Been offered a Honda CB500F - bargain or not?

[veill1]

I think ride4kicks has reviewed the shark helmet you talk about in one of his video's

Frank

[article22]

Any one has links to decent online places which sell the better quality helmets?

I went around all the local ones and the stock levels are terrible now!

[LASportsNut]

Just now, article22 said:

Any one has links to decent online places which sell the better quality helmets?

I went around all the local ones and the stock levels are terrible now!

Yes, I had the same problem.

I was in Phuket and Pattaya and no one had helmets around the entertainment areas.

[onehunglo]

33 minutes ago, article22 said:

Any one has links to decent online places which sell the better quality helmets?

I went around all the local ones and the stock levels are terrible now!

 

32 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

Yes, I had the same problem.

I was in Phuket and Pattaya and no one had helmets around the entertainment areas.

 Contact Details :- +66 (2) 5088471. online store   Bangkok & Chang Mai    Ubuy.co.th.  Contact Details :- +66 (2) 5088471.   that's for the Shoei range ... same as Mark Marques uses , his race replica is just under 37,000baht but there are some cheaper ones . when buying a lid remember a TIGHT FIT  is best as it doesn't move on your head

[onehunglo]

41 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

Yes, I had the same problem.

I was in Phuket and Pattaya and no one had helmets around the entertainment areas.

 

43 minutes ago, article22 said:

Any one has links to decent online places which sell the better quality helmets?

I went around all the local ones and the stock levels are terrible now!

บริษัท : บริษัท ก้าวที่ดี จำกัด    afraid i can't read thai so don't know where their shop is , guess Bangkok .... for Shark Helmets 

เบอร์โทร : 0 8 3227 6227

Email : [email protected]

Edited January 27, 2022 by onehunglo

[onehunglo]

in my opinion the off road helmet is good as it gives you a much bigger preforal vision 

I WOULD ADVISE BEST TO GO TO THE STORE AND TRY IT ON BEFORE BUYING

HELMETS AREN'T LIKE A CHICK , WITH HELMETS SIZE DOES MATTER !!  REMEMBER A TIGHT FIT EVEN IF IT'S HARD TO GET ON , it will loosen a bit the more you wear it

Edited January 27, 2022 by onehunglo

[onehunglo]

57 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

Yes, I had the same problem.

I was in Phuket and Pattaya and no one had helmets around the entertainment areas.

 

58 minutes ago, article22 said:

Any one has links to decent online places which sell the better quality helmets?

I went around all the local ones and the stock levels are terrible now!

ข้อมูลร้านค้า

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ไบค์ออนไลน์ไทย
191/52 หมู่บ้านกัสโต้ รามคำแหง ถนนราษฎร์พัฒนา
แขวงสะพานสูง เขตสะพานสูง
10240 กรุงเทพฯ
ไทย

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0983596059

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02-037-2116

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[email protected]

• same again I can't read thai so don't know where exactly they are .... give them a ring   ..... THESE ARE FOR  ..... BELL  HELMETS 

Edited January 27, 2022 by onehunglo

[Garzan]

I bought mine and my wife's Shark helmets from a shop in Bangkok. 

https://www.yourhelmetshop.com/category/10/helmets-หมวกกันน็อค/shark

I agree there's a ton of crap on that bike, and likely cheap crap. Were it me, I'd be working toward bringing it back to stock. The aftermarket exhaust could be a big problem depending on how the cop who stops you is feeling on that particular day. 

Now, I have a 2013 CB500X that I bought in 2014 and still have today. In my bike sell off (I had five at one point), it's the only one I am keeping. It's more than adequate to tour anywhere in Thailand and/or SE Asia. The CB500 series is also not so big that it's a pain in the ass to maneuver around in the city. In the US, a 500cc bike is classed as a beginner bike. Here in Thailand, my entirely biased opinion is that a 500cc bike is an excellent all around do everything bike. Perhaps not the best at everything, but pretty darn good with everything none the less. With stock handlebars, The CB500F has a good upright riding position that I find more comfortable than the leaned over CBR500 riding position. 

