2023 Honda CL500 retro naked price announced, arriving in spring

Honda has released the pricing for the 2023 Honda CL500,  a funky retro-naked with relations to the CMX500 Rebel, which is slated for a spring arrival 2023.

The 2023 Honda CL500 was announced last November at the EICMA show in Milan as a relative of the Honda CMX500 Rebel cruiser and as an opening of Honda's neo-retro range which is expected to include a CL300 potentially by the end of 2023.

It is expected that the 2023 Honda CL500 will arrive in UK dealers in April 2023, and will also be available on a PCP agreement. 

The price for the 2023 Honda CL500 has been announced by Honda to be £5,999 (OTR), and a PCP example can be found below.

2023 Honda CL500 PCP example:

Visit the Honda UK website to find out more, and to find your nearest Honda dealer.

This article was originally published when the 2023 Honda CL500 was announced on 8 November 2022, and was updated with the above text on 15 February 2023. The original article can be read below.

The CL nameplate will be familiar to those of a certain age, who will remember bikes popular and now valuable scramblers that ranged from 125 to 450cc. For 2023 the name makes a return, in the form of the new Honda CL500.

2023 Honda CL500 features and specs

The design of the motorcycle is fairly closely related to that found on the CMX 500 Rebel, although now gone is the low-slung sub-frame and in its place is a rear end that apes the original CL-series bikes, complete with a high-level, shrouded silencer. The engine is directly lifted from the CMX 500, meaning you have a 471cc parallel twin-cylinder engine that produces 34.3kW (45.9hp), and 43.4Nm (32lb-ft) of torque. The new bike features updated fuel injection settings for the CL500, along with a new, shorter final drive for more shove off the line. The six-speed gearbox is mated to an assisted slipper clutch for a lighter clutch feel and improved control when down-shifting.

Like the engine, the chassis bears more than a striking resemblance to the item found on the CMX, at one end at least. It’s a newly designed tubular diamond frame, and a looping rear subframe. The rake of the CL500 is set at 27 degrees, while the trail is 108mm and the wheelbase is 1,485mm. The quoted kerb weight of the new bike is said to be 192kg.

The front end of the bike is suspended by 41mm telescopic forks with 150mm of travel, while a set of twin shocks work at the rear. The only adjustability comes in the form of a five-step preload adjustment, maximum travel is quoted at 145mm at the rear.

Braking is taken care of by a single two-piston caliper and 310mm disc at the front, with a single-piston item at the rear working on a 240mm disc. ABS is included in the form of a conventional two-channel system. The wheels are a 19-inch front/17-inch rear combination for confident grip and light handling across varying terrain. The OEM hoops on the bike are Dunlop Mixtours, sized 110/80 R19 front and 150/70 R17 rear.

A big change over the CMX500 is in the ergonomics of the bike. Gone is the easy-going cruiser stance of the Rebel, and in its place is a slightly more focused scrambler style. That said, the seat height of the CL500 is still an accessible 790mm, with the same slim mid-section as the CMX.

The cockpit of the bike features a reverse LCD display housed in a circular casing. It displays information to the rider including gear position indicator, fuel consumption and individual indicator arrows. The fuel tank of the bike holds 12 litres, and the quoted fuel economy of the bike is 27.7km/L (65mpg).

Like the XL750 Transalp also released today, the CL500 is arriving in UK Honda dealers in spring 2023, pricing is as yet unknown, we’ll update you when it is announced.

For more information on the new Honda CL500, head to: www.honda.co.uk

2023 Honda CL500 specs

Honda CMX500 Rebel (2020) Video Review