bit too much. That would save me some $$ also and if he wants the 500 well, he can trade that 300 in for one later! ;-)
I'm 62 years old. I bought the 2023 Honda Rebel 500. I've been driving motorcycles since I was 19. I've never owned a Harley. I have had a Yamaha Seca 900, a Kawasaki 1000P (Police bike), a Suzuki Burgman 400, a Honda Monkey just to name a few. At my age I just want to be comfortable. The 2023 Honda Rebel is comfortable (when you add an aftermarket strap on seat gell pad to make the stock seat a bit more comfortable. I like the weight of it. I love the low seat height. You can't go wrong with the reliability of a Honda. I just wish the dealerships treated you with respect and stopped over charging you for the bikes.
I'm a 17 year old, just got a 17' HD street 500. And watching this, quite surprised it only has 29.5hp because mine hauls a// it feels like, mine is a gloss black and its absolutely fabulous. Nothing to regret here except the no fuel gage
This was the choice for me (used of course)! I ended up with the Rebel 500, and am very happy with my decision, though I like the Harley community a lot...
I actually prefer the Rebel. But living in a country where almost everyone rides a Honda (especially their 125cc ones), "I ride a Harley" sounds way cooler than "I ride a Honda".
That's one reason people buy Harley, even if they end up spending a good chunk of time servicing it. However, those 125cc's ... do any of them have cruiser/ bobber looks ??
This is the reason why i still keep my nightrain and roadking but! As the price of fuel keeps increasing, im tempted to buy a rebel for my daily commute.
I own a Harley Electra Glide.. If the Street 500 was so good, Harley wouldn't have killed it.. No one liked it, Harley owners laughed at it, Salesmen dumped on it ("you need a Sportster if you want a "real" bike")... and it had styling that looked like a 1st-year design student (who wasn't very good at their job).. The Honda is badass, runs rings around the Harley, and is a FAR better deal. And that's from a Lifelong Harley Owner.
Yeah Harley has the cool factor - that is until you tell people you ride a Harley and then show up on a Street 500. The best you can hope for is to be laughed out of the place. Nah. You're more likely to get more respect in motorcycle circles on the Rebel. At least you bought a legit starter bike.
Taking my MSF course in 2 days, and we're using the street 500. Should be interesting to see how this goes with the massive weight of the street 500. 🤔
**Seems the Honda website took me to the US store and gave me pricing for there.. It is actually $9,600AUD ride away in Australia, which is still cheaper than the Harley. Thanks to those that pointed this out :)
As long we are pointing things out...when you talked about the prices you wrote Rebel 500 on both. It might be worth mentioning that if someone were to buy used, then the Rebel before 2020 didn't have gear indicators and the shocks were apparently pretty bad. I didn't even know this one existed but i just checked custom exhausts and the Harley can get some that makes it sound very good. The rebel i have never found a single exhaust i liked for. And i have seen probably 30 different kinds. A thing i think you missed in this video is size. One of the reasons i am hesitant to buy the Rebel is because at slightly over 6 feet most people find this too small. So it would have been nice to know at what hight each bike would be too small.
Thanks for pointing them out! As for the size, I’m just over 6ft aswell and have sat on both bikes. Both were comfortable and didn’t feel small, although the Harley was larger :)
I was going to go with the R3 or CBR300R , CBR300r was a little to high for me, r3 was great but man the rebel 500 feels amazing when i sat on it. this is the bike i want for sure now
I'm tossing around getting my first bike and I think for a first bike the Rebel is an easy win. I think when you get a Harley you plan on keeping it a while. Good vid though, thanks!
If it's a competition of the best Lam's cruiser then the answer is clearly the vstar 650 cost about the same new as the Harley, similar top speed to the Honda, you have two style options to choose from and they are extremely customisable
The only thing I like better is the exhaust sound on the Harley as parallel twins just don’t have that sound but the Honda is definitely the winner here.
