Keeway’s 500cc Naked Is More Powerful Than The Honda CB500F And Costs A Lot Less

QJMotor teased its new mid-displacement supersport last month, and its luxury sub-brand, Keeway, has followed it up by rolling out its latest streetfighter: the M502N. 

On the styling front, the M502N has an uncanny resemblance to the Suzuki GSX-S1000, especially its headlight unit. That said, the golden fork, headers and minimalist body design along with the contrasting paint schemes give this bike a rather distinctive look and strong road presence. 

The M502N gets an all-LED lighting system with vertically-stacked DRL strips. Things are made easier for the rider with a 4.2-inch TFT display and the backlit switches add to the convenience. 

At the heart of the M502N is a 486cc liquid-cooled, parallel twin engine, churning out 48.27PS and 45Nm, mated to a 6-speed gearbox. Interestingly, these numbers are higher than its Honda counterpart, the CBF 500, by 0.7PS and 2Nm. Funnily enough, it seems this Keeway motor was reverse engineered on the Honda motor itself.

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The M502N comes equipped with a premium golden inverted fork and a preload adjustable monoshock. That said, the limited 119.5mm of travel at the front and even lesser 55mm of travel at the rear could be an issue. J Juan brake calipers can be found on the bike. The 300mm dual discs at the front work in tandem with the 240mm disc at the rear, and dual-channel ABS comes as standard. 

A healthy ground clearance of 165mm makes sure that the bike will keep its belly safe in most situations. There are added practical bits like a 17L fuel tank and an accessible 790mm high rider seat. That said, its kerb weight of 197kg is a bit on the heavier side when compared to the other mid-displacement nakeds. 

Launched in Europe, the M502N is Keeway’s first bike for the mid-displacement market. Hence it is interesting to note that it carries a rather affordable price tag of 6,290 Euros (approximately Rs 5.06 lakh). Keeway teased the launch of a Maxi-scooter in India, and the M502N could very well be a part of their future bikes to be launched here. 

Unfortunately, if you want to lay your hands on a 500cc naked bike in India, you only have the Benelli Leoncino 500.