Rebel 500 Lands in India: Honda's Take on the Modern-Cruiser Design

2025 Rebel 500 is Honda's 2nd 500cc motorcycle in India. Gets a 471cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin

This is the first time since the launch of the CB500X in India (back in March 2021), that Honda has brought another of its 500cc motorcycles here. And it is the Rebel 500 - Honda’s take on how a modern cruiser looks like. The Rebel 500’s design language dictates the styling of the entire Rebel lineup, which includes the Rebel 1100 and the Rebel 300.

The Rebel 500 has been launched at INR 5.12 lakhs ex-showroom with bookings under way and deliveries starting in June.

What clicks for the Rebel 500?

The design is clearly unconventional, but the deliberate exposure of the chassis to the eyes adds a touch of rawness to the overall clean lines

Powered by the same 471cc liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine that’s present in the NX500 (successor to the CB500X), the Rebel 500 is tuned a little differently for its cruiser-ish purpose with a stronger emphasis on the low-mid range performance. It produces 46.2 PS of power @ 8,500 RPM and 43.3 NM of torque @ 6,000 RPM, it weighs 191 kg wet with a 11.2 litres fuel tank. It further gets Nissin brakes, Showa suspension, and LED lighting throughout. The tubular steel frame wraps around the and it’s an appealing visual element adding a bit of rawness to the overall clean design.

…Now whether you like the way it looks or not is a different matter, but it for sure is unmissable!

The Rebel is likely a capable motorcycle as it’s got positive reviews from the international press, as well as going by the customers’ own reviews. Mostly people can expect great reliability from this engine and there are no fancy electronics other than a dual channel ABS. In that regard, it’s a fairly simple motorcycle and some may even call it outdated depending on perspective.

But that’s not a problem with me at all. I love the bike’s simplicity in terms of no electronics. It’s like an old-school “put the key in and ride away” kind of a motorcycle, but with the dependability of a good modern-day liquid-cooled engine.

And I like the way it looks and I’m excited to see it in real life (whenever that chance arrives). I don’t think the motorcycle looks overly sophisticated, it has clean lines but there’s an industrial feel to its overall appearance, especially how the fuel tank is designed and how it sits on the tubular frame. Also, the entire chassis being visible has a lot to do with keeping it from looking soft. Small 16-inch wheels, especially the front one, give it a touch of city/street bike and adds a bit of playfulness to the bike’s overall relaxed cruiser-ish personality. It should be an interesting motorcycle to ride I would presume.

The 471cc parallel-twin is a very capable engine in general and especially for the Indian riding conditions, including the roads and traffic situations, it is going to be utterly satisfying. Cruisers, by design, are generally on the heavier side, but the Rebel’s 191 kg ready-to-ride weight is completely acceptable and manageable. For a basic comparison, the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 weighs 240 kg. At the same time, the Kawasaki Eliminator is noticeably lighter at 176 kg.

I am quite confident that the Rebel 500 is going to be a fun and exciting modern-cruiser, one that is approachable, manageable, and inviting (unintimidating).

But I see one potential problem with it

The seat height is low at 690mm making the bike very approachable, while the 16-inch wheels, especially the front, adds a street bike appeal to the Rebel's appearance

The potential problem is not in terms of performance or its looks or the way it might handle. It has mostly to do with the feel and the character reflected out of that otherwise commendable parallel-twin engine.

Cruisers are one of those motorcycles where the character, the personality, of the engine is as important as its performance and any other factor that makes it good. The Rebel 500’s engine has a traditional 180-degree crank and hence, is likely subdued in sound and feel. It takes more effort to make such an engine sound and feel exciting; for example, the Ninja 300’s parallel-twin engine has the same 180-degree crank setup, but it revs much higher and sounds racy at higher revs. The Rebel 500’s engine is not like that, it is calmer in that sense.

I would have liked if Honda had modified this engine with a 270-degree crank which would at least guarantee better character and feel if not better performance. Like I said, performance is not a problem with this engine, but that it possibly feels lacklustre to be in a cruiser could be. And this is not some meaningless cribbing, it is a big factor that actually impacts the buying decision.

Now, while I don’t expect Honda to do this for the Rebel 500 at all in the future, but I expect that there might be a Rebel 750 (powered by the Transalp/CB750 Hornet’s 755cc parallel-twin engine which has a 270-degree crank).

Nevertheless, it is good to see Honda expanding its 500cc range in India and the new Rebel 500 remains a good motorcycle for anyone who wants to consider it. But what would be even better is to see the CB500 Hornet and the CBR500R launching here. With the arrival of the Rebel 500, I now have hope.