2005 Honda Rebel

[Scott58]

I purchased this motorcycle on Dec 15 2004 and have only been able to put a little over 600 miles on it, however they have been 600 enjoyable miles. The only addition to this motorcycle has been a National Cycle LS flyscreen ($94). In town the bike is extremely torquey and responsive. It will effortlessly loft the frontend given a good twist of the throttle. Moving through the gears is a very smooth operation with no effort whatsoever. The stock bridgestone tires handle well and the bike holds it's line over rough (multiple pothole repaired streets). I have kept the bike at the dealer set mid settings on the shocks and it's very comfortable for my 5'7" 140 lbs (32" inseam). The brakes are excellent and the front disc can lock the front tire if to much pressure is applied. They do bring the bike to a stop in a quick hurry. On the highway, it will cruise all day at 70 mph and yes you can take it on the interstate. I read alot of posts saying it isn't a highway bike and may not be the bike of choice for such excursions, but I road this bike into downtown chicago with cars, trucks, you name it flying in from all directions and the Rebel stayed right in the thick of things and never let up. Draft from trucks would move me maybe 6" or so off line but that's typical with my experiences on other bikes (larger ones) in the same situations. If your looking for gut wrenching excelleration at highway speed you won't find it on the Rebel, however, if your looking for a nice mellow cruiser that is very capable at getting you from point A to point B anywhere in the country on any road the Rebel is up to the challenge. And all this at an average of 73 mpg. I'm very happy with this bike and plan on some very long trips this summer. For the $3000 get in price this has been a good deal for me.

[ronboskz650sr]

Wow! At 73 mpg that's a great commuter bike, isn't it? When I was young, a 250 would be a mid- sized starter bike, with plenty of smash to learn on, get hurt on, and ride two-up on occasion. I know modern perspectives on power have changed, but I still ride for the fun of it, and no power argument will ever change that for me.

[TheseSimpleWords]

A friend of mine has a 1986 Rebel and he loves it. It has remained almost exactly the same in design and construction since around then. I saw a '03 and couldn't see any noticeable difference. I thought about getting one myself.

[Scott58]

You can't beat the economy and this bike is always ready to go when I am. My only real complaint is gas tank size. 2.6 gal is small even with 70+mpg.

[sm1tty]

When I got back into the Bike scene after 30 years I bought a Rebel to hone my skills. After 2 months and 3000 miles I averaged 85 mpg and a couple of times it hovered around the 90 mpg. It could get up to 75 mph on the road but hey, it wasn't made for that type of driving. It was a forgiving machine which I sometimes miss when commuting to work. It was really fun to ride that machine around town and commute. If I had the money it would still be in my garage. The beauty of it is, I sold it to another rider coming back into fold for what I paid for it.

[keysman]

I love to hear about people getting by with the small bikes. I love my 650 and I it gets about 60 mpg. I bet the Rebel is lightweight too.

[Scott58]

Wow, 85mpg would be great. something to look forward to hopefully. i have gotten it up to almost 80mph a few times. In may is when i'm really going to find out what it's made off. I'm going to niagara falls on it and from there to west virginia, to kentucky then back home. it will be almost 1700 miles in 5 days. If it does this well i'm taking it to new mexico next year. Should be an adventure.

[Relsek]

Mine has a trip computer that will show an average fuel mileage from the previous reset. When I got the bike and rode it easy, I would get around 48-50, now I check it and it stays around 38. That's not a lot better than a car, but a lot more fun.

[RangerG]

I was looking at one yesteday and wondering how the Rebel is for maintenance. Some bikes can be a nightmare when it comes to valve adjustments etc...

I do like the Rebel as it would be aces for my daily ride to work. And it would be a bit faster than my 48 Simplex

[Scott58]

So far maintenance has been great and they are pretty easy to work on. Engine has been around since "85" so it's a pretty good design. I'm going to buy a few more bikes before my time is up, but this Rebel will always be around.