Passing the bike test used to be simple. On my 16th birthday I did the CBT and then spent a year falling off my Suzuki TS ER50 (during which time I once hit a dizzying 45mph, downhill) before taking my full licence test on my 17th birthday on an 80cc bike I borrowed from a mate. Job done, I could then ride anything I liked, which I did. Crashing my Kawasaki Z250 three days later and breaking my collar bone in the process...
This is as big a bike as you'll get on an A2
While I was young and stupid, a lack of financial resources limited my speed and I learnt the vital skills to staying alive and generally controlling a machine by falling off loads of under-powered crappers. Natural selection I guess - if I got sick of gravel rash then bikes weren't for me but if I could handle the odd bit of pain then by the time I could afford the terrifyingly powerful RD400 I was a fairly competent rider. Although to be fair I crashed this as well a few times. And I also crashed the NC30 that I progressed to afterwards.
School of hard knocks
Anyway, times have changed and in the current climate where accidents aren't allowed to happen the government has dictated learners need to go through a baffling series of tests before they can ride any machine of their choice. The theory is that by limiting the speed, power and weight of a bike for a set number of years, riders will learn better bike control. I suppose in essence that is exactly what I did, courtesy of Little Chef wages rather than complicated licencing laws.
Parallel twin is smooth but runs out of puff
While some may say the new licencing laws are killing off motorcycling, I'm not convinced as there is a whole new range of bikes appearing to cater for A2 licence holders. Generally built in China, India or Thailand to keep costs low, bikes such as the Honda CB500 range,
KTM Duke 390
, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the like are cheap, frugal and good looking machines that all deliver less than the required 35Kw/47.6hp. They may not be as sexy as the NC30s I lusted after when I was 19, but times have changed. But are they fun to ride and, above all, is an A2 licence compliant bike a viable form of day to day transport? PH2 borrowed a CB500FA for a week to see what life on a restricted licence was like...
Life on an A2 bike
Picking up the CB from Honda's HQ near Heathrow I was pleasantly surprised. It's not a bad looking bike at all and the quality of finish appears pretty solid. With a price tag of £4,650 the Honda is well priced comes with a fuel gauge (you would be amazed how many budget and non-budget bikes lack this), ABS, pillion grab rails and an LCD display as standard. The switchgear looks a bit chunky in its styling, but that's no bad thing as it is easy to operate with a gloved hand. Not a bad start. How would it cope with the M25?
Having ridden down on my R1, I was expecting the CB to feel a touch slow on the journey home. Accelerating up the slip road I was pretty impressed by the CB's parallel twin engine, it burbled (the exhaust note is very quiet) up to an indicated 70mph fairly rapidly and as I joined the traffic the speedo was showing ... a little bit more. When you are riding a slow bike joining fast moving traffic it is far safer to accelerate into a gap than hang back and try and join the flow. The CB's 46hp is certainly enough power to zip into a gap. However once on the move it did trail off.
Honda's got its mucking controls fuddled
When up to speed the CB hits a bit of a wall at just beyond the legal limit. You can open the throttle further but there isn't much more to go. You have a little in hand when it comes to accelerating past traffic, however as nearly everyone drives at 80mph anyway it means you are just about at the limit of your velocity when in the outside lane. Having completed the 120 miles of M25 and A1 I did feel like I was on the limit of the bike's straight line performance the whole time.
But with no fairing about 70-ish mph is a far more sensible, and comfortable with the only real irritation being the swap in position of horn and indicator buttons. Meaning you indicate at cars in irritation and hoot every time you change lane...
Having thrashed the hell out of the motor for over 140 miles, the fuel gauge still showed several bars but I decided to top it up anyway. It took just 11 litres of fuel, meaning I averaged around 70mpg - an impressive figure for flat-out motorway miles.
Digital dash includes a fuel gauge - the decadence!
I blatted about on the CB for the next week, popping into town and generally using it as cheap transport. The fuel economy remained in the 70mpg area and the handling was impressive. The Honda is a light bike to flick through congestion and the clutch is nice and progressive. The seating position is comfortable for short hops and the Honda doesn't feel too much like a toy and has a 'big bike' feel about it. My only real irritation was the switchgear as I kept hooting the horn rather than indicating, but overall I was impressed.
Function rather than fun
There is nothing at all wrong with the CB500FA. The top speed is excellent, the handling assured and the economy amazing. But. I used to be excited when I took out the NC30 or RD but the CB fails to blow my skirt up. It is functional transport that can be run on a budget, just not very exciting. Maybe I've become spoiled by faster machinery but if you want to inspire future generations into taking up two wheels they need something that provides the kind of buzz that made me fall for motorcycles all those years ago. Does the CB provide this? Not really. The identical but faired CBR500 is better but it is still a bit of a sheep in wolf's clothing. But is this really a bad thing? There are plenty of countries all over the world that have demonstrated that cheap motoring is the way forward, and if this is the case then the CB500FA can't be knocked.
Honda CB500FA
Engine: 471cc parallel twin
Power: 46hp@8,500rpm (claimed)
Torque: 32lb ft@7,000rpm (claimed)
Top speed: 100mph (est)
Weight: 192kg (wet)
MPG: 70
Price: £4,650