When it comes to platform sharing it seems that Honda does it as good as anyone else, especially with its ever-expanding range of midsize parallel-twin models. The CL500 scrambler is the latest variant to join a line-up that now numbers five bikes for sale on the Aussie market.
That’s right: there are now five models powered by the same 471cc parallel-twin and using a variation of a tubular-steel frame with the engine as a stressed member: the CB500F nakedbike, the CBR500R sportsbike, the CB500X adventure bike, the CMX500 cruiser, and now the CL500.
While the CL500 is ostensibly a new model to the Australian market, the CL nameplate dates to the 1960s… when Honda was already sharing platforms across different models, in this case when the CL72 Scrambler model was launched in 1962 as a beefed-up and more dirt-road capable version of the existing CB72 roadbike. Other CL models ensued, ranging in capacity from 125 to 450cc.
Distinguishing them from their roadbike equivalents, the scrambler models typically featured 19-inch wheels, small off-road style fuel tanks, high-mounted exhaust systems and rubber
