French · 7 years on Samui
French motorcycle tour guide living on Koh Samui for 7 years. Marc leads group rides across southern Thailand and knows every road on the island.
Updated: May 2026
At the Donsak pier last February with the CB500X on the vehicle deck - 70-minute crossing to the mainland - I planned the day's route while the ferry crossed. From Donsak the CB500X turns onto the Surat Thani highway: 55 kilometres of dual carriageway at 100 km/h, the CB500X's parallel twin running relaxed in sixth gear. The Donsak ferry operates daily from Nathon pier; the crossing costs approximately 230 baht per person plus vehicle. For a rider with the CB500X rented from Samui, the Donsak connection transforms the rental from an island circuit into a southern Thailand touring itinerary.
On the Surat Thani highway last March at 100 km/h - dual carriageway, good surface, light traffic in the morning - the CB500X covered the 55 kilometres from Donsak to the Surat Thani city ring road in under 40 minutes. The old town waterfront along the Tapi River, the Khao Sok National Park approach road south of the city, and the road north toward Phun Phin all offer day-trip riding on surfaces that suit the CB500X's road-biased specification. The CB300R would complete these routes; the CB500X completes them with more power margin and less motor commitment at highway speeds.
Above the Nakhon Si Thammarat plain last October - the mountain road climbing toward the Khao Luang National Park entrance - I took the CB500X up the winding two-lane at 60 km/h in third and fourth gear. The road surface was excellent; the corners were mountain-grade but well-signed. The CB500X handled the climb without any urgency, the 471cc twin working at a comfortable level through the gradient sections. At the park entrance the road becomes unpaved; the CB500X's 160mm ground clearance and semi-knobby tyres allowed 5 kilometres of the park road before I turned around. The Himalayan would continue further.
On a mainland day last January, I planned the CB500X's route for a 4 p.m. return ferry - the last of three daily departures from Donsak. Departure from Nathon pier at 8 a.m., arriving Donsak at 9:10 a.m. Day's riding: 160 kilometres. Return to Donsak by 3 p.m. - two hours of comfortable buffer before the last ferry. The CB500X's fuel range means no mainland fuel stop is required for a 160-kilometre day circuit; I arrived at the pier with 40 per cent tank remaining. For mainland day planning, the ferry schedule determines the riding window; the CB500X's range and pace make any reasonable mainland day circuit achievable.
On a two-day mainland circuit last February, I attempted the dirt section of the Surat Thani to Phang Nga forest road - 18 kilometres of graded dirt, isolated, no support. The CB500X's 17-inch front wheel on the graded dirt was manageable at 25 km/h for 8 kilometres before a soft section required the heavy bike to be walked through. The Himalayan would have continued. For extended mainland routes that include graded dirt or rough forest roads, the CB500X's road-biased specification reaches its limit below the Himalayan's. For all sealed road mainland routes, the CB500X is the superior touring tool.
Seven years of Donsak ferry crossings on the Honda CB500X - and the mainland days those crossings enable - has produced a consistent set of route recommendations: the Surat Thani highway circuit, the Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain road to the national park, and the coastal road south toward Phang Nga as a two-day circuit. All three routes are sealed highway or mountain tarmac; all three use the CB500X's 471cc displacement at its comfortable range; all three connect to the Donsak ferry at distances that fit within a single day's riding. These are the routes that justify the CB500X's position in the Samui rental fleet.
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