Did a Motorcycle Brand You’ve Never Heard of Secretly Make the Perfect Entry-Level Cruiser?

Straight out of Jiangsu Province, China, Hanway’s YP500 packs plenty of retro bobber style and just enough power to scratch the itch.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published February 18, 2025

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Updated February 18, 2025

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The stereotypical cruiser motorcycle is a bit of a beast. The very word calls to the Harley Low Rider and Indian Scout Bobber — two bikes I love — and their respective 1,1917cc and 1,250cc engines.

These days, however, some brands are starting to realize bigger isn’t always better. Just look at Royal Enfield, which has made a splash with the Super Meteor 650 and its 648cc engine.

hanway yp500 full — Hanway calls this YP500 shade Theater Red. Sounds like they are being a bit, ahem, dramatic.

Or Honda, which offers a Rebel with 1,084cc engine but arguably delivers a more appealing package with the 471cc Rebel 500. (Heck, there’s even a Rebel 300 dipping below $5,000.)

The YP500’s paint schemes are also attractive. There’s an eggshell white, a deep, almost burgundy red and two blacks, one gloss and one matte. There’s also the chromed-out, hyper-reflective special edition, which kind of looks like if Ryan Gosling’s Fall Guy aviators became a bike.

Bikes like these have made the world safe for smaller cruisers — and have me doing a double take at a great-looking retro bobber out of China: the Hanway YP500.

Hanway or the highway

Based in Jiangsu Province, a little east coast hamlet of, oh, 85 million people, Hanway makes a number of different bikes, with the YP500 and a similar-looking bike called the B50 among the biggest.

Supporting its classic good looks, which call to mind the aforementioned Indian Scout Bobber as well as the Triumph Bonneville Bobber, is a twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled 498cc engine.

hanway yp500 engine — I’ve ridden bikes with smaller engines than the YP500’s 498cc-er — and found them great for urban escapades.

This relatively small power plant makes 47 horsepower and 33 pound-feet of torque.

While you might not want to regularly take that on the highway, it’s perfectly serviceable for riding around suburbs and cities. (The soft-tail cradle frame gives you a bit of cushion versus potholes.)

Adding to its appeal for newer riders is a slipper clutch, which makes shifting easier and a seat height of 28 inches, just a bit higher than the Rebel 500’s 27.2 and in fact lower than the Super Meteor’s 29.1.

hanway yp500 beauty — Outside of the tires and stitched leather seat, the special edition is really a study in reflectivity.

Accordingly, for a bike that sits between those two on engine size spectrum, the YP500’s 440 pounds is a bit heavier than the Rebel 500’s 408 pounds and much lighter than the Super Meteor’s 531.

The YP500’s paint schemes are also attractive. There’s an eggshell white, a deep, almost burgundy red and two blacks, one gloss and one matte.

There’s also the chromed-out, hyper-reflective special edition, which kind of looks like if Ryan Gosling’s Fall Guy aviators became a bike.

hanway yp500 action — It’s hard to look at this shot — or watch the product page video — and not daydream about cruising for miles and miles.

For these reasons, it’s probably no surprise that the YP500 has caught on not only in Asian markets but also in Europe, where its size puts it at the top of the A2 license bracket, perfectly positioned as the next step up for a progressing rider.

Alas, you can’t get it in the US (yet), which is a shame because its estimated US price, roughly $4,684, is perhaps the most compelling feature of all.

Availability and pricing

While not currently available in the US, Hanway has made it to Europe, so an eventual stateside appearance is not inconceivable.

The base price of the standard YP500 is 33,980 yuan (~$4,684 USD), while the Special Edition starts at 43,980 yuan (~$6,063 USD). Those figures are, of course, before tariffs.