Hello esteemed members,

I am a new owner of a used 2004 Ninja 500R bike, which also happens to be my first bike. As a beginner rider, I have a few questions.

1. It's totally my fault, but when I bought the bike last Friday from a private seller, I didn't notice that the speedometer was not working. Only noticed this Saturday when I was able to take it out for a spin. The bike is otherwise in excellent condition, has 600+ miles (???) on it, no scratches or signs of any drops or accidents. The title is good and I registered it with DMV. The previous owner has carpal tunnel and didn't ride the bike (was in storage over 6+ months).
Question is is there any way to fix the speedometer ? Can the wire which is attached to the front wheel be fixed to get the speedometer moving again ?
The other 2 dials (rpm & hot/cold indicator) are working fine.

2. I lubed the chain and changed the oil & oil filter myself yesterday and for that I had to take out the lower faring to get to the filter. After the oil change, I didn't put the faring back as the naked bike looked better to me without it. Question is is it safe to ride the bike without the lower faring ? I drove it for a little while and didn't notice any difference. Is the lower faring only for looks or does it have a specific purpose which is important for safety purposes ?

Thanks,
buchut.

 

trust me everything can be fixed, you got one of the easy problems....i hope that makes you feel better. you can either do it yourself or take it in the wire that you are referring to is the cable that spins the speedometer that also attaches to your front hub just get that whole cable from your kawi dealer or whereevers and replace that whole cable with the new one, they unscrew at each end, just screw the new one in and you will be able to see that you are going 135 mile an hour instead of 134, hee hee hee... have fun i hope that helped and good luck, ride safe so you can ride tomorrow...

 

as for your lower fairing, whatever way you like it, is fine with me...it's all aesthetics, heck all the stuff i'm doing to mine, when someone see's it, they will probably say, this five-o guy, he is, really crazy, hee hee hee....I didn't like how the exhaust pipes are kinda short coming, so i had some extensions put onto them, i like it but who knows what other people think yeah? oh well i'm just yapping, but my point is that yes many people prefer the naked look, so your in there.... have fun

 

Just in case you haven't checked, is your speedo cable screwed tightly into the back of the speedo? They do have a tendency to become loose and unscrew themselves. I think that the lower fairing looks good with a mid fairing installed as well. Have fun with your new bike. Check your old chain and watch the stretch on it. Replaced the original chain on my 96 (only had it for a few months) with a o-ring chain. Much quieter. It is a great bike. Had a 83 GSX750 way back then, but I am enjoying the 500 very much. Much lighter and easier to throw around.

 

Well looks like your questions have been answered!

I like the 500 a little more on the naked side too! Just makes them look a little different! You don't need the lower if you don't want it, plus it makes oil changes a bit easier!