Thanks again Juan for helping set me up with that GREAT deal👍👍The folks at Sierra Motor Sports were great also. Can't wait to get the RR3 kit on it. (I'll be in touch. ☺)
Very cool video and great to see them side by side. I have done 55000Km on my CB500X(Stock except for a Staintune Exhaust) and have just started taking it off road and filmed a series of how it has gone off-road on normal, road tyres - it's quite impressive. I was given an Africa Twin for 4 hours to review and loved it. I think my preference would be the Rally-Raided X, but I can't afford either right now so am having a lot of fun enjoying what I have. Other than the $ the main thing holding me back from Rally Raid is I love having my centre stand and it is still seemingly impossible to get a bash-plate on the X that will allow the centre stand to stay on! Thanks for the video - got a lot from it.
the seat of the Africa Twin can be lowered even more with the OEM aftermarket low seat, you may loose some comfort but it will gain in confidence when touching the ground. One thing that I don't like on the AT is that they didn't make the rear subframe removable as with the CB500. the CB might be inferior in terms of power and 2 up capability but as mentioned in the video, if you drop it off road (Which you Will in either of those two) it will not cost you a fortune to repair. a rear subframe on the CB can even be replaceable.
It's nice to see that Triumph is still making bikes. Of course, it was the 1970's Bonneville that i remember. The Honda CB%00 engine has been a workhorse for all these years since "the 4 cylinder series" bikes hit the market. (I HAD a CB400F, until "somebody liked it better than me, one weekend".)
I got a 2021 CB500X a few weeks ago, and am very happy with it. It could use more power, but I can switch to my 1983 Suzuki GS1100ES if my throttle hand needs scratching. Honda did a good job for a guy who's 6'4" at my farthest point from the ground. Comfy..
I just spent the entire day watching all your videos. I test road a Tiger XRX and XCX yesterday but that is a little more money than I want to spend right now. Local Honda dealer has a pair of CB500Xs in stock. One with ABS, one without. Might have to take a ride over there to check them out next week.
Haa you'll never get that day back...;-) I hope they were informative and entertaining. If you are a serious off road rider considering a Level 3 RRP kit, consider getting the NON-ABS model. Otherwise I hear the ABS models work well, and Rally Raid has a switch kit to turn the ABS On and OFF.
I blew my Chinese hawk 250cc cycle up thinking it was a motorcycle, ha, well now I'll live through your videos & be pathetic. Thank you sir for living & adventuring. # wish I had a cb500x rallied.
+blancolirio for me its reversed, much time & little money. Thanks for your replying it's refreshing. Iam still in shock over my loss. To all in motoland OiL YoUr Bikes / Chains & due diligence maintenance. Bless you all, ride safe.
Good eye Old School! Yea I got a KTM 200 too...thinking about the 2017 KTM 150 XC-W for the next ultimate woods weapon for.... 'ahem'....older riders. We got some steep gnarly, technical trail here.
I rode the 144 set up for the woods and I loved it, the 150xcw will be great!! I know about old I am closing in on 49 years old.I sold my buddies 1997 Jackpiner on e-bay a fgew years ago.Have you see all the other items that came with the Jackpiner.. The Hat Mug paperwork etc,it is some cool stuff..
The africa twin is about the same price as a Triumph tiger 800xcx @ about 220kg with similar power. I think in specs it would be its closest competition
the 1000cc africa twin is also a bit more tough to withstand being banged around.. also u red line the 500x more than the 1000cc twin as it's a smaller engine than the twin so that's less wear n tear on the bigger engine than the 500x in the long run
So, what was the consensus? 500x or Africa after some on road and off-road work? From what I'm seeing from many Africa riders, is they struggle a little with low speed off road navigation. It''s not a trials bike (especially with the auto trans dcr). How does the 500x compare? seat height is only one factor of several.
@@blancolirio - Sounds about right. I just picked an Africa twin manual trans, and while it is awesome at open highway cruising speeds, she makes you remember and put all your dirt bike skills to work, especially with the STUUPID street tires that just plow sand. I made it through only because i had a manual clutch and give her a nudge when starting to dig the front. i can't imagine doing that without a clutch. i guess the bottom line is one has to decide what the majority of riding is gonna be. But, it only takes one tricky off-road ride to change everything without appropriate tires. I chose the africa vs 500x because of this death valley heat and 70 or even higher mph highway rides when the big city maniacs come racing through causing a head-on on almost every big weekend. dam fools.
@@blancolirio Interesting- Thanks. I went for the Africa, but having remorse that the 500x may a be a bit more practical since I live off-road. Unbelievable that honda delivered the 2019 africa with street tires. totally wash in minimal sand. already buying tires, for a new bike. seems ridiculous. That said, the Africa's a jewel on road, hopefully will be manageable offroad. it will handle this death valley heat on the highway better than the 500x im sure.
The Cb500X OTD plus the stage 3 kit is around $11000. The Africa twin is around 14500 OTD no stage 3 needed. Again just ballpark prices and both could change depending on region etc. Crashing on both is not so cheap. They are also both heavy. Which one would you be more prone to ride offroad?
The RRP Level 3 CB500X...They've been crashed HARD with little or no damage. I bought my CB500X used for about 4k$ and now have about 8$k into it after the RRP level 3 conversion.
Africa Twin made in Japan and the CB500X is made in Thailand. 2016 Africa Twin Can be purchased for around $11,000 OTD and RR CB500x $9-10,000. If you are gonna do any 2 up riding it's a no brainer, gonna need the bigger engine. Instrument panel on the AT looks way better. (higher quality bike overall) What about resale value?
