Fantastic - Completely Underrated
Written: Aug 09 '04 (Updated Jan 16 '06)
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Pros: Low Price,
Power aplenty,
Comfortable,
Versatile,
Well finished,
Time-proven drivetrain,
Not a supersport
Cons: Styling,
Doesn't have a thick back tire,
Not as many aftermarket parts,
Not a supersport
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a solid bike you can ride two states over and still be ready to carve some curves, this is it.
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| daekar's Full Review: 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 500R |
This is my second motorcycle, my first one was a Ninja EX250, so while I definitely wouldn't consider myself an expert by any stretch, I do feel I have both feet firmly in the door. For this review to be useful to you, you might need to know a few things: I'm 21, which means I'm cocky and overconfident, but it also means I'm poor. I'm also a big fan of keeping my body and its various attachments firmly in place and intact - something that conflicts with the absurd MotoGP aspirations I can thank my hormones for. Anyway, keep in mind my background while reading. And without any further ado, here we go.
Category 1: Power
This is, of course, what it's all about. The roar/whine/drone/scream/thump/whatever of the engine beneath you while your eyeballs touch the back of your skull and the Japanese tuner next to you fades into your mirrors. Any sportbike from the past 10 years that's 500ccs or up will lay down 0-60 times that would make Detroit drool, and this bike is no exception. With a listed 54hp @9000 and 0-60 reported between 3.6 and 4.6 seconds, this baby will fly. Now I know that a big concern of new riders is that they'll look cool and be able to keep up with their friends... and I'll let you in on a little secret. Unless your friends have a) the latest ZX-10R, b) extensive race experience and c) a deathwish, you'll have absolutely no problem. You'll find that skill is much more important than power when it comes to crossing the finish line first (or at all...). Case and point: I can outrun my Dad's Harley 1200 Sportster (modded up to about 80hp and loads of torque) on the 250R, using good braking and shifting. Power on this baby ranges from docile up to terrifying, it's all in how you ride her. The torque band is wide and while stock it's got good power low. In fact, it has 10ft-lbs more torque at 2500 than the 250 has at its maximum. Definitely good to ride around town. My only wish is that while cruising at 70, the revs were just a bit lower. Of course, that change is just an $8 sprocket away!
Category 2: Handling
My impression of the 250R is that it is delightfully flickable - 16" wheels and featherweight mass make sure of that. The 500R is definitely a more massive machine, weighing in at around 438lbs wet - if you look around, you'll find supersport 600s that are lighter than that. What's the upside? It's more stable, by a longshot - those tractor-trailers that scare the bejeezus out of the local YZF club won't make you do more than blink. The downside? It's harder to turn. Despite that, I haven't found a twisty I can't own, and that's saying something, since I live right at the foot of the mountains. Another consideration is the suspension… it’s not nearly as soft as the 250R was and makes a Harley suspension look like a wet noodle. Lots of folks tighten it up, put in harder springs, denser fluid. I haven’t found a need and I’ve never noticed a moment when the suspension did anything I didn’t like. My overall impression of handling? Good - it's not as flickable as a track-bike, (Thank God) but it will do exactly what you tell it to without protesting.
Category 3: Styling
Ok, here's where it gets a little ugly. The designers of this bike were on the cutting edge of style about 10-15 years ago... they just haven't stayed there. This is not a fault of the bike - Kawi needed an offering for the 500cc market, and they realized that it needed to be solid, reliable, exciting, and cheap... so they put the 500R on a long production run. While this means you won't be riding the sexiest insectile work of art on wheels like the R1 (it's a lousy street bike but holy heck it's gorgeous), it's still a good looking machine. (Compare to practically any model-year Katana.. actually, compare to anything made before '95...) Aside from the dated headlight-structure, the rest of the bike is very well done... little touches like a brushed metal gascap, a blacked-out engine with brushed metal on the fins, a nice looking tail-light, and a decent windscreen, to name a few. Another upside to the long production run is the relative low price and wide availability of parts, as well as the knowledge that there are tens of thousands of bikes made before yours – think of those thousands as the prototypes which were in testing to get the bugs out before yours was made. These things are bulletproof. If the styling is really an issue, buy a Suzuki GS500 - You won't get nearly as good a bike, but it looks like a GSX-R. Your call. (btw, if anybody knows of a good headlight mod to make it a different shape and look better, post it for all us Kawi owners on the Kawasaki Forum)
(For a direct comparison of the GS500 and the EX500, read the one from Motorcycle Consumer News @ http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/NinjaGScomparo07a.pdf and http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/NinjaGScomparo07b.pdf )
Category 4: Braking
When I first switched to this bike from the 250R, my impression was that the brakes were lousy. I was wrong, they were just different in how they came on. No dual front discs on the US model (although somewhere in Europe there are a bunch of lucky stiffs who got them), but all the same, I have absolutely no doubt a panic-squeeze would result in a stoppie/endo. Adjustable brake-handle makes it easy to set it just the way you like it in no time at all.
UPDATE: I've done two panic-squeezes over my ownership of the bike - one made the fork dive and the front tire chirp, the other one bottomed out the front fork. I think it partially depends on the surface you're on. At any rate, I would imagine no stoppies/endos unless you stiffen up the front fork a bit.
