Honda Rebel 300 vs 500- Which One Should You Get?!

When it comes to buying the new generation Honda Rebel, one discussion always arises and that is whether you

should

buy the Rebel 300 or the Rebel 500. Today I am here to settle that debate. I personally had a Rebel 300 for about six months. and I've now owned this

rebel

500 for about a year, so I'll evaluate my experiences with both bikes and then we'll discuss whether I

should

buy the 300 or the 500. Welcome back to the Birch life. This is Birch's quick and cheeky snap. If you're new here and haven't subscribed yet, go ahead and hit the subscribe button. If you found this video, you obviously like motorcycles and you obviously like the Honda Rebel 500 or 300 and this channel has a lot of those things so make sure to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss out on future content and we'll jump right into everything right now .

I'll start by saying the answer to whether you should buy a 300 or a 500 isn't just a simple answer where everyone should get the 300 or everyone should get the 500,

which

is why I thought I'd go over my experiences with both bikes because each of bikes is suitable for a different type of rider and different type of person, so first we'll go over my experience with the 300, then we'll go over my experience with the 500, and then I'll finish by saying who I think each of those are. The bikes are well oriented, so we'll start with the 300. Like I said, I've owned the 300 for about six months and I guess it's been a year and a half since I had that bike.

Now I will say that I originally started out looking for a 500 and the 300 just fell into my lap. At that point I had already been driving for about four years, so I thought the 300 would possibly be too small for me, but I kept my options open. when I was looking for the bike because really what I was looking for was a good deal on one of them so I could try it out anyway and I ended up having an amazing deal on the 300 that fell into my lap where I got the 300. for only 2000 dollars so I figured at that price there was no way I could keep looking for a 500.

I had to go ahead and get that deal on the 300 while I was there at the time driving a VFR. 750,

which

is obviously a lot more of a bike than the 300, but honestly the move from the 750 to the 300 was a lot easier than I thought, don't get me wrong, the 300 isn't the fastest thing in the world, but to be a 300, it had a little more movement than I expected when I got on the 300. The first thing that caught my attention was how light the bike was, not only was it light, but I realized that all the El center of gravity was a little lower than a sports bike, so not only was it light but it was also really manageable because of how low all the weight was, you had enough to get up and go ride around town without any problems. problem, but as soon as I hit the road I realized that while I could do it, I definitely wasn't built to do it.

His top speed is about 85 miles per hour and I ended up going up to, I think, 92 when I tried the top speed run, which you can check out in the link in the description and the link should be in the top right corner of the video right now to that you can see it, so that being said, a top speed of 85 or 90 isn't terrible, but if you're riding on the highway around 75 then you're pretty close to maxing out, so the bike really rattles while you're riding down the highway. highway and not only that, but the light weight of the bike also plays a role.

It plays when you're riding down the road because it actually tends to fly around every time there's a gust of wind because there's not much weight on the bike to keep it planted where the bike really shines. For me, anyway, it was just strolling downtown or hitting my favorite back roads. I feel like the bike was really designed for that because it is so light, agile and mobile which makes the bike a lot of fun, although the only downside. is that because it has the little 300 motor, the gears are very close together, so one of the first things I noticed when riding downtown and all the back roads is that I had to shift the bike much like a Much more than I was used to now, obviously, that's not a big deal once you hit cruising speeds and just stay in the same gear, but when you go through an area where you're going slow and they stop. and go and all that kind of good stuff, it's just that it gets a little tiring to constantly shift gears and not only that, but because the engine doesn't have much power, I found myself having to downshift a lot more if I'm saying that when going up a hill or something, you have to downshift to maintain that power and be able to continue going up the hill at the speed you want to be at now after having the bike for about a month.

I decided I wanted to put an exhaust on the bike because, in its original form, no bike is going to sound that good and especially a little 300, it sounded like a little sewing machine, so I decided to put an exhaust on it. The bike and now I got the racing exhaust from the two brothers, although that exhaust sounded great, I was faced with another problem with the bike that I hadn't realized before and that is the fact that the catalytic converter on the 300 actually It's in the muffler, not the header pipe, so every time you put a slip-on exhaust on the bike, it takes away the catalytic converter and makes the bike unbearably loud.

