Kawasaki Ninja 500 Road Test Review: Best Japanese Twin-cylinder Sportsbike In India

The Kawasaki Ninja 500 is nearly perfect as a twin-cylinder sportsbike. Here’s why

The Kawasaki Ninja 400 has always been a bike we’ve absolutely loved, for it was a near perfect sportsbike. And now, the Ninja 400 has made way for the Kawasaki Ninja 500. A bigger engine, slightly more features but the same price tag. Can this new formula work for the newest Ninja or is it still the same story of being an excellent bike but at a high price?

Design

The Ninja 500 actually looks quite similar to the outgoing Ninja 400 from a distance and you can make all the jokes about many bikes in the Ninja lineup looking a bit too similar to each other. But the truth is, the Ninja 500 is still a fantastic looking bike. It’s big, muscular and looks mean. The sheer amount of attention I got on this bike definitely made me feel like a Bollywood superstar. So if a proper big bike feel is what you want, this bike does it very well. 

As of now, the Ninja 500 is only available in one colour scheme: Metallic Spark Black and while it’s a nice paint scheme, we’re surprised Kawasaki doesn’t offer this bike in its signature Lime Green colourway. Sure, we’ve been seeing that paint scheme for a while now but a Kawasaki Ninja truly looks the absolute best in green.  

Engine, Mileage And Performance

 Now this is where the Ninja 500 has gotten a lot better. The Ninja 400 was already a very versatile bike and this one takes that up a notch. You see, the Ninja 500 does make a solid 5.6Nm more than the 400, but it also makes its peak power and especially peak torque a lot lower down the revs than the 400. So where you had to rev out the Ninja 400 to get the best out of it, the Ninja 500 does all of that without the need to keep its revs high. 

In the city, the Ninja 500 feels exceptionally easy to manage. Forget the 171kg kerb weight because it doesn’t feel that one bit. And the engine…it’s just brilliant. The 451cc engine is extremely easy to ride and low speeds in high gears do not bother it one bit. Heck, slot it into the 6th gear and feather the clutch just that little bit and the bike will get going from literally 0kmph without any juddering or complaints from the engine. Insane! Check out the video below to see it in action:

And if you like keeping your commuting speeds high, the Ninja 400 is only too happy to do that. Post 4000rpm there’s this strong wave of torque and you’ll end up filtering the bike through traffic at quite a rapid pace before you even know it. With the Ninja 400, where you might’ve needed to downshift a gear to execute a quick overtake, the 500’s mid-range is just incredible and all you need to do is open the throttle. As for the tyres, the Dunlop Sportmax tyres are just fine for your everyday riding. But if you intend to ride this bike hard and maybe even take it to the race track, we’d recommend an upgrade. In this size, the TVS Eurogrip Protorq Extreme or the Ceat SportRad tyres are excellent ones that are not only reasonably affordable but also made-in-India, meaning their availability won’t be a big challenge. 

Get out of the city and that’s where this engine really comes alive. Post 4000pm things start getting quick and after 8000rpm this bike goes absolutely mad, revving happily to about 12,000rpm where the rev-limiter kicks in. This motor truly enjoys being revved out and it does that with the typical scream-y exhaust note that we’ve come to associate with bigger Kawasaki bikes. 100kmph in 6th gear comes right under 6000rpm and this bike is more than happy to hold cruising speeds of upto 150kmph without any stress. It is a very special experience and you’d never think that a bike that was so calm in the city can be so fast out on the highway.

Now, this is also where we put a caveat. With fast bikes, it’s very easy for things to go wrong really quickly. But this is again where the Ninja 500 is just somehow too good. It’s not single-minded like say the KTM 390 Duke and it’s almost like this one asks you “Do you really want to go fast? If yes, here’s all the power you need. If you’re not ready, just slot me in any gear you want and we’ll just commute along at a gentle pace.” And this very characteristic makes us think that this will be a fantastic bike to upgrade to from even the likes of the 150-200cc bikes. As for the Ninja 500’s mileage, I got around 25kmpl in the city and about 28kmpl out on the highway. Not bad for a big capacity twin-cylinder sportsbike, I’d say! 

Handling And Ride Quality  

 The Ninja 500 lives upto its sporty looks in terms of handling as well. It leans into corners effortlessly and once there, maintains its line very nicely. We’ve no complaints on this front and while that might not be surprising, what’s actually surprising is just how comfortable and practical the Ninja 500 is. It’s a proper sportsbike that you can take out on the track but somehow also a bike that you can use as your daily rider. The clip-on handlebars are raised and the riding position is almost fully upright. Add to that the spacious seat and that means even my 6’0 frame was very comfortable. 

Another pleasant surprise was the suspension. Yes, on paper it’s just a non-adjustable telescopic fork but in the real world, it works beautifully. Both the fork and monoshock are on the firmer side and that feels very nice when cornering, making the bike feel nice and stable. But once you’re back in the city, both still absorb most potholes and bumps very well and by sportsbikes’ standards, the Ninja 500 is properly comfortable. 

Dimensions-wise too, the Ninja 500 is extremely friendly to ride. The 785mm seat height is accessible to all sorts of riders and as mentioned earlier, you barely feel the 171kg kerb weight, be it while riding or even when moving the bike around in parking lots. The 145mm ground clearance might not sound like a lot, but the slightly firm suspension keeps the bike from scraping its belly even on the biggest of speed breakers. So no complaints there either. As for the 14-litre tank, it should give you a range of about 350-400km. In all circumstances, it’ll definitely be more than 300km. So if you’re thinking about touring on the Ninja 500…we’d say why not! 

Features

An LCD console with Bluetooth connectivity, LED lighting, dual-channel ABS and an assist-and-slipper clutch is all that the Ninja 500 gets. The Ninja 500 SE comes with a TFT console as well but we unfortunately don’t get that in India. Now while for this price point, bikes do come with a lot of fancy features, the honest truth is that customers rarely use any of them in real life. So while we’re okay with the lack of fancy features, we think things like adjustable levers and maybe a quickshifter would’ve made the overall riding experience a whole lot better. 

Should You Buy The Kawasaki Ninja 500? 

This is the trickiest part of the entire review. While the Ninja 500’s price is the same as the 400, Rs 5,24,000 (ex-showroom India) is still a bit too much to spend on this Ninja. What further doesn’t help its case is the fact that maintaining Kawasaki bikes can be quite expensive, so it’s not that acquiring the Ninja 500 can be treated as a one-time expense. But while the head says no, the heart says a big yes. The Ninja 500 is almost perfect and if you do ride it, we promise you it’ll plaster a big smile across your face.

But let’s sum this up, once and for all. The Ninja 500 isn’t super big on value for money and if you want the most bang for your buck in this segment, the Aprilia RS 457 seems to make for a better bike. It looks more modern, packs better tech, is a lot cheaper (Rs 4,10,000, ex-showroom Delhi) and seems to pack similar performance. That said, if you want that Japanese twin-cylinder sportsbike experience, it simply doesn’t get any better than the Ninja 500. So if you have the money, the Ninja 500 is an extremely likeable bike that’ll remain in your garage for a long time…that is something we can promise.