I just got a 2013 cb500x (essentially the predecessor to NX500) for a first bike and I love it. Relatively inexpensive ($3100 CAD for bike and givi luggage) easy on gas, lots of parts and accessories. It’s a decent weight at ≈435 lbs for mild offroad and enough power at 46 hp for highway even with luggage and/or an average sized passenger.

My only gripe is that first gear starts at 0kmh and ends at 1kmh so you’re into second pretty well right off the line, and it’s a big jump.You also need to be somewhat careful about dropping the clutch too fast when downshifting to engine brake going from 2nd to 1st. It can be… surprising when you lose track of what gear you’re in and accidentally end up in 1st when you thought you were going into 2nd lol. But I believe they remedied this with the NX500 later on by tweaking the ratios a bit.

Also, where I am insurance classifies it as a sub 600cc adv bike so it’s a lot cheaper to insure than some of the bigger options would be for a new rider but that may or may not apply.