Weird Flex: This 500cc Cruiser Looks Like Honda Rebel 500 And Costs A Fraction!

Meet the XS500 by Chinese manufacturer Xiangshuai

Meet the XS500 by Chinese manufacturer Xiangshuai

Xiangshuai Heavy Machinery is a Chinese company that’s notorious for making rip-offs of cruisers from Harley-Davidson and others. Its latest creation is the XS500, which is a Honda Rebel 500 clone. Priced at CNY 28,800 (around Rs 3.37 lakh), the XS500 is a whole CNY 43,000 (around Rs 5.03 lakh) less expensive than the real deal from the land of the rising sun!

The XS500 cruiser is powered by a Loncin 471cc parallel twin heart, which, again, is also reverse engineered from Honda. It makes 47.5PS and an equally healthy 43Nm. In comparison, the Rebel 500 makes 45.6PS and 43.3Nm. 

Interestingly, the XS500 uses a more premium Showa front fork and Nissin front caliper (grabbing a 300mm disc) whereas the rear gets twin gas-charged shock absorbers and a 260mm disc. At 195kg, the motorcycle is slightly heavier than the Rebel 500, but it also gets a slightly larger 14-litre fuel tank as opposed to the Rebel’s small 11.2-litre unit.

Notable features on the Chinese machine include an all-LED lighting, low 698mm seat, crash bars and dual-channel ABS. While it clearly looks ‘inspired’ by the Honda Rebel 500 in terms of design, there are a few distinguishing elements that set it apart from the original. 

The side panels definitely look sporty with the number ‘500’ and the faux intakes near the engine head gives it a sporty appeal. Unlike the Rebel’s cylindrical exhaust, this one packs a boxy unit with twin outlets. 

All in all, the Xiangshuai XS500 is a well-equipped 500cc cruiser with decent performance to boot. The company will just have to spend more on design development and that should give the cruiser a unique identity. You can also check out the company’s Harley-Davidson Fat Bob knock-off here.