My opinion is that 100,000 is a good price, but it never hurts to offer less and see how it goes. In my recent experience selling bikes, I've found that Thais (in general) look at the year for pricing and don't pay much attention to milage where Westerners (in general) look more at milage and not so much at the year. With the three Honda 500 lines, model year is really immaterial, since most years only have minor mechanical and paint scheme changes between years. That bike has been barely broken in. 

I do think taking it to the local Big Wing shop and having it evaluated would not be a bad idea. 

 

[Garzan]

Oh yeah, my preferred helmet is the Shark EVO line of modular helmets. In the road it can be a full face helmet, in town, or stopped at the PTT station for a beverage you can swing up the chin bar. The Shark design is one of the very few modular helmets that carries a safety rating in both open and closed configurations. Most of the modular helmets I looked at before buying the Shark are rated for riding only in the closed position. In the open position they were only rated for sitting still. 🙂

https://www.yourhelmetshop.com/category/320/helmets-หมวกกันน็อค/shark/evo-es

 

[shagwell]

4 hours ago, onehunglo said:

good on you @shagwell , Shark helmets have been around for ages , not a bad helmet , all the good brands eg : Shark , Arai , Nolan , Bell , Shoei , ..... the ones I can think of atm  , they all start at the low price like yours and work their way up , a race replica Arai will cost about 30-45,000baht

it's what they are made of makes them expensive , I have 2 Arai , 1 Shoei , 1 Bell .  I bought a off road Bell titanium 3yrs ago for 20,000baht to race  speedway  sidecars

I have never scrimped on a helmet where it can save your head . you then can go the next level up as well ! the Bell has magnetised cheek pads that remove so as easier to remove helmet after accident

good on you for join the bike brigade , hope your choices are a winner 

regarding your rear tyre on wires s/car , the reason it will wear out first is it takes the drive , 

                                                    cheers and all the best mate

Cheers mate. I'll get the helmet tomorrow, probably the open face Shark (x-drak) which seems to get pretty good right-ups. Not as safe as a full face but as open face helmets go it seems to stack up pretty well. Most of the top brands seem to be thin on the ground in Pattaya, looks like a lot more choice in Bangkok.

Eventually I'd like to get a reasonably high end full face helmet as well then maybe use the open face around town and the full face on longer trips where I'd be opening the throttle a bit more, some of the Arai helmets look stunning but I can't stretch to spending that much at the moment.

Your comment on rear tyre wear makes perfect sense, never thought of that!

[shagwell]

55 minutes ago, Garzan said:

I bought mine and my wife's Shark helmets from a shop in Bangkok. 

https://www.yourhelmetshop.com/category/10/helmets-หมวกกันน็อค/shark

I agree there's a ton of crap on that bike, and likely cheap crap. Were it me, I'd be working toward bringing it back to stock. The aftermarket exhaust could be a big problem depending on how the cop who stops you is feeling on that particular day. 

Now, I have a 2013 CB500X that I bought in 2014 and still have today. In my bike sell off (I had five at one point), it's the only one I am keeping. It's more than adequate to tour anywhere in Thailand and/or SE Asia. The CB500 series is also not so big that it's a pain in the ass to maneuver around in the city. In the US, a 500cc bike is classed as a beginner bike. Here in Thailand, my entirely biased opinion is that a 500cc bike is an excellent all around do everything bike. Perhaps not the best at everything, but pretty darn good with everything none the less. With stock handlebars, The CB500F has a good upright riding position that I find more comfortable than the leaned over CBR500 riding position. 

My opinion is that 100,000 is a good price, but it never hurts to offer less and see how it goes. In my recent experience selling bikes, I've found that Thais (in general) look at the year for pricing and don't pay much attention to milage where Westerners (in general) look more at milage and not so much at the year. With the three Honda 500 lines, model year is really immaterial, since most years only have minor mechanical and paint scheme changes between years. That bike has been barely broken in. 