Category 5: Comfort
The long and short of it: it’s not a couch. It is, however, far superior to the 250 AND my father’s Harley Sportster and Lowrider. The seating position is a relatively-sane upright position, but still aggressive enough to let the people you’ve just passed know you’re on a sportbike. The handlebars are not on clipon mounts, and you CANNOT use anything but the OEM handlebars. Keep that in mind if your bike ever falls over. The nice thing is, you can sit up like a cruiser, crouch like a racing champ, or anything in between. It’s very nice to be able to switch back and forth, it reduces muscle fatigue. I haven’t felt the need to change the saddle, I like it the way it is – I do have plans to get new rearsets to move the pegs and pedals back and up, but I’m leaving the handlebars. There is plenty of room, too. I'm 6'-1" and have no problems at all – I fold up perfectly behind the windscreen (Actually, I can touch my chest to the tank while in a tuck). The only thing I would change if I were to start touring would be the windscreen, I would want one that directs the slipstream higher like on the Kawi Concours. Oh yeah, Tourmaster makes some fantastic saddlebags and a tailbag that fit perfectly on the 500R, too – so a 500 mile day is definitely doable.
Category 6: Value
Most of us don’t have several thousand dollars to drop on a bike, so this is pretty important. The nice part is, this is also the easy part – this bike is a steal. It costs less than the inferior GS500, and far less than the cheapest 600 offered by the big 4. They’re also available in droves if you’re looking in the used market, and I would highly recommend exploring that option. As long as the bike was broken in properly and it hasn’t been dropped, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t save a buck and buy a decent used 500R. Another perk that is often forgotten (or intentionally left out, as the case may be) is the lower insurance rates. Anyone who has surfed the internet looking for used bikes can tell you that the most numerous item out there is an R6 that has been crashed and is for sale with a salvage title – which explains why the insurance rates for performance machines like that are astronomical. Some companies won’t even insure you at all. If you’re like me and you’re young, male, and have one speeding ticket (yep, just one) you’re going to get taken to the cleaners. In fact, if you want to have anything except a high deductible and liability coverage only, you’ll end up paying for the cost of a brand new 600cc supersport in just a couple of years. This bike is a little less painful on the wallet. It’s not as cheap as a Harley (which is really low to the point of being unfair), but definitely less than the racebikes with lights.
Overall:
I’m obviously in love with my bike, so I’m sure I’ve overlooked some things. Example – the OEM horn is just like all the others… complete junk. My first mod was to get a FIAMM Freeway Blaster horn and install it, and now the soccer mom driving the SUV while talking on the phone realizes she’s cut me off after I honk at her. It’s nice to be noticed. I would recommend this bike to anyone who: is on a budget and wants a lot for their money; is looking for a first or second bike but is afraid of getting bored with it; is looking for a sport bike that won’t break their back or their self respect; is looking for a bike to start racing on – you stick on new tires, full exhaust (usually 2-1), rejet the carbs, mod the airbox, and take off some excess pieces like passenger pegs, and you’ve got yourself a screamer. If you're worried your friends won't like it, you've got a few options: Give up the comfort and drivability and drop a couple grand more on a 600, get new friends, or my favorite, learn to ride better than them, leave 'em eating your knee-slider scrapings, and then smile when they complain about their aching backsides. Usually this is best punctuated by a "Darn shame, all that horsepower and you hurt too much to use it.." :) I fully intend to keep this bike as long as I can – when I get another bike it will probably be a BMW sport-tourer – and when that day comes, I’m going to trick this bike out. Rear seat cowl, exhaust, jets, tires, clipons, rearsets, the works. Oh yeah, one last thing. It’s much more fun to smoke a 600 or 1000cc rocket in the twisties if you’re on a 500 – Not a hard thing to do if you’re a decent rider, but very satisfying, and very amusing to watch the other guys ego drip down the side of his faring and puddle on the tarmac.
UPDATE: Ok, so I lied - I'm keeping this bike forever, and I'm not buying a BMW. I recently completed a 1000-mile tour of eastern Florida with my family and it performed beautifully the whole time. I found that after about 200 miles I started to get occassional stiffness in my back, but other than that it was great. Gas mileage was fantastic and the large tank ensured I was half full when the Harleys were sipping fumes. After the tour I installed some Woodcraft rearsets which I love - it's even more comfortable now - and I have some Sarachu exhaust pipes coming in the mail! I have come to the conclusion that, while there are some great bikes out there that might be able to do certain things better, my baby has low insurance premiums, enough mods available to keep me entertained for a long time, fantastic internet support (www.EX500Riders.com and www.kawasakimotorcycles.org), and as I recently discovered, some of the best handling around - I test rode a Buell XB12R and while it had more power than the 500 could ever hope to generate, it was VERY hard to turn compared to the 500, which was practically begging you to drag your knee by comparison! Unless you've got to have the latest and greatest race replica, this is the bike for you!
UPDATE: I recently met up with a bunch of guys at the local Honda dealership for a ride through about 50 miles of extremely curve roads, and was slightly intimidated upon arrival by their 600RR and 1000RR supersports. We ended up riding extremely fast, with my speedo hitting 125mph at one point, but to my surprise and complete delight, I didn't have much trouble keeping up! There was, of course, no way I could match their speed in the straights - they hit 140 - but I did especially well in the curves, thanks in part to the wonderful torque all over the rev range. In fact, I tended to go faster in the curves than the 600RR! This is with stock tires, stock engine settings, and the slipon Sarachu pipes (my bike sounded the best of of all of them... the others were very weedwhackerish and I sounded deep and rumbly), so a stock bike will perform the same. More proof that you really don't need to worry about keeping up with your friends, this bike will do it all!
UPDATE: Well, the odometer just rolled past 11,000 miles on my Ninja, and no trouble in sight. This happened, of course, during the second 1000+ mile tour of southern Florida I've taken on the bike, and I can't tell you how pleased I continue to be with it. The only things I'd complain about are 1) The seat is darn good, but maybe a little too squishy for 8+ hours in the saddle, and 2) I felt the need to extend my legs from the bent position every once in a while to keep them from hurting. Next thing to do is RIDE to Florida and THEN do the tour!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 4650
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
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Epinions.com ID:
daekar
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Member: Adam Smith
Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 3 members
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