IT IS THE FIRST WARM AND SUNNY weekend of the year and the motorcyclists are out in a large number. The roads near one popular bikers’ café, in particular, are aswarm with machines of all kinds, some of whose riders wave a brief greeting as they flash past travelling in the opposite direction.
Most riders probably do not recognise the unfaired four-cylinder roadster coming the other way, but those astride Japanese middleweight fours, at least, have plenty of reason to acknowledge the CB500 that I am riding. This bike did not make the impact of Honda’s legendary CB750 but it, too, was a landmark model. It offered four-cylinder motorcycling in a smaller, lighter, less powerful, and cheaper package—and set the format for middleweight multis that continues to this day.
The “500-four” was certainly a hit when it was launched in 1971,, concluded, and praised the Honda’s “virtually vibration-free performance, high cruising speed, spirited acceleration, good handling qualities, and excellent fuel economy”. The testers also commented favourably on the new four’s price, which was considerably lower than that of the CB750.
