I bought my SCL500 about three months ago. Just passed 1200 miles on the odo. I absolutely love it! For the curvy back roads here in SE Tennessee this is the perfect grin producing machine. You can throw it around like a 500cc dirt bike. Very nimble. I hit a patch of sand in the road on a tight 90 degree turn. The rear tire skidded some, but my youthful Elsinore 250 memories kicked in and the Scrambler handled the necessary correction beautifully! The seat could definitely use a little more padding for longer rides. Otherwise, the SCL500 is an absolute ball to ride. If you're even remotely curious go ride one. You'll be glad you did.
I've put almost 400 miles on my SCL500 in about a month. I love everything about it. Im 6 foot 3 and its comfy as a good glove for me, handles the highways like a champ, so damn nimble but with enough get up n go!!! If I were to focus on the negatives there are only 2 really: #1 There is no tachometer at all. (Honda previously advertised that it did come with a tach and then quickly edited their website when it was pointed out to them...I have the screenshots to prove it.) Kinda a huge part missing from the bike that's sooooo good in every other way for a new rider. Knowing your RPMs matter, regardless of engine compression and all the hooey people say in defense of Honda omitting a tach from this cluster. (False advertising alone is indefensible on any vehicle purchase imo!) #2 For those of us in the North American market it only comes in 2 colors: orange/green. Sure it has nothing to do with the bikes performance but you'd think that for a bike with so much thought into the style Honda wouldn't be so limiting to the consumers of one market. (Non North American buyers have several other options!) But maybe I'm still bitter about being told I was buying a bike with a tach and then being called a liar by their customer relations department....heh.
Yeah, that whole dash just about spoils it for me so I'm going to get a separate tach for mine, the stock dash looks so cheap too. Wiring a tach up should be fun. For once in my smaller country we get a tank colour choice, 24's get orange or a nice mid blue. 23's had a green.
Those pads on the side of the gas tank are Honda's version of the 'thigh master'. Just messing with you, you're probably not even old enough to know what the Suzanne Somers thigh master was.
The Triumph wins in the looks department for me, but they are pretty comparable. I'll be interested to see how they match up when it comes to the feel of the ride and the pricing
I think the triumph is made from Bajaj Indian manufacturing plant so I’d be fairly concerned with the quality of materials. They usually just make rickshaws. I’m going with Honda. More power, better reliability, less engine heat in stop and go traffic, smoother engine.
One of the few bikes I’m considering. I’m 74. Those old CL’s were called “street scramblers”. They were known for upswept pipes to clear obstructions and weren’t really for serious off road riding. Not until the DT250 Yamaha were the Japanese into real off road bikes. This one is a compromise like the old CL’s with the addition of complicated bits underneath to satisfy the Government rules. 😊if you want a true on-off road bike they are available, usually with a small displacement engine for weight considerations.
it also has a bigger oil pan. i have taken mine offroad and it did just fine but in the whoops and rough i had to be easy because it did scrub but it made it
It's a plain CL-500 in my country and I'm buying a new one because the specs and price are good and, importantly, useful tests like this one are around that fill in the gaps. Like the seat which doesn't look that comfortable because it's not shaped but apparently is.
all well and good. i still prefer my ORANGE Rebel (2019)500. i added risers, floor boards, saddle bags, windshield. it is still fun to ride, i am 5' 6'' and flat foot the bike. and the 500 cc protect me from tickets. one thing i wish, that Honda would make a bigger gas tank for my 2019. for the price of that bike brand new, doesn't get any better. for a new rider, it's perfect.
This makes more sence for most people. Ive got a '22 Reb 500 for an extra bike. The Reb 500 is awful if you're over 5'5"... Now if they'd make an early '70s style CB500 I'd be getting one.
This will be fine offroad. Scramblers were originally streetbikes that were MODIFIED to travel offroad. So...modify it to suit your riding. Even a DR-Z400S doesn't come with knobbies. The SCL500 just isn't going to be a dualsport like a CRF450L. Swap the exhaust, install a skidplate, spoon on some DOT knobbies, and pull the ABS fuse or install a simple switch. Upgrade the suspension, if you want to. This isn't rocket surgery.
@@ivan5604The DR-Z400SM is the supermoto version. For DR-Z400s, the S is the STREET-legal version. The E is the ELECTRIC-start dirtbike version. The K is the KICK-start dirtbike version. Some countries have received street-legal dirtbike versions, but in the USA, the S and SM are the only ones that are sold as street-legal from the factory. The S comes with dualsport tires. Depending on the terrain, knobbies can make an S considerably more capable off-pavement.
I bought one today, its my 50th motorcycle, fuel system is snatchy just off idle, forks are so soft, its borderline dangerous. Its needs stronger springs and better valving. The shift lever is too short for my size 11 shoes. Race tech will make a bundle off this bike.
@@johnniewalker7628 I have bought windshields for many bikes, and in my experience, the most satisfaction comes from $80 to $150 shield that clamp onto the bars. As long as you can adjust them to go as high as your nose, you won't get buffeting.
@@noot7109 Honda has both speed limiters and rev limiters on practically everything. If I hit 80 on it, that means it could go faster, but Honda won't let you hurt the engine by doing it. The NC700X is limited to 88mph. The Fury to 95 of I recall. I never got my Goldwing over 110.
Got mine to 95mph indicated after the first service, so 80 should be good, not a bike to buy for top speed or great acceleration though and I generally avoid the Highway/Motorway just from a boredom perspective.
@@noot7109 i have ridden my 2019 Rebel 500 to Cedar Key, and Daytona, doing 80 plus, mostly 70/75 for extended times, never a problem. it hums, wants to go faster.