I do think taking it to the local Big Wing shop and having it evaluated would not be a bad idea. 

 

Reagrding the 500 being a beginners bike, funnily enough I was talking to a Brit in Newbar a couple of nights ago who until recently ran a Honda dealership in the UK for many years. His opinion was very much the same as yours in that the Honda 500 series are great all-round bikes and are used for training beginners there. Funny how times change -  back in my youth anything that size was definitely not considered beginner level though I guess back then bikes were probably heavier and possibly more powerful (for a similar engine size) before all the emission laws.

At my age I definitely wouldn't want one of the sportier bikes, my back couldn't take leaning over the tank for to long. Even when I was younger my big bikes were more sit-upright styles, my mates used to go roaring off into the distance on their Yamaha RD350's or large Kawasaki 2-strokes whereas I would tootle along at my own pace on my 4-stroke thumpers preferring to stay in my comfort zone.

47 minutes ago, Garzan said:

Oh yeah, my preferred helmet is the Shark EVO line of modular helmets. In the road it can be a full face helmet, in town, or stopped at the PTT station for a beverage you can swing up the chin bar. The Shark design is one of the very few modular helmets that carries a safety rating in both open and closed configurations. Most of the modular helmets I looked at before buying the Shark are rated for riding only in the closed position. In the open position they were only rated for sitting still. 🙂

https://www.yourhelmetshop.com/category/320/helmets-หมวกกันน็อค/shark/evo-es

 

The Shark Evo modular helmets look interesting, didn't spot them in the shop yesterday but I'll take another look. I think they are poly carbonate shells whereas the open face I was looking at was fiberglass, but I can understand the safety advantage with modular type.

[onehunglo]

@shagwell, how did you end up with your bike ? all good . works ok ? cheers

[shagwell]

12 hours ago, onehunglo said:

@shagwell, how did you end up with your bike ? all good . works ok ? cheers

Yeah pretty good, got the bike for 95k in the end. Put it in for a service to get everything checked and oils etc replaced straight away, also managed to pick up a new OEM silencer from the dealer at half price as someone had swapped the OEM silencer out on another bike as soon as he bought it.

After pottering around Pattaya and surrounding area for a few weeks I took a run up to Udon Thani and the Lao border to see a mate up there. Split the journey both ways over 2 days, with the longest day being around 400 miles. I did have one of the fork seals leaking oil quite badly, ended up replacing the oil while in Udon then replacing oil and seals once back in Pattaya. Apart from that no problems at all.

I ended up selling the bike again around 3 months later as I have now moved to the Philippines since they opened up their borders. Off to a big bike show in Manila tomorrow to try and pick a new bike

[article22]

How are you finding PHL now? Been looking to go back to Cebu.

Can you easily buy a big bike there?

Interested to see what you find at the bike show... take some photos please!

[onehunglo]

2 hours ago, shagwell said:

Off to a big bike show in Manila tomorrow to try and pick a new bike

I've been looking at a Honda CB 500 X  it's a ADV (off road / tourer ) . a lot lighter than others eg YAMMIE Tenneree 700 , Honda AFRICA Twin , Triumph Tiger 900 , BMW GS 850 . handles the REAL rough stuff just like the others . a very versatile bike same as the RR and F like you had , The other factor is it's around half the others price 2022 $10,500 AU (NEW) . 

buy a 2nd hand one for around $4,000 AU then upgrade the suspension and put wire wheels on set up for tubeless tyres , crash bars ect , so buying the upgrades could cost around $5,000AU but you have a bike that is as comfortable off-road as on the highway

saw one on baht&sold for 100,000baht with all the extras I was looking for except the wire wheels ( 3,000 AU ) a excellent buy , I couldn't do anything as still in Aussie / I'll no doubt be moving over in a few yrs time 

all the best in what your doing and hope you get another good one

 

