Brixton Crossfire 500X Review - Is This The Continental GT Rival We Have Been Waiting For?

The Brixton Crossfire 500X is a fun and charismatic motorcycle, but there is still a big question-mark on whether spending money on one is a good idea.

I had the keys to the Brixton Crossfire 500X in my hand and as I was walking towards it in our parking lot, I realised that it doesn’t really stand out until you get close to it. It isn’t obnoxious or loud in any way and, among eight other bikes, at first glance, you could easily mistake it for a modded Royal Enfield or a Husqvarna. At second glance, however, the 500X will hold your line of sight. This is when you really start to appreciate the attention that’s gone into creating this design. The long and narrow tank with an “X” sculpted into both sides, the flat seat that rises where it meets the tank, the spoked wheels with dual-purpose tyres, the upswept stainless-steel silencer, the headlight with a compass motif inside, and the transparent front master cylinder are some of the visual details that are executed very well and contribute to the Crossfire 500X being a proportionate, easy-on-the-eyes, attractive motorcycle.

The seat height is 795 millimetres, so saddling-up with your feet flat on the ground is easy and the handlebar is positioned slightly away from you, which results in a riding position where you have to lean forwards just a little. As soon as you start the engine, you will notice two things, the first being that the switchgear doesn’t feel so great—quality has a lot of improvement potential here. The second thing you’ll notice is the exhaust note—it’s a superbly bassy soundtrack and I love the rumble it produces.

The 486-cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine produces 47.6 hp and 43 Nm. It is a characterful and torquey engine which makes the Crossfire 500X fun to ride. It has a very strong low-to-mid range and things get a little buzzy past 5,500 rpm. It feels happiest in the middle of its usable rpm band.

The gearbox, unfortunately, is nothing to write home about. It feels rather clunky and there’s also no slip-assist clutch. While the levers are adjustable, the clutch action itself is quite hard and in start-stop city traffic, your fingers will start aching. Riding through traffic isn’t this bike’s forte: the throttle feels a tad too jumpy while creeping and will take some getting used to. It feels much more at home when you’re riding fast on empty stretches of good tarmac.

The seat, being flat, is a good thing for the rider. It’s supportive and comfortable. However, since the seat ends abruptly at the bike’s tail section with no grab-rails or handles anywhere, there’s basically no pillion support.

The brakes have a lot of bite to them and inspire a good amount of confidence and the suspension has adjustable damping at the front and rear. You get 25-click adjustment at the front and 20 at the rear. The front adjusters are on the top of the front fork whereas the rear adjuster is at the base of the rear monoshock and is very difficult to reach. Adjustment is not tool-free; you will need a flat-tip screwdriver.

I found a firm-ish set-up to work well with the nature of this bike, which ended up being 12 and eight clicks from the softest setting for the front and rear respectively. This suspension set-up works well, it cuts out the harshness of road irregularities decently. It’s not plush by a long shot but I think it suits the character of the bike. It’s a firm yet adequately comfortable set-up in which the bike feels composed to ride. This suspension and the Pirelli MT60 tubeless tyres (which are wrapped around spoked wheels) make the 500X a good road performer.

If you like this bike, there are a few aspects that you need to consider. Brixton is a new brand in India that has arrived from Austria. The bikes are assembled in Kolhapur. Because it is a new company, service network and availability of parts is something that remains to be seen. The price is the other more pertinent issue. The Crossfire 500X costs Rs 4.74 lakh (ex-showroom). This makes it Rs 1.71 lakh and Rs 1.55 lakh more expensive than Royal Enfield’s Interceptor and Continental GT respectively.

All things considered, this premium is almost impossible to justify. This is a good bike, but it’s a tough sell.