CB500 in 1971 was a very pretty bike, I know I wanted one, ditto on the suggestion performance of the engine, brakes, suspension and tires would be somewhat mundane in direct comparison to a modern crotch rocket, and make no mistake, that is a very, wide, heavy bike having a tall center of gravity. Stick with standard bars until you get good with slow speed handling. Things to watch for in the vintage i4 is stretch in the engines internal chains, both valve and primary drive train stretch. If the previous owner was on and off the throttle lots, there will be drive train ‘lurch’ as a result of a stretched primary chain. Mufflers are almost sure to be non-stock as the heavy, double wall headers and original mufflers likely rusted out decades ago
rear shocks are likely just spring holders by now and the front forks have possibly never seen fresh oil, let alone new internals.
They take a while to wind up but given some space they are a very fast bike. Lots of cylinders is good for performance, bad for parts and service. Singles are elegant in their simplicity and multis are elegant in their complexity.