Don't get me wrong, I like loud bikes, as I'm sure you can tell by the short exhaust I have on my 500 right now, but the exhaust on the 300 was absolutely unbearably loud and honestly, I was a little nervous about going to Anywhere I had to cruise over 45 miles an hour just because of the amount the exhaust just hummed and hummed and honestly by the time I was done my eardrums were hurting and the two brothers exhaust isn't really like the smallest muffler of any It's not like I had a short exhaust on that bike either, I actually intentionally bought a bigger muffler hoping it would be a little quieter, but it was the loudest, most obnoxious bike I've ever had to ride, in fact when I ended up selling that bike to my friend and we were riding together, it was really difficult. for me to focus on when I should change my bike because all I could hear was his bike overall, although my experience with the 300 was great, it had more power than I thought, it performed better on the road than I thought, but that It is not like this. say that I would ever want to take that bike back on the road.

I loved how light it was, how nimble and agile it was and for the price, it really didn't get any better than now, at the end of the day, I just finished. I left that bike for about six months and if I had to say the exact reason why I decided to get rid of it, it would simply be the complete lack of power, given that I had already been riding for a few years at that point. and I came from my vfr 750, which I still had the entire time I had the 300, I just didn't have enough to get up and go for myself and the fact that I had to fear every time I had to travel more than 45 miles. per hour because I felt like the exhaust was making my ears bleed, I thought it was the best option to sell it and then keep my eyes peeled for the 500.

So after about six months of owning the 300, I sold it to my friend so he could have it as his first bike and then I kept looking and finally ended up finding a great deal on my 500 that I have now, when I rode the 500 for the first time it was obvious that it had a lot more power than the 300. It was also obvious that It wasn't the most powerful bike in the world, but it had a lot more power than the 300. The best way I could describe the change in on-road capability is the fact that I just told people that the 500 could easily travel down the road. top speed of 300.

I could jump on the highway and easily cruise at 85 on this bike while 85 was the max performance the 300 could do and not only that but the 500 also weighs a bit more so it felt So. It's now much more planted on the road compared to other bikes I've ridden in the past, obviously it still doesn't have outstanding on road performance compared to those bikes, but for only a 500 it works very well on the road and in comparison With the 300, it shows. It now felt much firmer and planted when driving at highway speeds, while the 500's extra weight helped it feel firmer at highway speeds.

One of the first things I noticed about the 500 was actually the fact that at slow speeds, it didn't really feel heavier if memory serves, there's about a 40 pound difference between the 300 and the 500, but Again, because the weight is so low on these bikes, the weight difference is really negligible when you're riding around town or cornering, that could have been because there was a time difference of several months between the time I rode both bikes, so if I rode them back to back on the same day, then I might feel a big difference in weight, but honestly, if weight is what's pulling you away from one or the other, you really don't notice anything on my eyes now again, after only a week I decided it was time to put exhaust on the 500 and on the plus side I now knew the catalytic converter was in the header pipe on the 500 versus the muffler like it was with the 300, so I was a little more confident that the bike wasn't going to be as obnoxiously loud as the 300 was and that's why I decided to go with the midget GP. slide one in for the 500 which is obviously much smaller than the two brothers exhaust I had on the 300 and even having said that my 500 is light years light years quieter than my 300 and is much more tractable at speeds on the highway because not only does it consistently sound like the 300 seemed to, it was also pretty obvious that with the 500 versus the 300 I had to shift much less than with the 300, whether driving downtown or on winding roads. or even just where I had to downshift to go up a hill with the 300.