[shagwell]

4 hours ago, onehunglo said:

I've been looking at a Honda CB 500 X  it's a ADV (off road / tourer ) . a lot lighter than others eg YAMMIE Tenneree 700 , Honda AFRICA Twin , Triumph Tiger 900 , BMW GS 850 . handles the REAL rough stuff just like the others . a very versatile bike same as the RR and F like you had , The other factor is it's around half the others price 2022 $10,500 AU (NEW) . 

buy a 2nd hand one for around $4,000 AU then upgrade the suspension and put wire wheels on set up for tubeless tyres , crash bars ect , so buying the upgrades could cost around $5,000AU but you have a bike that is as comfortable off-road as on the highway

saw one on baht&sold for 100,000baht with all the extras I was looking for except the wire wheels ( 3,000 AU ) a excellent buy , I couldn't do anything as still in Aussie / I'll no doubt be moving over in a few yrs time 

all the best in what your doing and hope you get another good one

 

I agree the CB 500X is a lovely bike and good value for money, I saw one all kitted out with panniers etc and it looks superb. My problem is I am somewhat vertically challenged so the seat height on that one is bit high for me (similar to most adventure bikes except the BMW 750GS and Tiger 900 low versions), I could probably get around it by fitting a suspension lowering kit and shaving the seat foam a bit but then I might lose comfort and suspension travel.

Been looking at the 750GS and also a couple of the retro Triumphs but no stock in the Philippines at the moment. Even tempted to go for the Royal Enfield Meteor for now, it's only 350cc and has a top speed of 70mph but will sit there all day long and people have toured on it, it's also cheap as chips and has a very low seat height. If I'm honest I rarely went above 70mph while I had the Honda anyway, maybe 80mph on some of the highways going up to Udon but no faster than that. A mate put me on to motojitsu's YouTube channel and I now realise how much I've forgotten about riding a bike years ago and how much I'm doing wrong now. Thinking it might make more sense to relearn bike skills on a smaller bike first, and I keep seeing the expression "It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow.

[shagwell]

5 hours ago, article22 said:

How are you finding PHL now? Been looking to go back to Cebu.

Can you easily buy a big bike there?

Interested to see what you find at the bike show... take some photos please!

Regards buying a big bike, in Angeles at least there are hardly any big bike dealers, they have BMW, Ducati and Kawasaki but no Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha or anything else, quiet surprising considering how big the Angeles/San Fernando area actually is. Even the dealers in Manila are out of stock of a lot of their bikes and either can't or are unwilling to say when they will receive new stock.

There is also the problem of getting a Philippine licence over here if you are on an extended tourist visa. You can stay for up to 3 years but to get a licence - or in my case 'convert' my foreign licence there are a number of other hoops to jump through... you need to have been in the country at least a month and also have a minimum of 6 month visa extension. Doesn't help that my UK licence expires next month so I need to get a new UK licence first otherwise my Philippine licence will also expire at the same time. I already have an ACR card (Alien Certificate of Registration) which you also can't get until you have been in Phils for 3 months. You can however ride/drive on your foreign licence for the first 3 months in country.

As far as how Phils is, I have only been in Angeles since I got back but things are relatively back to normal here except wearing a face mask is still a thing. It's pretty easy to get in now as long as you are vaccinated and have had a booster shot (without a booster you have to take a PCR or rapid test before you fly).

I'll try to remember to add some pics here from the bike show.

[billybob69]

On 27/07/2022 at 13:43, shagwell said:

I agree the CB 500X is a lovely bike and good value for money, I saw one all kitted out with panniers etc and it looks superb. My problem is I am somewhat vertically challenged so the seat height on that one is bit high for me (similar to most adventure bikes except the BMW 750GS and Tiger 900 low versions), I could probably get around it by fitting a suspension lowering kit and shaving the seat foam a bit but then I might lose comfort and suspension travel.

