Waiting on T7. Who's owned or spent much time on a CB500x?

[Frayed]

Sorry to bring up other bikes here but I've been going a bit nutty on this one.  

I've been very interested in the T7 since learning about it but also drawn to the '19 CB500X as well.

 

I come from mountain scratching, trackdays, racing then into the dirt for the last several years with hare scrambles and general fun rides.  

 

Haven't been on the road since 2010 

and was kind of looking for that do it all.  The price and size of the CB are attractive.  It's also economical mpg wise as I plan to use this bike for my relatively short commute as well.  I have this feeling that I'm going to want more offroad capability out of it though eventually and would look to Rally raid which isn't cheap.  In the end it would be similar in height to a lowered T7.  (5'7" 30" inseam) and still be lacking a couple inches of suspension travel.  The weight 

really isn't that far off between the two.

 

The T7 speaks to me much more even though I think it's physically going to be near that threshold of comfort with handling it.   The largest bike I've ridden offroad was a Husaberg 570.  Easy to handle but much less weight.  

 

Anyone have some experience between the two with a few words to share?  I have this feeling I may have some regrets going either way.  Unfortunately I still can't get anywhere near a T7.  Going to have to drive 3 hrs round trip to even check out a CB500X. 

 

[Whitey66]

I've ridden both and the CB500X is a great bike but is also very boring. The torquey nature of the Tenere CP2 makes it so much better to ride and puts a smile on your face every time you open the throttle. One thing that has really surprised me with my T7 on the road is it's stability with the 21" front wheel, I don't know how Yamaha have managed this but they've  built a bike with very quick steering that remains very stable at high speed. 

[Camel ADV]

My girlfriend has a CB500X with the stage 3 Rally Raid kit on it. It's fun bike but a bit boring. It's great beginner bike, unlikely you'd ever loop it out offroad! It and T7 are not in the same category.