It depends on what your riding style is and conditions. With its setup the Z500 is fine for mostly dry, fair weather riding. However, if you live with regular rain or changing weather, the added features of its tech laden competition might be worth it.

CB500F all the way. All in all the bike just feels more refined and above all, Honda's reliability is unbeatable. Also, it’s been around longer, so there are tons of aftermarket parts.

I think it depends on how big you are and where you are set up in the riding position. I'm 5'10" and it's pretty comfortable for 2-3 hour rides. I need frequent breaks if it's any longer than that.

I ride all over the place and my fuel economy varies wildly. If I'm easy on the throttle I can get close to 70 mpg. It gets around 50 mpg when I'm riding hard, but.

For a new rider, the Z500 was perfect. I think it has enough power to be exciting, but it doesn't have so much that I felt overwhelmed. It was very easy to learn throttle control thanks to the smooth power delivery.