THE MIDDLE CHILD

I’ve spent a fair bit of time on Benelli’s TRK 502X and came away somewhat surprised to find that the thing I liked the most was the hard-working little engine. I didn’t exactly pick that as something that would spin my beanie. I’m not a capacity snob but 500cc on an adventure bike feels very different to the more familiar 500cc on an enduro bike, and I thought I might be a little underwhelmed or, even worse, bored.

Honda’s CB500X is perhaps even a little more conservative in its presentation than the TRK or its Honda brethren. It looks like they picked an Africa Twin before it was ripe and it certainly isn’t as ostentatious as the CRF250 Rally.