Remember the Honda NX series? There was an NX650 adventure bike, an NX250 (one of the coolest quarter-liters ever) and probably several other overseas-market bikes that never made it to Canada. Well, the NX name is back for 2024, and Honda is putting it on a familiar platform. The CB500X is now called the Honda NX500.
There’s more than a name change going on here. The engine itself still has 471 cc capacity and is A2-compliant for Euro buyers, with max horsepower sitting at the 47-pony mark, with 32 lb-ft of torque. However, thanks to an ECU update, Honda says the bike will now feel more powerful at lower rpm. It’s the old “same power but lower in the rev range” marketing spiel, and you know what, it works for most riders.
Honda also made its selectable traction control system standard for 2024; previously, it was unavailable on the CB500X.
The wheels are updated, cutting 1.5 kg by going to a lighter five-spoke aluminum design (Honda kept a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear for the NX). Along with this loss of unsprung weight, Honda found some other places to lighten things up, and the bike is down about 3 kg overall. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s better than adding weight, and shaving some poundage off the wheels is probably a particularly noticeable change.
Honda says it updated the Showa SFF-BP fork settings to match the new weight and wheels, but generally speaking, it’s mostly unchanged since last year.
There’s also a new set of brakes, with two-piston calipers up front instead of the older four-piston brake calipers. Honda added a new LED headlight, and a five-inch TFT screen which connects to the company’s proprietary RoadSync app. It’s the same TFT that Honda used on the Transalp for 2024, and comes with multiple screen layout choices. It’s controlled by a backlit four-way toggle switch.
Honda’s Canadian website does not show the NX500 yet, but we do expect it sometime in 2024.
