Honda’s CB500X has adventure-bike lines, but doesn’t quite have the components necessary to walk the walk – in particular, it lacks the spoked wheels. Rally Raid has the bits you need to fix that problem, though, and soon it will be available in North America.
Giant Loop has announced they’re going to be the exclusive North American distributors for the Rally Raid CB500X Adventure Kit. This package of bolt-on accessories should greatly improve the CB500X’s off-road capacity; it includes a set of spoked wheels, upgraded suspension components (for longer travel) and a different front fender.
Along with the basic kit, buyers will also be able to upgrade their bike with optional accessories such as luggage racks, skidplate and rugged footpegs.
Rally Raid and Giant Loop will have the first upgraded CB500X on display at the 2015 Overland Expo show on May 15-17; after the show, Rally Raid’s Jenny Morgan (an off-road rally racer) will take the bike across the Trans America Trail, to show off the machine’s upgraded capability.
Want more details? We don’t have an MSRP for the kit yet, but you can learn more about the research and development that went into the project at Rally Raid’s website here. They’ve also got information about the project and lots of photos on ADVRider, available here.
Obviously, the kit’s success will depend greatly on pricing. However, it’s encouraging to see deals like this team-up between Rally Raid and Giant Loop happening. For years, there’s been a growing amount of interesting adventure bike equipment being manufactured in Europe that we just don’t see on the North American market; sure, it’s available through the Internet, but often at a prohibitive cost and hassles with Customs. Deals like this really make life much better for the consumer.
As well, it’s great to see Rally Raid include the wire wheels as part of the kit. Too often, machines bearing the adventure bike brand are released to market with cast wheels that keep cost down, but break easily off-road.
We’d like to think CMG has been part of the movement towards emphasizing spoked rims for off-road capability, even on machines that don’t originally come with them, thanks to our V-Strom project. Here’s hoping the manufacturers take notice and start including them as an affordable option on more bikes.
I have the same bike (2016) with the Rally Raid kit and it transforms the bike. It’s an ideal ADV bike now.
Looks nice but I’m sure it wil be $$. I would think the wheel kit should fit the NC750X as well.
Please include Fork Gaiters else a morning on a Mucky Dempster will require a little Fork Seal TLC