Been looking at the 750GS and also a couple of the retro Triumphs but no stock in the Philippines at the moment. Even tempted to go for the Royal Enfield Meteor for now, it's only 350cc and has a top speed of 70mph but will sit there all day long and people have toured on it, it's also cheap as chips and has a very low seat height. If I'm honest I rarely went above 70mph while I had the Honda anyway, maybe 80mph on some of the highways going up to Udon but no faster than that. 

The earlier versions (2013 - 2018) of the CB500X are slightly lower as they had a 17" front and rear. There is so much snobbery around ADV bikes in the UK, so smaller cc ADV like the CB500X and G650GS can be picked up for good money. BMW do lowered ADV bikes straight out of the factory. This is my 'factory lowered' BMW G650GS.
Is the Royal Enfield Himalayan available in PI? It has a loyal band of followers in the UK.

Otherwise their loads of mods that can be done to the CRF250L to lower it (lowering link, forks through stantions, lowered seat). 

Edited July 30, 2022 by billybob69
Spelling

[shagwell]

17 hours ago, billybob69 said:

The earlier versions (2013 - 2018) of the CB500X are slightly lower as they had a 17" front and rear. There is so much snobbery around ADV bikes in the UK, so smaller cc ADV like the CB500X and G650GS can be picked up for good money. BMW do lowered ADV bikes straight out of the factory. This is my 'factory lowered' BMW G650GS.
Is the Royal Enfield Himalayan available in PI? It has a loyal band of followers in the UK.

Otherwise their loads of mods that can be done to the CRF250L to lower it (lowering link, forks through stantions, lowered seat). 

Interesting to know that earlier versions of the CB500x were lower, I refuse to buy a used bike here in Phils though as they all seem to go for stupid money as do cars. An example - there's a 4 year old CB500x with 26k on the clock advertised for 320k php, they are only 380k new, another one similar age with admittedly plenty of extras fitted is asking 430k - 50k more than they are new.

Went to the motorbike show in Manila a couple of days ago, Royal Enfield had a stand and yes they do sell the Himalaya but wasn't that keen on it. Sat on the Meteor and it's a nice bike wi8th a very low seat height, would be perfect riding around Angeles and short trips but I think I would regret buying it as my only mode of transport. If I could afford 2 bikes I'd probably get one as my second bike. 

Visited the Triumph stand and sat on the T120, very tempted and almost bought it, but they are bloody expensive over here, equivalent of £13500, a 2k uplift on UK prices, and thats before I spend extra on racks, panniers, centre-stand and any custom bits I might want. After reading reviews I think it is also more bike than I need as I would very rarely be doing highway riding, a lot of riding around town with the occasional trip sticking to twistys as much as possible. I've decided to wait until they've got the new Street Twin (now the Speed Twin 900) back in stock which should be next month, I can add all the extras I want with the money I'll save over the T120.

BMW are also supposed to be getting the GS750 low back in stock next month which is a similar price to the Street Twin over here. I've sat on the GS1250 and it's a beast, heavy and extremely wide, if the GS750 seems more manageable I might be tempted with that one as well. Pretty sure I'll be having either the Street Twin or the GS750, might come down to who gets stock first. Yours looks nice by the way.

Kawasaki and CF Moto both had a few bikes that fit me well, both considerably cheaper than BMW or Triumph, but non that jumped out at me. I know if I got one of those I'd get buyers remorse and end up wishing I'd spent a bit more on a bike I really want.

Some pics from the bike show below, I'll stick some more up later.

[Garzan]

5 hours ago, shagwell said:

An example - there's a 4 year old CB500x with 26k on the clock advertised for 320k php, they are only 380k new, another one similar age with admittedly plenty of extras fitted is asking 430k - 50k more than they are new.

That's a big part of why I figure I'll never sell my CB500x. I've got over 100k baht of extras on it, and could never get anything close to what I've got into it, out of it. It's a really fine bike though. I'd recommend the model in any of the years as a good SEA all arounder.