Honda CB500 Hornet (2023 – ) review

For all the doom and gloom about motorcycling’s aging demographic and failure to capture the hearts of a younger generation the sub-500cc category is booming, and the choice for those on a restricted A2 licence looking for bikes under 47 horsepower bigger than ever. The latest generation of punchy singles like the Triumph Speed 400 and Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 can take some of the credit for that bu,t while on-paper performance looks similar, the CB500 Hornet's parallel-twin gives it a degree more gravitas and big bike feel. Based on the previous CB500F, it uses Honda’s 180-degree crank 471cc motor in a conventional steel frame with twin front discs, Showa upside-down forks and a linkage-driven rear shock. Pretty fancy stuff for a ‘small’ machine, and the perfect introduction to features you may find down the line as you trade up. The Hornet branding – and subtle restyle – makes sense and the CB500 version can hold its head high as the first step on the ladder now taking in the CB750 and CB1000 versions and offering a natural progression for riders working their way up the power rankings.

Like all the bikes in the Hornet range the CB500 strikes a neat balance between sportiness and all-day comfort, with a decent reach for a ‘small’ bike so even taller riders can feel they’re on a full-size machine while still feeling confidence-inspiring for those graduating from a 125 or 400cc single. A slim frame helps, and means you can get your feet down easily while sensibly sized bars and a sense of chuckability are as welcome in the twisties as they are around town.

It’s a sporty naked, so let’s be realistic in ambitions for protection from wind, rain and road muck. Indeed, commuting on some winter roads on the CB500 left us absolutely filthy and if you have ambitions to ride all year round you may be better off with the NX500 adventure bike built on the same foundations. You can at least get a Comfort Pack with heated grips included, though these weren’t the most powerful we’ve tried and, even with these and decent gloves, our hands were getting a bit chilly on colder days.

Twin discs on the front end of a sub-500cc bike are a rare sight and offer both confidence inspiring power and big bike looks so you can park up at the tea stop without fear of looking like a total noob as you might on some equivalent A2 bikes. The 180-degree 471cc twin, meanwhile, has a surprisingly rorty exhaust note for an otherwise relatively sensible pants Honda and picks up well. Short gearing helps the sense of urgency, and there’s a noticeable kick at around 4,000rpm to put a grin on your face and help with overtaking. 47 horsepower can only get you so far, though, and beyond motorway speeds things tail off somewhat. But credit to Honda for making the performance accessible where it counts, and for new riders on an A2 licence the CB500 Hornet delivers thrills without the snatchiness of the more powerful CB750 and the somewhat binary throttle response of its larger engine.

The CB500 Hornet is a little pricier than some other bikes you may be considering but you see where that money has gone in the aforementioned twin front brakes, upside-down Showa forks and Pro-Link driven rear shock. This all might be considered overkill given it’s only got 47 horsepower but gives you a sense of big bike limits at much safer speeds, which is ideal for the target audience. And it’s fun to ride, the 188kg kerbweight making it nicely agile and easy to throw around. True, your only adjustment for the suspension is rear preload but that’s fine for this level of bike and it’s all proven kit used on a huge number of middleweight rivals, with a well-judged balance of sportiness and comfort and the more sophisticated feel of that Pro-Link back end. While still sharp at the front end it’s perhaps just a tad less pointy than its bigger brothers, which is probably more appropriate for the target audience and the perfect machine for honing your skills at a relatively safe pace.

You’ll be reaping the benefits of that smaller engine in terms of running costs, both in insurance (an important consideration for the rookies and younger riders the bike is aimed at) and fuel. Indeed, we saw well over 220 miles on a full tank without the reserve light coming on, which will be good news for commuters. True, the CB500 Hornet is at the expensive end of the spectrum for A2 bikes in terms of purchase price. But you get what you pay for in the quality of the engine, brakes, suspension and overall build.

It’s a Honda! As such you’d hope reliability will be a given, there being the added reassurance the 471cc twin at the heart of the CB500 Hornet has been around a while and used across a wide range of bikes, so is well proven.

Although it encourages a more press-on riding style than some of the other bikes with the same engine the CB500 Hornet is a light bike with relatively modest power, so should be easy on its components. Service intervals are a sensible 8,000 miles/annually and Honda offers a range of fixed-price service packages for the first three years that can help your budgeting and can carry over to a future owner if you sell within that period.

While clearly based on the 2022 iteration of the CB500F, the CB500 Hornet gains some welcome modernising features as part of its rebranding. These include traction control and a more feature-laden TFT screen with phone connectivity and Honda RoadSync app support in place of the previous basic LCD. Both will likely score well with the younger crowd the bike is aimed at. The quality switchgear is also updated – and now backlit – in another example of the Hornet’s premium, big-bike vibes. Beyond that there are various self-explanatory options bundles to choose from, our test bike including the Comfort Pack with heated grips, a phone charging port under the seat and a centre stand. The latter might not look sexy on a sporty bike of this type like this but is a godsend for regular maintenance like oiling the chain! The Style Pack adds a token fly screen, tank pad, wheel graphics and cowl for the rear pillion seat while the Travel Pack includes a tank bag and rear seat bag. You’ll still have to pack light, though.

Is it better to buy a bike like the CB500 Hornet that’s been built to very limit of what you can ride on an A2 licence? Or go for a bigger one like the CB750 and ride it with a restricted output for your ‘probationary’ period before opening it up to full power as your licence permits? A tough call, and probably dependent on whether you intend cash it in at the end of the PCP and use that as your opportunity to trade up. In isolation, meanwhile, the CB500 Hornet is Honda doing what it does best, with its mix of sportiness and typically thorough engineering with no sense costs or specification have been cut just because it’s a smaller machine. For that combination of small bike costs and big bike fun it’s a great choice, and a worthy entry point to the wider Hornet family.