[Honda Rebel News]

Plenty of riders have started their two wheeled journey with a Honda Rebel over the years. Perhaps it was the Rebel 250 from 1985. Now, Honda will try to bring new riders into the motorcycle fold with their new 2017 Rebel 300 and Rebel 500.

They were supposed to debut at the IMS Long Beach show, but Asphalt And Rubber has published images of them both in various paint colors ahead show. Under those bobber-style bodies lies the same powerplants as their CBR siblings. The Rebel 500 running on a 471cc parallel-twin and the Rebel 300 powered by a 286cc single-cylinder engine.

Aside from the engine difference, both models are identical with the same chassis components. Everything from their crosshatch handgrips down to the 130/90-16 front and 150/80-16 rear Dunlop tires are the same.

Even the short rider friendly 27.2-inch seat height is the same. Ergonomically, the low seat and rise bar coupled with the foot peg placement provides riders with a relaxed and neutral position. A fully fueled curb weight of 364 pounds for the Rebel 300 and 408 pounds for the Rebel 500 will make it easy for new riders to park and maneuver the bike via leg power.

They should both start appearing in dealerships this April and we are expecting to see attractive prices at $4,399 for the Rebel 300 and $5,999 for the 500 model.

 

[st.rebel]

I don't know about you guys but Honda bringing some customized 300's and 500's to the show would have been a great move. If there's any way to really sky rocket interest in these bikes its in showing the potential of them, much like what we can see from this 500...

 

[Saint]

That is honestly super darn cool. IF they could produce that in a red black and gray sort of color scheme, I would be all over that!

 

[Rebellion]

But with such a huge change, would the modern classic look get lost under all of that? A black and white paint scheme would look good if it follows the factory design.

 

[Saint]

The modern classic look is definitely thrown out of the window entirely with that custom 500. Not too sure what to classify that as at this point..?