If you are looking for a bike that looks fantastic, runs like the wind and handles like a gem… then you need to ride Kawasaki’s 500 Ninja.
It’s not often we start out features with such generous comments – but this is one bike that absolutely lives up to the famous Ninja Marque. We had the bike for a week and we rode it as often as we could.
Just look at it! It is pretty flippen gorgeous! Climb aboard, tickle the starter and there’s a satisfying growl from the pipe. Give the throttle a little blip and – we guarantee you’ll start smiling.
Snick the bike into first gear – the clutch pull is light, open the throttle and off we went. We’ve got some really great roads out here. In fact the street right outside our offices is better than a racetrack – and this often leads to much debate in the neighbourhood when the local tuners hit the gas…
Anyway, we’ve got pothole free suburban splendor, winding country roads and a groot freeway within spitting distance of our base.
The Kawasaki Ninja 500 is the middleweight sports bike that replaces the Ninja 400 and by the way, we like that bike too!
The engine is derived from the 400, with some tuning and 52cc’s more oomph. It doesn’t have much extra power at the top end compared with the outgoing 400, but it has a lot more bottom end and mid-range.
It comes with a basic digital display that’s clearly legible and features an economy indicator that lights up when you’re riding sensibly. But we didn’t see that very often…
Seating is sensible – even for bigger guys like us with Comfortable bars and sensibly mounted footpegs. Getting your feet to the ground is easy and maneuvering the bike around is light and simple.
She pulls easily to the legal road limit and maxes out at just over the 180kph mark.
The brakes work perfectly for a bike like this.
The most notable thing is the bike’s inherent quickness.The chassis feels light and really stable. The Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 tyres suit the bike perfectly. The non-adjustable 41mm front suspension feels really direct and well planted.
This is absolutely one of the best everyday use handling bikes that we’ve ridden to date, with usable power that delivers lots of smiles through the twisties on the road.
And best of all – it’s really comfortable.
We can’t wait to ride it on a track some time.
We also let the office orangutang take it for a spin, and this is what he had to say.
“It is a pretty little thing, very reminiscent of the H2 in styling and even livery. Kawasaki really does build nice sports bikes. After Glenn waxed on and on about the 500 Ninja, I really just had to take it for a ride. I headed out on some of the fast flowing roads close to us and gave it some proper horns. On the long downhill section where I do all the speed testing I managed 180 kmh with the throttle against the stops and my 2 metre chassis tucked in behind the screen and fairing as tightly as I could. 180 kmh really is quite rapid for a little 451cc parallel twin lugging 115kgs. Where this little machine really comes alive is tilting into corners, it is so planted, so nimble that you barely have to touch the brakes as you hit the apex and get back onto the gas hard. The gearbox is positive, the clutch is smooth and the brakes give good feedback as does the suspension.
Hit the open road and the top mounted handle bars give you a comfortable semi upright touring position, lekker for long hours in the saddle. Speaking of which, at 2 metres tall I am a little bit too tall for the Ninja 500, and to achieve a reasonably comfortable riding position I had to sit back as far as I possibly could and ended up on the rear edge of the seat which wasn’t ideal – but then again, big oafs like me are not this bikes target market I suppose. All in all, I really liked the new Kawasaki Ninja 500.”
Engine Capacity 451cc
Engine Type Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Parallel Twin
Power 33.4Kw
Torque 42.6Nm
Drive Chain
Gearbox 6-speed
Weight 171kg
Tank Capacity 14L
Ground Clearance 145mm
Seat Height 785mm
Front Brakes Semi-floating ø310 mm Disc
Rear Brakes ø220 mm Disc
Front Suspension Telescopic Fork – ø41 mm
Rear Suspension Bottom-Link Uni-Trak (adjustable preload)
In closing, for the level of fit and finish, performance and pure rider enjoyment as well as how much motorcycle you are getting, the R124,995.00 price tag does seem very reasonable. Chuck in nationwide parts and service back up with those super sexy lines and Kawasaki really does have a winner here.
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