Giant Loop to distribute Rally Raid Products Honda aftermarket accessories

The Pacific Northwest is home to a number of after-market companies that provide luggage options for adventure bikes. That list includes TouratecUSA, Happy Trails, Moskomoto and Bend Oregon's Giant Loop.

As these manufacturers evolve, they almost always add other lines from around the world. Giant Loop is ready to break into that game with the addition of the Rally Raid Products line for Honda.

Rally Raid is a UK company designing after-market accessories for a lot of bikes from KTM, Honda, Triumph and others.

Giant Loop will debut their distribution deal of the Honda sector line this month kicking off with a full set of accessories for the Honda CB500X.

The CB500X has been a good seller in North America since Honda introduced the model in 2014. In its stock setup, it's a great lightweight bike featuring a 2 cylinder V-tec motor, much like the one found in the popular NC700X.

But this bike could be so much more. It has all the style to be a dual sport machine. It just doesn't come packaged for such. While a number of owners have outfitted the bike in various ways trying to achieve this goal of making the bike more than it is, RRP has gone through every part of the bike to come up with the needed upgrades to make it a monster in the dirt.

First and foremost, those cast wheels needed to go when it came to gravel travel. Done. RRP has created front and rear spoked wheel sets just for the CB500X. And that front wheel goes from 17" to 19" as part of the deal. A longer side stand and front fender are in order for the full conversion and RRP has owners covered with those two add-ons as well.

In the suspension department, they offer two rear shock options and springs and pre-load adjusters you can plug into the existing front forks for far greater tweaking ability. Owners can also upgrade to a solid billet aluminum triple clamp on the front forks.

Skid plates, luggage racks and rugged footrests round out frame options allowing the rider to add both a top box and saddle bags with several footrests options that double the sole coverage.

Rally Raid also offers several tool options, some lightweight folding mirrors and a tank graphics kit for all you kids who love stickers - and who doesn't love stickers!?

The marriage with Giant Loop now means North Americans can get their Rally Raid Honda gear from within the US, eliminating costly duty fees and customs hassles. Giant Loop makes plenty of soft luggage to mount to those racks as well, so it's one-stop shopping from here.

The Honda CB500X. A nice bike that just got a lot nicer thanks to RRP and Giant Loop.

Tom Mehren/July 2015

Check out the Rally Raid Products site for specifics and the Giant Loop site for package details.