Honda Rebel 500 Vs Moto Guzzi V7 Stone Detailed Comparison

Sometimes, it becomes difficult to decide which motorcycle to choose if you are not sure about your motorcycling skills. If you like watching and reading reviews of experienced motorcyclists before buying a motorbike that suits you, they would probably describe a decently large-sized motorcycle as a beginner bike. A motorcycle that is large for an experienced rider may be more than powerful for you.

One such motorcycle that is considered to be the most user-friendly and ideal for beginners is the Honda Rebel 500. If the 500 cc sounds intimidating to you, you can start with the Rebel 300. The Rebel 500 has sufficiently powerful specs and performance to make sure you not only use it for daily commutes to work but also have fun while riding this machine. This motorcycle has tons of good qualities which makes it qualified as more than just an entry-level bike. It packs enough punchiness and torque for experienced riders as well.

However, if you are way past that level, we have another high-profile motorcycle on the list that you can consider. It may not be a highly familiar model but it can turn heads with its retro-modern styling and high-end performance. The Moto Guzzi V7 may not sound very familiar in the U.S. market, but it is a reputable European motorcycle series with a history of more than 50 years old.

The Rebel 500 and the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone are both unconventional motorcycles, belonging to unique genres. Getting into the details and performance reviews of both these motorcycles can help us understand them more and make it less complicated for us to decide which one is better. Continue reading this article to learn about the detailed comparison between the Honda Rebel 500 vs Moto Guzzi V7 Stone.

Riders may have different opinions about how this bike looks but the Honda Rebel 500 is surely an appealing motorcycle with a remarkable road presence. You cannot ignore this bike if you prefer innovative styling and unconventional cruiser build. Though it is a sports-style cruiser, the Rebel 500 also flaunts its exposed engine & machinery like a naked bike. Such exposed bodywork makes the Rebel 500 look rugged, more desirable, and trendy.

Talking about the gas tank design and headlamp, the Rebel 500 is undoubtedly as unique as the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone. The gas tank on this machine is though small, but it is stylishly mounted diagonally on the frame, making it look like a hump.

The 41 mm front fork is decently raked out but it still provides a taller stature to this motorcycle. The headlamp is also quite easily identifiable due to being fitted with four main LED bulbs. The Rebel 500 also carries a bobber-style front fender and a chopped, wide rear fender with a smoothly integrated modern-looking tail light. This motorcycle features a small bobber-style and low-slung solo rider seat.

If you want a motorcycle with more premium looks by spending some more dollars, you can get an additional fashionable headlight cover, fork gaiters, blacked-out rims, and a diamond-stitched solo rider seat on the Rebel 500 ABS SE.

Design-wise, you may find it hard to guess what type of motorcycle the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is. Overall, it is quite a pleasant-looking motorbike with impressive styling that can attract both new and experienced riders alike. The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone flaunts a classic-modern build and it can be referred to as a naked bike with retro elements. It can also be termed as a standard motorbike designed for a perfect road experience, also known as a roadster.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is one of the most premium-looking motorcycles with a flawless fit and finish. There is nothing on this motorcycle that goes off the line. Every part installed on the V7 Stone aligns with the overall theme of this bike and ensures a perfectly balanced look.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone’s gas tank looks pretty iconic with the eagle logo’s areas on both sides slightly bulging out. This motorcycle may not look massively large, but the gas tank is quite tall and wide, providing an enormous fuel storage capacity of 5.5 gals. Moto Guzzi has quite amazingly designed the gas tank as it does not look as wide and bulky as it actually is. It looks fairly narrow from the top view. The single-piece two-up saddle is also neatly attached to this motorbike and integrated well with the gas tank.

The most impressive feature that can help anybody identify it easily as a Moto Guzzi motorcycle without looking at the logo is its uniquely fitted Transversal 90° V-Twin engine. It flaunts separate dual blacked-out exhaust pipes on both sides thanks to the uniquely mounted engine.

Towards the front, there is a bobber-style fender, a 40 mm fork with gaiters, and a round-shaped LED headlamp with an eagle-shaped DRL (Daytime Running Light) designed in the center. Though most riders would prefer traditional wire-spoked wheels on this motorbike, considering its retro character, the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone flaunts very stylish alloy wheels.

There may be several outstanding aspects of the Rebel 500, but the engine technology it uses is highly admirable. It operates at its maximum capacity without getting asthmatic. The 471 cc of engine displacement may be less exciting for most experienced riders, but if you get to take a test ride of this motorbike, you will know how good this power plant in every department is. Talking about the low-end torque, smooth power delivery, quick performance, remarkable agility, and high responsiveness, there is nothing that the Rebel 500 can’t do thanks to the 471 cc water-cooled, parallel-twin engine.

