Absolutely nothing except stopping, particularly at traffic lights, but only when there is a car behind, otherwise it ticks over perfectly.
Won the XBR on eBay off a lovely lady from St Austell in Cornwall. It cost £700. She was of mature years, same as me, and had the XBR for 10 years, but was finding the riding positionn hard on her wrists. The bike had been used for weekend runs with her family, and a yearly visit to the Isle of Man for the TT.
When I was a lad I had Velocettes; both the Viper, then the Venom Clubman, which I rode to Italy and Spain in 1963 and 1964. Always liked big singles. I sold a beautiful 500 ES2 Norton as my knees are giving trouble and bought the XBR.
What a revelation; I'm never off the bike. I'm retired now, but it tends to put a grin on my face every time I am out on it. The handling, power fuel consumption and ease of maintenance and lack of vibes all transpire to make this a super thumper. All you Velo and Norton owners, just find a good one and you will see what I'm on about, especially as they are so reasonable to buy. Su.
I have to agree. The Honda XBR500 is a cracking bike to own and ride. They're getting thin on the ground now, but if you look hard enough you're bound to find a nice one out there. Mine's a 1986 and has covered 88k miles owned by me from new, and with regular oil and filter changes, this bike has never let me down.
They're not pretty to look at, but I'm not a poser, just a biker, and the good old Honda XBR500 is the perfect medicine for those who want a simple two wheeled mode of transport, which is easy to work on and inexpensive to run. It's a Honda after all, and they know how to build a bike.
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