We can vouch that everyone amongst the Indian Touring Junta at one point of time had their own set of boy dreams of someday owning a biggy from the likes of the BMW R1200GS, the Yamaha Supertenere, the KTM Adventure 990 etc. The mammoth appeal and ownership of these bikes were out of reach of many- thanks to the prices pointing towards the north pole. Middle-weights like the Suzuki VStrom 650 made great sense for touring junkies- unfortunately such bikes never made economic sense to the manufacturers and they rather brought in bikes that again catered to the extreme high end of the consumer graph.
The rescue off-late seems to come from Honda showcasing their new 500 lineup at EICMA 2012 and we’re extremely hopeful these 500s should be in India in a year’s time. Getting back to the boy dreams wanting an Adventure motorcycle, Honda has displayed the AT (Adventure Touring) Variant of the CB500X at “2012 Motorcycle Live” Exhibition at Birmingham and it does look a appetizingly delicious. Since the launch of the 500s at EICMA, surprisingly the 500X has garnered majority as a prospective choice rather than the CBR500R, considering we Indians are so inclined towards the faired species. To some it might seem just the same motorcycle with accessory attachments, but then there is nothing more a pleasant sight to behold than a touring motorcycle all loaded and ready to go…and when it directly rolls out of the factory in this avatar, there’s nothing more one could ask for.
In the end, we unite our hopes and prayers alongwith the thousands, maybe millions of tourers in this part of the country wishing that the 500s make it to the Indian shores very soon and precisely the “X” with all the AT goodies.
Bring it on Honda!
Via MC-USA
Would definitely buy this if and when it becomes available…at the outset I think if they have plans for India they should announce it, which will make me not break my bank on the upcoming 390. If there is no announcement by then, will take the 390 route…cheers!