Benda Moto Napoleon Bob 500 (2025 - ) review

Both 500s are A2-licence friendly cruisers based on the same 476cc V-twin platform, sharing many of the same cycle parts. The more conventional Chinchilla (pictured above) is the cheaper machine with twin seat, full-length fenders and twin-shock rear suspension. For a small premium of a few hundred quid the Napoleon Bob is a slightly more extreme and extravagant bobber with different monoshock rear, ‘floating’ single seat, chopped fenders, shrouded forks resembling old-style ‘girder’ front suspension and more aggressive riding position. Names apart, both tick all the cruiser boxes, have credible styling that could easily be mistaken for an Indian or Harley with their belt-driven rear wheels and ‘shotgun’ exhausts and even include premium features like a circular TFT dash, inverted forks and radial-mount brakes. They also work commendably and are very temptingly priced but it’s the Napoleon Bob that grabs the eye most.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the more extreme-looking Napoleon Bob delivers the more extreme ride. Not so. With a low seat and fairly conventional bar position it’s easy to get on and feel comfortable. It’s not too heavy to feel awkward. Although its pegs are a little forward, on the move it all feels natural even though most of your weight is through your backside and, although more hunched and slightly more cramped than the more laid-back Chinchilla, there are no real comfort or control concerns, at least over short-ish distances even for your 6’ 3” tester.

Similarly, you wouldn’t normally expect a fairly extreme ‘bobber’ to offer much in terms of practicality but, again, the Napoleon Bob’s more than acceptable within reasonable considerations. Around town it’s a nimble, manoeuvrable joy, it’s a doddle to ride in all situations but it also has enough about it to make Sunday ride outs great fun. Admittedly, it can’t take a pillion and you wouldn’t fancy racking up big motorway miles on one, either. But for the style of bike it more than delivers.

One of the most impressive things about both the Chinchilla and Napoleon Bob is their all-new, liquid-cooled engine. Displacing 476cc with four valves per cylinder, it produces 47 horsepower at 9,000rpm and torque of 42Nm at 7,200rpm which is perfectly compliant with A2 licence limits. As a 65-degree V-twin with dual ‘shotgun’ style exhausts and belt final drive it’s ideally suited to its cruiser role – and it looks good, too. Best of all, it delivers with a flexible, enjoyable drive accompanied by a fruity, characterful soundtrack. As an entry-level cruiser powerplant you’d struggle to do better, especially at the price. On the slight downside, there are no riding modes, and the only electronic aid is switchable traction control, although it’s doubtful whether you actually need either on a relatively low-powered cruiser. The brakes, although not particularly sophisticated, are more than up to the job, too. Up front is a big 320mm single disc grasped by a radially-mounted caliper from Brembo’s budget brand ByBre, the 260mm rear disc gripped by a two-piston caliper.

Handling-wise the Napoleon Bob impresses, too. Although bobbers can be sometimes prioritise form over function with their big balloon tyres and short suspension travel, that’s not really the case here. Of the two variants the Chinchilla is a little easier and more familiar, with a slightly roomier riding position. But the Napoleon Bob isn’t at all bad. Suspension is by KYB, the forks adjustable beneath their shrouds while the rear monoshock is preload only, though only occasionally caught out by potholes. Although the fat 150-section front and 180-section rear tyres are from budget Chinese brand Timsun it steers more easily than you might expect and grip is OK.

Both the Chinchilla and Napoleon Bob have ‘all the right things in all the right places’, perform better than you might expect and have more than few neat design touches. All of that for little over five grand on the Chinchilla and not much more on the Napoleon Bob, though don’t forget to add on-the-road costs to the quoted numbers. Even then both look great value compared with more mainstream rivals like the Kawasaki Eliminator 500 or Honda CMX500 Rebel, given neither of them look or feel as exotic. Neither Benda should cost too much to run, either, the modest power hopefully meaning a similarly modest appetite for fuel, tyres, brake pads and other consumables.

The days of poor-quality Chinese bikes are fading fast and even with the budget positioning of both these bikes the quality is impressive. That said, it’s early days so difficult to be certain about likely reliability at this stage. The Napoleon Bob is fairly simple, though, is generally under-stressed and cycle parts like the KYB suspension and ByBre brakes are from proven, established suppliers.

As with all the new Bendas, the Napoleon Bob 500 comes with a fairly standard manufacturer backed, two-year, unlimited mileage warranty covering all parts and labour. As with many of the new breed of Chinese machines things aren’t quite as good servicing-wise, with routine maintenance due annually or every 4,000 miles, which is a fair way short of that usually offered by the more established Japanese or European brands. That said, for this style of bike and its likely usage it’s unlikely to be an issue.

In terms of equipment, the Napoleon Bob manages to exceed expectations as well. No, there are no riding modes, but you don’t need them and there is a fairly basic switchable traction control system. The circular 3.0-inch TFT dash displays all you need and is utterly keeping with the style of the bike. Its switchgear is OK, too, as are the mirrors. The KYB suspension, although barely adjustable, is decent quality as are the brakes, there are LED lights all round and even the budget tyres look alright. It also seems decently built with more than a few nice finishes and design touches. The only functional criticism is that it’s hard to see the indicator warnings in the small, dark display, making it easy to forget you’ve left them on after making your turn.

Both Benda 500s are impressive, the wilder-looking Napoleon Bob our pick. Neither are perfect, admittedly. The non-cancelling indicators annoy, the spec is a little basic, the tyres could be better and the service intervals are a little narrow but, for the money, those are mere niggles. Overall, both are credibly styled, decently specced, perform beyond expectations and are great value. The only question mark hanging over them is, perhaps, that lost-in-translation brand name, and whether your riding buddies can get over the novelty of sniggering like schoolboys about it any time it’s mentioned!