300px, Honda XBR 500 (1985) with Comstar wheels 300px, Honda XBR 500 (1988) with wire-spoked wheels The Honda XBR 500 is a ''500cc'' Japanese sports

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

launched by

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

in 1985 and in response to the

Yamaha SR500 The Yamaha SR400 (1978–2021) and SR500 (1978–1999) are single-cylinder, air-cooled, two-passenger motorcycles manufactured in Japan by Yamaha Motor Company as a street version of the Yamaha XT500, with a standard riding posture and styling re ...

. It is powered by a

single-cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ( ...

four-valve engine with the valve stem axes arranged radially relative to the geometric centre of the hemispherical combustion chamber - (Honda's Radial Four Valve Combustion Chamber, or RFVC) and actuated by rockers and intermediate sub-rockers. Displacing and producing 27 or 44 hp (depending upon specific market legislation), the engine, having its origins in the

Honda XR series The Honda XR series is a range of four-stroke off-road motorcycles that were designed in Japan but assembled all over the world. Some of the XR series came in two versions: R and L. The R version bikes were enduro machines designed for off-road ...

off-road Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

models, features a "quasi-dry sump", the bulk of the oil being stored in a separate tank below the seat but a proportion (ca. 0,5 litres) of the lubricant remaining in the crankcase sump. The steel-braided hoses connecting the oil tank to the engine (clearly visible at the right-hand side of the motorcycle) are a strong visual element. The two exhaust valves enabled the motorcycle to be fitted with two separate exhaust systems. The motorcycle had both an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

start and a

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

start. On earlier models, the kick start was linked by a cable to an exhaust valve lifter to reduce cylinder compression during manual engine starting; later examples incorporated an automatic valve lifter as part of the camshaft assembly. This also assisted in reducing the starter motor cranking loads. The fuel-efficient engine combined with the large fuel tank capacity (20 litres/5,28 US galls) provided the bike with a long range (typically well in excess of 200 miles/322km) between refueling. XBR500s (F,G and some H sub-types) were fitted with 18"

Comstar wheels The Comstar wheel, sometimes referred to as Com-stars or stylised as ComStar, was a composite motorcycle wheel that Honda fitted to many of its motorcycles from 1977 to the mid 1980s. Its design allowed it the option of being fitted with tubeles ...

and

tubeless Tubeless tires ( also spelled as tubeless tyres in Commonwealth English) are pneumatic tires that do not require a separate inner tube. Unlike pneumatic tires which use a separate inner tube, tubeless tires have continuous ribs molded integral ...

tyres, 100/90 front and 110/90 rear. The frame was of a single-downtube, dual-cradle design having a box-section swinging arm and conventionally sprung rear suspension. The last iterations - some XBR500H and all XBR500J types - were supplied with traditional wire wheels and tubed tyres. The narrow, 150kg (dry) XBR500 with a wheelbase of 1,400 mm (55 in) is a fine-handling machine with a sprightly performance. A detachable pillion seat cover was supplied to simulate a café-racer look, but Honda subsequently released a dedicated

café racer A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

version of near-identical mechanical specification although of lesser power - the Honda GB500 TT - which featured some "classic British qualities", such as a solo seat, seat hump, wire wheels, two-into-one exhaust system and a fuel-tank with gold pinstriping reminiscent of the earlier AJS and Velocette machines thought to inspire its styling.

References

{{reflist XBR500 Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1985