I had to do it a lot less with the 500 because of the power difference so that was definitely a big advantage that I noticed early on and then the performance at a side. Honestly, just the look of the 500, I think I ended up preferring it a little bit more now, of course, structurally they're exactly the same bike as far as frame size and dimensions and all that, but just looking at it, the engine on the 500 completes the The frame is much nicer and aesthetically I like the look of the 500 much better but of course that's objective but other than that the bikes feel identical comfort wise and suspension, the handling characteristics feel exactly the same.

For the most part, aside from the slight weight difference and overall the 500 felt just as nimble, nimble, light and fun as the 300, now at the end of the day the 500 feels much more capable than the 300. in my eyes. and that should be obvious given the fact that I've had this bike for almost a year and had no plans to sell it until the 1100 was released, while the 300 outgrew its capabilities in just six months. It looks like we're at a dead end so let's get in here and enjoy the view real quick, the joy of riding a motorcycle, you gotta love it, okay, back to what I was saying, the 500 is much more capable than the 300, I think.

Like it's a much more versatile bike than the 300, I think the 300 would be a perfect little urban commuter, a fun little windy back road person, if that's a word, whereas the 500 can do all of that just as good, if not better. but it can still be a quick little highway commuter or something so with that being said let's look at who I think each of these bikes is suitable for and again this is all subjective you know you can ride any bike you want , this is just Based on my experiences with bikes, I think the 300 is great for a first-time rider who might be a little intimidated by the added power and weight of the 500.

I think it's great for someone who may have a bigger budget. low but still want to find something that's new and fun and I think it's great for someone who might live in a city and just needs to get around a little bit in stop and go traffic and needs something light but I don't think it's great necessarily for an experienced rider who will want to do any type of road trip and I think if you buy it you have to be okay with the fact that you may outgrow it in a few months, but that being said, because the 300 is usually Much cheaper than the 500, it's a bit less of a financial burden if you buy it and end up outgrowing it compared to the 500.

Now I feel like the 500 is great not only for the beginner rider but could also be good for an experienced rider. That's just looking for a light and fun commuter or possibly even someone who used to ride motorcycles took a break and will be back and wants something light, agile and fun to relearn the ropes.basics of the 500 that could serve its purpose excellently. As a small city commuter like the 300, however, its on-highway capabilities make it much better for a highway traveler than the 300, so I think if you plan on doing any kind of road trip, the 500 is the way to go. to follow.

I think it has enough power to keep experienced riders happy, but still not so much power that new riders will feel intimidated at the end of the day, regardless of what type of rider you are. I think it's safe to say 300 is more. of a bike in the short term, while the 500 might have some longevity now, like I said, there's no easy answer as to whether everyone should get the 300 or everyone should get the 500. At the end of the day it's all up to you and of what your preferences are and what you're most comfortable with, so the best advice I can give you is to just find a way to go out and try both bikes and see what you think.

Your best bet might be an experienced rider who disagrees with me and thinks 300 is all they need. There might be a new rider who thinks I'm wrong and that the 500 isn't even enough for them. At the end of the day, it all depends on you and your preferences, what kind of riding you're going to do and what you're most comfortable with, because at the end of the day, if you're not comfortable on your bike, I'm not going to go out and ride it. and that's the whole point of owning a bike: to go out and ride it and have fun, so I hope that helps shed some light on the debate over whether the 300 or the 500 is the deal. -unquote the right bike, I think it's all about what's right for you and what's right for you may not be right for the next guy and vice versa, at the end of the day they're both great bikes and you'll have fun. in both it's just a matter of what you're looking for now, those of you who have written both, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you agree with if you think I'm uh, on to something here or if I'm totally off of place and tell me what your experience was with both bikes, it's always interesting to hear the differences of opinion from people who have ridden the same bikes but they are all a little different. experiences and of course, like I said, if you're new here, go ahead and hit that subscribe button.

I have tons of

rebel

content if you want to head over to my channel and see more and there's tons more to check out be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think. Hit the like button so the YouTube algorithm keeps showing this to more people. Thank you very much for watching, as always. You know I love you and appreciate the support more than you know. I'll catch you in the next peace.