I started searching Craiglist 2013 CB500Xs (~$4,000). What roughly will the Rally Raid level 3 (19" front) currently run me? That Africa Twin front wheel did not look like a 21"? Was it a 19"? Thanks for your excellent videos. I was "jonesing" for a 2014 KTM690enduroR but even a stock second hand ones are expensive for a ADV project bike!
Rally Raid Level 3 kit a bit over $3k Yep 21" front on AT...19" on RRP CB500X Adventure Here's my take on the KTM 690 vs the RRP CB500X Adventure...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-y3zuQikmbfk.html
I am surprised at the weight for the CB500X (~450lb). Honda says that the bike weights in @ ~ 350 lbs. Do the RR upgrades add that much weight to bike?
Is it this video where you are talking price with a spectator? Saying that those 2013 vintage bikes are only pulling in 4-5K just can't be true as I follow the "Craigslist" postings for Honda XL, XR, CB etc bikes and I find bikes (the 250 is more popular than the 350) in the mid 70's XL class where people are asking 2500+, I think this is a lot (more than new) for those older experimental bikes. Hello. I ask if you take a ride North and enter Siskiyou County (still in CA but right at the top). Find a road named "Kidder Creek Road" (half way between Etna and Ft Jones in Greenview. Ride Kidder Creek as far as you can. The experience using Google Earth is OK but I would like to see the ride (can't ride any more). I know I throw these road names and places out there but I am sure you know of the Scott Valley in Siskiyou County.
I'd have chosen the africa twin... it's a 5 speed manual shifter... looks better and the cb500x gives more issues in the short term than the africa twin...
At 6'3 I am trying to justify this rally raid change up. I'm not sure I'm justifying correctly though. I'm trying to come up with an approx total of the rally raid change over and of course the cost of the cb500x
Level 3 kit about 3k$ US...used CB500X about 4000-4500$. I have $8k into mine. At 6'3" you better check out a stock CB and see if you like the seat to peg relationship.....
I just got a CB500x and will get the stage 3 RR adventure kit. I Love the bike but I´m 6´0¨ and I feel the peg-seat distance is too short for long trips. I would Recommend to get Knight Design pegs (1 1/4 inch lower) or a Seat Concept Rally tall (1 3/4 higher) or both.
Kickstand holds fine on Africa twin. To me all those gigantic ( adventure ) bikesare company’s desperate attempt to sell terrible selling street bikes. Cruiserssold for awhile. Dual purpose a little bit. If you want an excellent adventure bike that will actually traverse single track and modestly difficult eastern or western trails probably a KLR still best or DRZ both have to be modified but it’s very cheap to do. A KTM 690 or Suzuki DR650 too. You can get a great almost new KLR for between 3500-5000. Spend 3000 on tires panniers suspension pegs electronics centerstand pipe seat and have an incredibly reliable good handling ( albeit heavy) bike on the cheap. If you want more dirt capability but still occasional street manners get a DRZ 400 do the air box and jet mod put tires (606 Dunlop’s) and a rack soft panniers tweak suspension Fix rear fender tag bracket put better front lighting and a short windshield go up Rockies or in Tennessee tight woods the bike is fabulous These street bikes are fine for street riding but an Africa twin on a muddy rutted field road will be a crash fest and every time u pick up that 500 pound monster the guy riding a true dirt bike will be laughing at you
If you were serious hardcore about off road then the husqvarna 701 would be the machine to have , but for everyone else the Africa Twin would do the trick 😉 the cb500x on the other hand seems overweight & underpowered in comparison
I don't think these bikes are even in the same class. The AT is a superior bike but you pay significantly more for it than the 500. THE AT is faster, more nimblle, has more torque, better suspension and awesome traction control and switchable ABS.
...and Too Big and expensive to ride off road in the technically challenging terrain one finds on the average adventure ride where all the features you mention quickly become a liability. Great street bike though!
Can't accurately measure the wheelbase? Didn't I just see you with a tape measure? ;) I just got an Africa Twin and a friend has a CB500X pending Rally Raid kit.
So around $6500 for a new CBX plus all the upgrades to make it the Raid, I'm guessing is about $3500, so that's $10,000 and $12999 for an African. Hard decision to make
Yes, and the average guy can take the RRP CB500X much farther off road with less stress than the big AT ...but the AT sure looks great...You can pick up used, low mile CB's for about $4500...
we should compare the new africa twin against my CRF500L or samtechs crf500l, both of our bikes weigh in under 350lb's wet , a full 170lb's lighter then the crf1000L. but of course that would be silly since our CRF500L's would destroy the crf1000l off road, and due to the weight difference they would be comparable onroad too. i know cuz ive ridden my friends crf1000L and my crf500l back to back over the course of a 300km 50/50 road out here in Kananaski, both me and my friend are in complete agreement that my crf500L is a superior bike in pretty much every way apart from maybe 2 up and being the crf1000L being so heavy it rides better on the long straight highway ( wind dont deflect the bike as much). now that being said, the crf1000l was a blast to ride on groomed dirt trails (aka off pavement, not off road). and as an "off-pavement" bike the crf1000l is a true masterpiece when comparing to its competition. but then again, the rally raid cb500x IMO is a better off-pavement bike then the crf1000L . so i guess there really isnt much pleasing me haha.
Honda with all there technology succeeded in make another heavy fat pig , one day they might wake up & make a light V2 or at least a light big bore thumper rally style bike