The Rebel 500’s bulletproof power mill generates a punchier torque of 43 Nm at 7,000 rpm and a horsepower of 46.9 hp, making it an extremely fun-to-ride motorbike in its category. This bike, along with the firmly fixed parallel-twin engine, ensures a perfect balance and reduces vibrations felt at the handlebars and seat. The smoothness it offers will make you feel like you are riding a premium bike with exceptionally plush ride quality.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, previously powered by a 750 cc engine, received a more dynamic powerplant with an engine displacement size of 853 cc. If you get a chance to ride this motorcycle, you will immediately fall in love with the smoothness this bike offers. As you accelerate, it feels like there is no intermediate mechanism between the throttle and rear wheel like they are directly connected to each other.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, despite its sufficiently large engine size, is not meant for going extremely fast at highway speeds. This is not what it is meant for. You can still make this bike hit a top speed mark of 115 mph. The power is manageable enough to be ridden by an intermediate rider with a decent experience. You can use the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone for daily commuting, highway cruising, and canyon carving.

The 853 cc air-cooled, transversal 90° V-Twin engine doesn’t lack in producing tremendous power figures, reaching a value of 65 hp of horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 72.94 Nm at 5,000 rpm. The one thing that will amaze you while riding this bike is how the powerband is divided and mostly distributed in the higher RPMs. Almost 80% of the torque produced by the 853 cc transversal 90° V-Twin engine becomes accessible at above 3,000 rpm. You will immediately feel that response as soon as you hit the 3,000 rev mark.

You may deny the superior all-round performance capabilities of the Rebel 500 but there is no second opinion regarding its top-level handling. The weight of the Rebel 500 surprisingly diminishes as you ride this bike and it doesn’t resist leaning while turning corners. Like traditional cruisers, you don’t need to downshift to low gears and substantially slow down to enter a curve. The Rebel 500 ensures confidence inspiring handling and maneuverability to make sure even the beginners never feel intimidated while riding on twisty roads.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone handles beautifully and way better than you expect from a standard-style roadster. It loves to be taken out and you will not regret experiencing canyon carving on this bike. The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is extremely fun to ride a motorcycle and it feels more than happy to turn tight corners.

To keep the price of this motorcycle on the lower side, it is equipped with a rudimentary suspension technology with no preload or rebound adjustability. There is a 41 mm fork up front, offering 5.5 inches of wheel travel, and plain dual rear shocks, having 3.7 inches of wheel travel. Overall, considering the type of motorcycle the Rebel 500 is, the suspensions perform reasonably well on both smooth and bumpy roads. The rider doesn’t feel uncomfortable even if you hit a bump.

The suspension setup on this machine is suitable for easy and smooth rides on paved roads. There is a 40 mm KYB hydraulic telescopic front fork with a pretty decent 5.1 inches of wheel travel. Towards the rear, there are conventional-style twin rear shocks set up on each side with longer springs, helping impressively in reducing the impact of bumps on the road. The rear shocks have spring preload adjustability and offer 4.7 inches of wheel travel. You will not find the ride quality becoming stiffer even if you hit a hard bump abruptly while riding this bike.

The rider triangle and ergonomics are fairly decent and comfortable on the Rebel 500 to serve the purpose it is built for. Being an ideal urban commuter, you can comfortably take this bike for continuous riding for hours. The Rebel 500 has one of the lowest seat heights of 27.2 inches in the sports cruiser class. Though the foot controls are mid-mounted, it does not make you sit in an uncomfortable riding position. You still have adequate legroom for everyday riding.

The handlebars on this machine are also sportier as they make riders sit slightly aggressively. However, if you are tall enough, you can maintain a comfortable upright posture as you do not need to lean forward to grab the bars. Overall, it is a very comfortable motorcycle

Though the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone has a single-piece stock saddle for two-up riding, it is scooped out in the middle, probably to make the rider sit slightly lower and comfortably in place. However, you may not be able to adjust your seating position on it if you are a taller rider.

There is a reasonable distance between the seating and handlebar grip positions which doesn’t make the rider feel uncomfortable even with the mid-mounted controls. The handlebars are quite low-mounted with only a slight pulled-back angle, offering a decent armroom and a fairly upright back position. If you are a shorter rider, you may need to lean slightly forward to grab the bars.

