The CB500X is a big small bike, while the Versys will be a small big bike.
BHPian KarthikK recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
The Versys 650 is a bigger, heavier and more powerful bike so I wouldn’t want to directly compare the CB500X against the Versys 650. But for the sake of this question,
- The Versys is more top heavy and needs more careful, respectful riding especially on broken patches and tight traffic gaps. The Honda feels more commuter-ish light and flickable even in traffic
- The Versys runs hotter than the CB500X and the heat is perceptible in the city traffic. The CB500X feels like an air cooled commuter bike and there is no perceptible heat even in the worst of traffic jams. Doesn’t feel any different from your regular Pulsar or Hornet for eg.
- No prizes for guessing which one has more road presence and gets attention – Versys wins hands down. The CB500X is more of a sleeper and can pass off as any other commuter bike if it doesn’t have too many visible accessories sticking out. A friend who also got this bike jokingly refers to it as a Honda Unicorn on steroids .
- Versys 650 low end power delivery is a bit jumpy and not the smoothest transition in the city. However on open roads it compensates with a never-ending pull at highway speeds, those extra 21 horses show up nicely at the slightest twist of the throttle. The CB500X is more tractable and pulls cleanly even at lower speeds and higher gears without feeling like it is lugging, no jumpy power delivery. Acceleration in the zones beyond 3 digits is obviously a bit lesser than the V650, but both can comfortably do 110-120 all day long and still have some juice left for quick overtakes, the Versys even more effortlessly so.
- The posture is a bit more upright on the Versys and the legs feel less rear-set than on the CB, seat height is also a tad bit higher if I remember correctly.
- Versys 650 instrumentation does miss a few critical items like gear indicator, temperature gauge and FE stats, etc while the CB cluster has tons of information. I am told the current Versys added a few things later but the console is still dated (I rode CrAzY_dRiVeR’s V650 which is a 2016 model).
- The Versys is more road-biased than the CB500X, the tyre setup also says and does the same thing (19″ front vs 17″ front).
I won’t get into the service or spares battle because both are bulletproof Japs with the Versys body panels and parts costing more than those on the CB. That said, while both products feel well built, the Versys panels feel more solidly built like a tank through and through. Needless to say, this will translate to costlier spares if there is some unfortunate incident.
All in all, get the Versys if you want a big bike feel and more power thrills for the open stretches and you don’t care much about offroad stretches. There is hardly anything wrong with the Versys except that it is outdated and long overdue for a generation change.
Get the CB500X if you are aware of (or have been part of) the pitfalls of the big bike world and want an economical (easy to maintain and run) all-rounder in a wonderful A2 package which ticks many boxes and is way more usable in a wider range of scenarios (from shopping for groceries in your neighbourhood to office commutes to weekend rides to heading out to Spiti). The compromise will be the reduced power output compared to Versys.
As bhpian neil.jericho put it rightly, the CB500X is a big small bike while the Versys will be a small big bike.
Keyword: Honda CB500X vs Versys 650: An owner's perspective