So are you a middle aged poseur looking to cosplay as an "outlaw" on the weekends? Or do you want the better bike because you actually just enjoy riding?
@@Kwackajack My issue (I think) is size. I’m 6’ tall and in order to not sit in what feels like a cannonball position, my butt tends to scoot back so I’m sitting on that horrid bar that separates the two seats. I’d need a single seat with thick foam going all the way back. I’ve seen a couple of versions like what I want but they’re not thick enough. Also I think it would look terrible in the end.
I’ll admit - I’m bias - I’d go for the Honda Rebel 500. Mostly because in NZ - Harleys have a premium regardless of capability where as the Honda will be eventually affordable. I did enjoy this comparison and the Harley does “sound” pretty beefy - so I like that.
Didn't they stop building the HD 500? I have the Rebel 500. It's probably built better will last longer. Honda puts the 500 engine in several models, meaning you'll probably be able to get parts for a long time if you ever need them.
When I did my MFS course at the Harley dealer they use the Street 500's for your test and training. And I considered buying one but the street 500 is a pooch it's why the don't make them anymore, I mean a real dog, like no power. The Rebel will run circles around it. The Rebel 500 makes only 2hp less than the Iron 883 sportster. 883 makes 50 hp and the Reb 500 makes 48hp. So that should tell you something. The ironic part is I'm thinking of trading up to the new Harley liquid cooled Nightster which makes 90 hp will probably be my next step. If the 883 was liquid cooled it would make about 80 to 85 hp but it's air cooled steam engine.
Looked into both these bikes as my first. HD is kinda meh but has a good aftermarket parts availability I hear but I didn't want to spend 1000s to customise a first bike. Rebel seems to be a decent bike but for me it's just so goofy looking. I had my heart set on the z650, Peter Steven's took my deposit, lied to me about having it in stock. Passed Ls, go to pickup bike and they play dumb. Ended up going to a local dealership and getting the ninja 400. Saved myself 4 grand, no regrets.
It's good to have a lighter bike... Except when you're doing highway speed with wind. And the HD is better looking IMO. Other than that, Honda will always be better than HD, whatever the model is.
I bought a new 2006 Sportster 1200L in 2007. I still have it and still love it. It is carbureted, has bright shiny paint, lots of chrome, and more important than anything else, it sounds and feels like a Harley. I have had almost no problems with it in over 30K miles. The only modifications I have made to it are aftermarket slip ons to make it sound right, a short backrest, replaced the black sidecovers with chrome ones, Installed a turn signal relocation kit to make room for saddlebags, and installed hard leather saddlebags with Easy Brackets. That's it. The air cleaner, handlebars, headlight, and seat are still stock, and I have no plans to change them. The fit and finish is WAY ahead of anything from Honda, especially from a Honda made in Thailand. That "Rebel" sure is UGLY.
I guess you can’t argue with the facts when you look at the spec sheets, but sometimes spec sheets don’t tell the whole story. There’s a certain feel about owning a Harley and if that’s what you’re looking for, no other bike matters.
I think we all knew which bike would win in the stats. Well, those of us that had been riding for decades, but, having started on dirt bikes, then on to high performance road bikes, and then mellowed into cruisers, you just can’t beat the Harley brand. The Honda is a better bike. The Harley is a cooler bike. When I started riding at age 13 back in the early 80’s, I woulda picked the Street all day long.
It is probably better to compare it with the rebel 300 since its just a weaker version of the 500. Then the harley would be comparable, but the 500 just outmatches it.
Just turned 16 and got the street 500 used it only has 2900 miles on it but the main reason we got it was the harley dealership we went to the guys where very nice and had alot of good conversations with them and the honda people where like talking to a unhappy divorcy car salesman the harley guys where amazing and it was like talking to just a cool group a guys throughout the day we spent buying the bike. I was also extremely happy getting a harley at 16 lol so it mightve put motorcycle goggles on so but the dealership was very nice