The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is decently comfortable for what it is built for. Even if you are a taller rider, you will enjoy sitting on this motorcycle. Though your shin will not be at the right angle to your thigh, it is still roomy enough to not feel cramped. Your knees will be placed below the hip level thanks to its reasonable seat height of 30.7 inches.

One of the best features Honda has installed on the Rebel 500 which makes it more desirable among new and experienced riders equally is its assist & slipper clutch. It offers a buttery smooth gear-shifting experience and the clutch feels extremely soft to pull. The Rebel 500 has a six-speed transmission and the power is delivered to the rear wheel via an O-ring sealed chain drive.

One of the major reasons behind the good looks of the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is the clean-looking shaft final drive with no greasy parts visible on the exterior. The gear shifting on this bike feels a bit clunky and if you do not like the motorcycle making any sound while shifting gears, you will probably not love this thing about the V7 Stone. However, the gear shifts reasonably smoothly and the clutch action is also excellent.

The braking equipment and setup are quite ordinary with a 296 mm front and a 240 mm single rear disc brake. The ABS is also an optional feature and you will have to pay an additional $300 if you want ABS on your bike. Thanks to the exceptionally low weight of this motorcycle and its low-slung design which helps in safely stopping this bike in no time.

The brakes on the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone are fairly reasonable for the type of motorcycle it is. After all, it is not a sports bike that requires immediate stopping power or to perform a stoppie. There is a 320 mm disc up front and a 260 mm disc brake in the rear with Brembo calipers. The dual-channel ABS is standard on this bike and can be easily turned off with a single push of a button. This bike takes a little time to stop as the rider presses the brake.

Apart from countless other benefits the Rebel 500 offers, one thing that is loved by most riders about this bike is its proven programmed fuel injection (PGM-FI) technology. You may not expect a 471 cc inline twin-cylinder engine to be highly economical in terms of fuel mileage but praise to the Honda R&D department, the Rebel 500 ensures 67 mpg of fuel economy.

The fuel mileage offered by this bike may not be exceptional but the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone does a decent job of staying economical. The V7 Stone is claimed to consume 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, equating to around 48 mpg. It is considered a good fuel mileage for a motorcycle like the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone with tremendous power figures.

The Honda Rebel 500 is referred to as an unconventional cruiser as it carries a sporty parallel-twin engine. However, for all those enthusiasts out there who only want to hear the V-Twin sound, the Rebel 500 produces an adequately throaty exhaust note that perfectly mimics a V-Twin sound.

The exhaust note produced by the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is good but it is not very addictive if you love listening to the throaty sound produced by a V-Twin engine. The sound produced by the V7 Stone gets muffled by the buzzing noise that is generated alongside the exhaust note.

The instrument gauge on the Rebel 500 is very basic and small. The company hasn’t even used the full space on the round dial gauge which makes it hard to read, especially while riding in the sunlight hours. There is no tachometer on this thing which isn’t something very premium and must have been installed on this bike. Even the Honda Grom which is cheaper than the Rebel 500 comes with a tachometer. However, unlike the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, the Rebel 500 has a fuel level indicator and a fuel gauge to keep the rider informed about the remaining fuel in the tank. There is a clock, gear position indicator, speedometer, and trip meter displayed on the small digital screen.

Most seasoned riders who prefer the traditional looks on a motorcycle don’t seem to be satisfied with the offset-mounted single digital gauge installed on the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone. Only the V7 Special variant comes with twin analog gauges, making it look superior. Compared to the dual analog gauges on the V7 Special, the digital gauge on this bike looks a little cheaper.

Nonetheless, the digital instrument gauge on the V7 Stone displays an rpm indicator, speedometer, odometer, gear position indicator, and clock. Unfortunately, there is no fuel level indicator or fuel gauge on the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone and the rider has to rely on the gas light indicator to refill.

The Honda Rebel 500 is a renowned machine with extraordinary performance characteristics, making it a desirable and loveable bike all over the world. Though it falls under the beginners' category, it is equally enjoyed by experienced riders thanks to its versatile nature. The Rebel 500 can put a smile on your face every time when you twist its throttle. Regardless of its simple build with basic suspensions and no tech package, this motorbike proved to be extraordinary due to its flawless engine performance, light handling, and swift maneuverability,

On the other hand, the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is an underrated bike and is not very familiar in the global motorcycle market other than Europe. However, you will immediately fall in love with the aesthetics and performance of the V7 Stone thanks to its head-turning look and top-notch ride quality. It is also reasonably affordable in the 850 cc classic standard/naked bike-style roadster segment. The throttle on this bike feels directly connected to the rear wheel which provides you with more control and ultimately connects your soul with the motorcycle.

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