Design Filings May Offer Clues to the Honda NX500

Last week, we wrote about trademark filings that suggest Honda was working on a CL500 scrambler and an NX500 dual sport/adventure bike. We’ve now uncovered design filings that may offer a hint at what the NX500 may look like.

However, the design itself isn’t for the NX500, which we expect to be powered by the same liquid-cooled 471cc Parallel-Twin used on multiple other models in Honda’s lineup. Instead, the design appears to be for a dual sport with a smaller, air-cooled Single. The design was filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 17, 2021.

Looking across Honda’s international product lineup, we find a model offered in India with a similar-looking engine called the CB200X.

There are some differences between the CB200X’s engine and the Single in the design filing. The overall architecture is the same, but there are some differences in the crankcase that may be purely cosmetic.

Further research uncovered some related trademark filings, including “NX150” in Indonesia and “Honda NX200” in India, all filed in 2021. This leads us to conclude that the design filing may be for the NX200.

If this is the case, we can make some assumptions about the NX500 and where it fits in Honda’s lineup. The design shows a model with a beakless front and bodywork that draws some inspiration from the Africa Twin. The tires in the design are smooth, but they are likely placeholders, as the taller wire-spoke front wheel suggests the finished product will be equipped with off-road capable rubber.

The bash plate and handguards further hint at its off-road intentions while the wire-spoke wheels and undertail exhaust suggest it will be more capable on dirt trails than the CB200X.

We can therefore expect the NX500 to offer similar styling, and fit into Honda’s lineup as a more off-road worthy option to the CB500X.

None of these intellectual property filings offer a clear timeline on when we may see any of these NX models as a full production model, but we suspect they may be ready for the 2023 model year.

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