A while back my wife took the Riding Academy New Rider Course at our local Harley dealership. The training coaches were VERY professional and my wife learned a lot and was very impressed with the experience.
The only thing she was not impressed by was the motorcycle she trained on, a Street 500. She hated that bike! She hated the way it looked, hated the ergonomics, and she thought the build quality, compared to the metric bikes we've had in the past and my current 2016 Kawasaki Ninja KRT, was very sub par. She could not believe that the same company that built our new Heritage Softail Classic, a bike we're both totally in love with, built the Street 500.

That brings me to the 2019 Honda CB300R Roadster. Even though the displacement is smaller, she loves the way this bikes looks and she plans on trying one out this summer.

https://powersports.honda.com/2019CB300R.aspx

If any Harley management is reading this post, please compare the looks of these two motorcycles. One thing she likes about the CB300R compared to the Street is the radiator. It's small on the Honda while the Street's radiator looks like something off an antique tractor.

Also, my local dealer can't seem to give a Street away and "real world" resale values are in the toilet. There are a ton of Harley riders in my area, yet I've never seen a Street 500 or 750 actually being ridden on the road.

MSRP for the Honda CB300R ABS : $4949
MSRP for the Street 500: $6899

I've test ridden a new Street Rod and while it's an improvement over the regular Street 750, there's no way in hell I'd pay almost $9K for one.
Has Harley management even looked at what's available from other manufactures in that same price range? I tend to believe they have not.

 

Seems like you will be able to make mamma happy and save $2k while your doing it. If mamma ain't.....nobody's happy. Who wants to ride a bike they think is ugly? I don't think the MoCo gives a rip what is posted on forums.

 

Please don't. There are plenty of styling issues with the CB300R, in and of itself - the stupidly long rear "fender" and the muffler being two of them. IMHO, that motorcycle is just plain ugly.

I'm not saying that the HD Street series is in any way a winner, but to compare the Street 500 with a CB300R is silly. How many new riders who would consider the 300 even look twice at a Harley, and vice-versa?

 

The CB500F is still a grand cheaper than the Street 500. I've never given bikes that small a second look so its hard for me to say. Let her ride all the different models and makes and decide what she prefers.

 

 

Cuz, thats what the cool kids ride in video games.

 

Product and opinion surveys from millennials cause the bikes to look like that..

I've seen two Streets in two years.

 

Im with ya! I hate the origami bikes. My youngest just got a leftover 2016 Triumph Street Cup. The bike is a blast and she paid like 6200.00 + fees...

 

 

I'd ride that new for 2019 CB300R.

Shoot, buy two & some soccer cones and go to an abandoned parking lot on a Sunday with a friend. That would be a heck of a lot of fun. Looks to be a good value motorcycle.

As a side note, the ABS option is IMU. Which is a pretty advanced system and far beyond anything HD has or will have for quite some time. All on a starter bike.