Honda NX500

Price: The NX500 is Honda’s middleweight adventure tourer priced at Rs 7.44 lakh. It focuses on comfort, refinement and everyday practicality.

Design: The NX500 gets a sharp ADV-inspired design with muscular body panels, a tall windscreen, compact LED headlamp and an upright riding posture. The overall styling looks premium yet quite approachable, making it suitable for both touring enthusiasts and riders upgrading from smaller motorcycles.

Features: Features include a 5-inch TFT display, Bluetooth connectivity via Honda RoadSync, switchable traction control and full LED lighting.

Engine: Powering the bike is a 471cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine producing around 47.5PS and 43Nm, paired to a six-speed gearbox. The engine is known for its smooth and refined nature, offering relaxed highway cruising along with easy city rideability. Honda has also introduced its new E-Clutch technology on the NX500. The system automatically manages clutch operation during starts, stops and gear shifts, allowing riders to shift gears without using the clutch lever. However, it still retains the feel of a manual gearbox, as riders can use the clutch manually whenever they want. This should make the NX500 a lot easier to ride in the city, or even while touring.

Suspension, Brakes & Other Details: The NX500 gets a steel frame, along with Showa 41mm USD fork, and a preload-adjustable rear monoshock. It rides on a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear alloy wheel setup with dual-purpose tyres, offering a good balance between touring and light off-road ability. Braking is handled by dual 296mm front and a 240mm rear disc brake setup with dual-channel ABS.

Rivals: Its main rivals are the BMW F 450 GS and the Benelli TRK 502, while other single-cylinder rivals include the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, and the KTM 390 Adventure S.