2017 Honda Rebel 500 First Ride Review at RevZilla.com
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00:00Spurgeon here with RevZilla, and I am back in sunny Southern California once again, but
00:13this time I'm here with Honda for the launch of the Rebel 300 and 500 motorcycles, and
00:18in front of me, you're going to see a new Rebel 300.
00:21But this is not the bike that I'm going to focus on in this first ride review, and that's
00:24because we have a surprise for you.
00:26At the end of the day, I'm heading to the airport, and I'm picking up the big guy.
00:29That's right, Lemlem is flying out, and together we've secured a Rebel 250 and a Rebel 300,
00:34and we're going to put them side-by-side, two big guys on two little bikes.
00:39And while I'm getting ready to roll with that, make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube so
00:42you can keep up with that larger form of content once it rolls out.
00:45As for me, I'm ready to take you out for a ride in the Rebel 500 through the streets
00:49of Los Angeles.
00:59So here we are.
01:07We are on the mean streets of Malibu, and Honda has set us free.
01:11They said, go out, ride the bike, just make sure you meet back up with us at lunch.
01:15So I'm out here, and I'm riding some of my favorite roads from when I used to live out
01:19here in California, and really what I want to do is just have a conversation with you
01:23about what you can expect as a difference between the Rebel 300 and the Rebel 500 motorcycles,
01:29and really when we talk about the differences, there's only two differences that we're looking
01:32at here, and that is going to be engine and weight, because everything else is pretty
01:37much the exact same between these two bikes.
01:39Now before we jump into those differences, quick note for the ergonomics on this, there's
01:42a noticeable difference between the old 250 and then hopping on a 300 and a 500.
01:47I feel like I'm much more upright, I feel like I have much more control of the bike,
01:50I really like the mid controls on this versus the controls on the old Rebel 250, and for
01:56new riders, this is going to be something that makes you feel like you're more in control
02:00of the bike itself.
02:01Now I still have all the creature comforts of the old bike, and what I mean by that is
02:07the easy reach to the ground.
02:08I was talking to one of our co-workers that is actually a Rebel aficionado, and she was
02:13concerned that it was going to be too tall.
02:14Now the seat height on this is just around 27 inches, still a very easy reach to the
02:18ground if you're a shorter rider.
02:19Now if you're a taller rider like myself at 6'3", I do feel like I'm a little bit cramped
02:23up on this.
02:24Personally, I don't mind smaller motorcycles, but I'm going to say that if you're over 6'0",
02:29it is something to note.
02:30Now the engines between these two bikes are not new engines for Honda.
02:34These are going to be tried and true engines within their lineup.
02:36I think Honda has something like 10 motorcycles that are sub 500cc's, and that's not including
02:41their dirt bikes.
02:42So it's extremely evident that Honda is giving us a push to attract new riders into the fold,
02:48and I think they deserve a huge pat on the back for that.
02:50If you're a new rider out there, if you're a rider considering getting a motorcycle as
02:55you're watching this, do it!
02:56Come!
02:57Join us!
02:58It is a ton of fun.
02:59Now between these two bikes, 300 and 500, both bikes are going to be the same size,
03:03same fit, it's how much power are you looking for.
03:05So that 300 is going to be a single cylinder, 286cc engine, and then you bump up to the
03:12500, which is going to be a 471cc parallel twin.
03:15Now who cares about the cc's?
03:18Really what you're looking at is, when I got in between these two bikes and I hopped on
03:21the 500, it's honestly, it's night and day.
03:24So the 300 was buzzy, it definitely felt a little bit more strung out at highway speeds,
03:31and it just didn't have the oomph that I was really kind of hoping for.
03:35I think for new riders, it'll be plenty, but if you're a larger rider, like myself, or
03:40maybe you're looking at getting into a second motorcycle, you're getting more power with
03:43the Rebel 500.
03:44Now how much more power?
03:46The engineers wouldn't give us an exact number, but they gave us a roundabout.
03:49So with the smaller bike, you're getting somewhere around 25, 26 horsepower, and then when you
03:53get up into the larger Rebel 500, you're getting up into 45, 46 horsepower.
03:58That's extremely notable, that's like almost double the amount of power between these two
04:02bikes, and with the parallel twin, you're getting a much smoother experience too.
04:06So not only do you feel like you have more oomph, you know, hitting you, but the experience
04:11itself on highway speeds, it's just a much more capable machine, but with that extra
04:16power comes more weight.
04:19So you're looking at almost 44 pounds of increased weight when you get up into the 500 over the
04:24300, and I think the 300 curb weight is somewhere around 370 pounds, and this is going to come
04:29in around 415, again, depending on whether or not you're going with the ABS versions
04:34of these particular motorcycles.
04:36You're also going to get an increase in price.
04:38You're looking at around $6,000 for this one versus $4,400 for the small one, but for
04:43those of you out there that are concerned about the increase in weight, honestly, I'm
04:46here to tell you, it doesn't matter.
04:48If this was a review on a brand new sport bike, we're talking about a 40-pound difference
04:51in weight, absolutely, 100%, big deal.
04:54Here, not an issue whatsoever, but I want to go play around with this bike a little
04:58bit more, so I'm going to meet back up with you all at the lunch spot, but for me right
05:02now, I've got a few hours to kill with the new Rebel 500.
05:09So, my time here with the Rebel 500 has come to an end, and really what I've learned is
05:20this is a more appropriate entry-level machine for Spurgeon-sized riders.
05:24Just because you're starting out doesn't mean that you need a bigger bike in size.
05:28You might just need a little bit more oomph to get your larger load down the highway,
05:31but keep in mind, that extra bit of displacement doesn't come free.
05:35You're looking at around a $1,600 premium over top of the Rebel 300.
05:39This bike, at its base price, is going to come in around the $6,000 price point.
05:44What that gives you, though, is nearly double the power you can expect from the Rebel 300.
05:47But I don't want to get too far into the Rebel 300.
05:50At this point in time, if you want to check out more info on the Rebel 500, head over
05:54to Common Tread, where you can read my first ride review of this motorcycle, but really,
05:58you want to make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube, because you do not want to miss
06:01the antics that are coming down the road, where Lem Lem and I take a Rebel 250, throw
06:05it side-by-side against a Rebel 300, and we hit the highway.
06:09Speaking of which, I have a large bearded man that I need to go pick up at the airport
06:12right now.
06:13I want to thank you for joining us today for this first ride of the Rebel 500.
06:16I'm Spurge, enjoy the ride.