Simon Harris had a three month love affair with the Harley-Davidson X350, and is now two months into his latest fling with an X500, it seems the bigger twin has captured his heart...
Using the Harley X350 as a daily rider for three months, Simon really got to like the bike, you can read his updates here. Then he swapped to the big sibling, the Harley-Davidson X500, for a three month test over late spring early summer. Here’s update two, another 1000km.
Simon has started referring to the X500 long termer as ‘The Bike’ at home, it has become a member of the family…
We have now notched up 2000km on the Harley-Davidson X500 and it has proven to be totally dependable so far. Not only dependable, but always a pleasure to ride. Recently at my house, we have begun referring to the X500 as “the bike” as if we owned it – it has become part of the family and is always waiting patiently for the next ride.
Read about Simon’s first 1000km with the X500 here, and his X500 review here…
I tended to the front suspension to try and make it a little more compliant – the front end is adjustable for preload on the left leg and rebound damping on the right leg (note that I mistakenly said compression damping previously). There are about four turns available on the screw adjusters at the top of each leg, with two turns out from full-in on each being standard settings. After a bit of experimentation, I ended up reaching what felt like a good compromise of softening the front without it becoming sloppy or feeling like it was understeering in the bends.
Some adjustments to the front-end have made a big difference to the feel and stability for Simon.
My final settings were backing off the preload by a full turn from standard and about a half turn further out from the standard rebound setting. The result was a definite reduction in transfer of suspension reaction through to the ‘bars and an improvement in comfort, without seeming to compromise turn-in dynamics or corner stability. It was good that the suspension adjustment actually made a difference. I played a little with the rear suspension preload adjustment as the hand-wheel is very easy to use and requires no tools. Eventually, I returned the back end at full soft for my 70kg ready to ride weight.
Simon has been getting 300km from a tank of fuel, despite his liking of full throttle antics and the close proximity of his home to one of the best motorcycling roads in NSW!
Economy, if that’s your bag, is proving to be rather excellent and I am easily seeing 300km between petrol bowsers despite how ham-fisted I am using the throttle. Each journey for me typically includes a combination of urban street and work traffic commute, freeway and motorway stretches, and usually culminating in stringing corners together through my local twisties before calling it a day. In any case, I have not tried to be conservative at all and just ride as fast as I safely can.
“I think that long haul riding would be no problem for the X500 either, which lopes along at freeway speed at around 6000rpm”…
The potential travel range per tank is very good piece of mind if you want to tour across the country and should not leave you stranded. I think that long haul riding would be no problem for the X500 either, which lopes along at freeway speed at around 6000rpm and has a fair bit of head room for easy overtaking. The excellent balance of the reciprocating and rotating components in the engine produces minimal vibration and generates no tingling or numbing effect in my right hand, making longer rides more possible, pleasant, and safer.
The Harley-Davidson X500 is available with an Australian Ride Away Price of $11,495 AUD.
It’s probably certain that the Harley-Davidson X500 will pull red-line in top when the circumstances allow, too. On longer hauls at freeway speeds and despite the overall comfort, the lack of fairing may eventually induce rider fatigue through buffeting. Speaking of which, side gusts of wind seemed not to produce much reaction from the X500. We have but a few weeks left with the X500 now to enjoy, so will do just that.
The Harley-Davidson X500 includes performance features such as:
- A 500cc DOHC 4-valve liquid-cooled parallel twin tuned to produce strong midrange torque and mated to a six-speed transmission.
- Cable-actuated wet-plate clutch with chain final drive.
17-inch (432mm) front and rear wheels to deliver nimble performance. - Maxxis Supermaxx ST tyres sized 120/70-ZR17 in front and 160/60-ZR17 in the
rear. - Dual front disc brakes and a single rear disc brake including Antilock Braking
System (ABS) as standard. - 50mm inverted fork front suspension with adjustable rebound damping.
- Monoshock rear suspension with coil spring and pre-load and rebound damping
adjustability. - Mid foot controls and a low-rise handlebar, putting the rider in a centred,
comfortable posture on the bike.
820mm unladen seat height.
The Harley-Davidson X500 is available with an Australian Ride Away Price of $11,495 AUD in Dramatic Black, Dynamic Orange, Supersonic Silver, and Pearl White. Go and see your Harley dealer for a test.
2025 Harley-Davidson X500 (LAMS)
Price: $11,495 Ride-Away
Warranty: Two-Years Unlimited KM
Colours: Dramatic Black, Dynamic Orange, Supersonic Silver, and Pearl White.
Claimed power: 35kW(47.6hp)@8500rpm
Claimed torque: 46Nm@6000rpm
Wet weight: 208kg
Fuel capacity: 13.1L
Fuel Consumption (Claimed): 4.85L/100km
Engine: Liquid-cooled, in-line two-cylinder, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valves per cylinder, 499.6cc, 69 x 66.8mm bore x stroke, 37mm throttle body, 11.5:1 compression ratio, Delphi MT05 ignition, NGK CR8E spark plugs, six-speed gearbox, wet clutch, 2-1 exhaust.
Chassis: Steel tube trellis frame, steel tube trellis swingarm
Rake: 24.5º Trail: 100.5mm
Suspension: 50mm USD forks, rebound adjustable, lateral rear shock, preload & rebound adjustable, 112mm travel
Brakes: Bosch ABS, dual semi-floating 320mm rotors, radial four-piston calipers, single 260mm rear rotor, single piston floating caliper
Wheels & Tyres: Aluminum alloy, 3.50 x 17in, 4.50 x 17in, 120/70 – R17, 160/60 – R17, Maxxis SuperMaxx tyres.
Dimensions:
Seat height: 820mm
Wheelbase: 1485mm
Overall Length: 2135mm
Overall Height: 1120mm
Ground Clearance: 153mm
Instruments & Electronics: LCD display, ABS
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