Once I turned up into the canyons, those earlier lessons about living higher in the rev range came in handy almost immediately. Any uphill grades add another layer of battle for the little motor, and I found myself occasionally leaning forward subliminally to try to help us scoot up the road. But even while unconsciously urging the CB500X along, I still felt much more upright in classic ADV fashion—carving through corners without quite as much counterbalancing took a moment of adjustment, too.
I’d call riding a bike with this kind of upright position good practice, but the truth is that most commuter and cruiser riders do so without a second thought. It’s just my obsession with sportier bikes (and carbon-fiber bicycles) that makes for a bit of a transition period, since I only get to ride what the OEMs send, after all. Still, after a few minutes, I eventually glanced back down at the digital gauge and discovered that I had been holding surprisingly high and steady speeds through corners. But that’s exactly the kind of confidence that a lightweight bike can inspire, as opposed to bigger, bulkier ADV options with more power, more complex suspension, and more storage space for gear.
Meanwhile, downshifting into corners with the satisfying engagement of the shifter and slick action of the clutch lever meant I barely needed to test the Nissin brakes until I did so just for you, dear reader. And I can happily note that the 2022 addition of dual front discs—with ABS that will undoubtedly prove handy in the dirty—do a great job of reigning in those moments when I got a little overexuberant up near that 10,000-RPM redline.
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