Honda Rebel

Overview

When the Rebel was first launched by Honda in 1985, they made the bike tailor-fit for the first-time young rider. It was cheap, had minimalist cruiser styling and was easy to ride. Young riders even today want pretty much the same thing. This makes the relaunched Honda Rebel very relevant today. However today, it must compete against a whole ensemble of middleweight cruisers like the Kawasaki Vulcan S, Royal Enfield Classic 500, and even the odd Harley Davidson Street 750 and Ducati Scrambler. Honda has priced the bike very competitively at Php 369000. The Rebel also exists in a 300 cc avatar which does not get sold in the Philippine market. Here is a look at what you can expect from this baby cruiser.

Exterior

Honda tries to hit four different targets with the Rebel’s design and does a decent job at it. The first is ease to use. The bike has manageable dimensions of 2190 mm (L) x 820 mm (W) x 1093 mm (H). The seat is very low at 690 mm making it very approachable for every kind of rider. The riding position is very natural but more on that later. Secondly, they wanted to nail the cruiser styling and have certainly achieved that. The slender fuel tank and exposed frame give it a rugged look. The circular headlight up front. boxy rear lights, old style indicators, old school gauge, long exhaust, and bobber style seat all lay on the old-world charm thick. Thirdly, the styling is geared to encourage the riders to customize their bikes. This means that basics like the 10 spoke 16-inch alloy wheels mounted with fat 130/90 front and 150/80 rear tires and fat 41 mm front forks are all in place. But the non-essential stuff like the steel rear fender can be easily removed to achieve that bobber look.

The three available colors - Matte Armored Silver Metallic, Graphite Black, Millennium Red– with the blacked-out components works like a blank canvas for the riders to paint as they please. The bike is otherwise stripped down to its essentials. Fenders, handlebars, lighting, foot pegs, and exhaust could all be easily replaced with whatever the rider wishes. Honda also provides several accessories for the bike. Fourthly, Honda has tried to keep the price of the Rebel low to maintain its appeal with new riders. This, however, has translated to cost-cutting. The front fender is plastic. The small digital display in the classic pod is tiny and not easy to read. Weirdly for a learner-friendly bike, there is no tachometer or gear shift indicator. The indicators and the tail light look old. There are big gaps between the panels. The pillion seat is optional. But the bobber inspired look works for the most part. And the cost cutting can be overlooked on a bike meant for customization.

Ride & Handling

The seat is thin leading to some discomfort over long rides. The low seat height can also cause problems for people with longer legs. Still, the footpegs are not placed too far up front and allow for a comfortable riding triangle with the high placed handlebars. The footpegs themselves could have been slightly bigger. For a cruiser then, the seating is mostly neutral. The low trail and caster angles also give it good handling characteristics. But the suspension on the Rebel literally makes it take a dive. The 41 mm telescopic front forks come with no adjustability and the dual shocks is only offered with preload adjustability. But both are too soft for any kind of hardcore riding. They are so soft that even the 135 mm of ground clearance will seem lacking. They do make for a soft ride on bad roads, but some adjustability would have been nice.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

Where the older Honda Rebel had a carbureted and air-cooled engine, the new one gets its mill straight from current and reliable CBR500 range. It is a 471 cc fuel injected and liquid cooled parallel twin unit with 4 valves per cylinder. The engine here – betraying its sporty origins - is tuned for bottom end power. Most of the power is delivered at under 5000 rpm. The peak power of 46 hp is delivered at 8500 rpm while the peak torque of 43.2 Nm comes up at just 5000 rpm.

Power delivery is easy to control. The engine feels punchy as the bike just weighs 190 kg. The clutch is light, and the 6-speed transmission feels smooth. But the bottom end focus has resulted in an engine that starts showing signs of vibrations at higher rpm. The engine delivers a claimed 26 kmpl of fuel efficiency that comes handy when you consider that that lean tank only holds 11.2-litre.

Braking & Safety

Honda has provided the bike with good stopping power with disc brakes both front and rear along with a 2 channel ABS.

Verdict

The previous version of the Honda Rebel had a 30-year production run without a major update. It was often bought as a first bike only to become a long-term ride. That same appeal has been captured yet again with the new model. It’s not perfect. But everything that made the first bike so great is all here. This small friendly cruiser brings a new element to Honda’s growing lineup of 500 cc motorcycles that bringing biking to the masses through basic but fun bikes. And no one does basic but fun better than Honda.