hey guys I'm planning on purchasing a used 05 or 06 500r in the next month or so. Input such as: warnings, pros and cons would be great. Sounds like a great bike! I'm excited about gettin one. All info would be great and I was wondering how long, in years, the 500 will last if taken care of. Thanx again.

 

Wanna buy mine

 

I just got my motorcycle license a couple months ago and bought a used '05 Ninja 500R with low miles and a little cosmetic damage to it and I have nothing but good things to say about it so far. I'll probably want a bike with a little bigger engine down the line but this thing handles great and is easy and fun to ride. The acceleration from a stop-light seems a little slow to me but drag-racing's not my thing anyway. I use it for commuting to work when the weather's good and for fun on the week-ends. I suppose it depends what you're looking for in a bike. It's been reliable and fun so far and its not so powerful that it'll send you flying across the Grand Canyon if you accidentally twist the throttle a little further than you intended while first learning how to ride. Brakes nicely and corners fairly well though I'm not riding it like I'm racing it -- I take these intersection turns fairly slowly!!! But its fun out on those curving back country roads.

I'd say go for one especially if you can find a used one with low miles and save yourself a bit of money on the price.

Good Luck.

Chris

 

Its an awesome first bike to have, I would strongly suggest it............not very expensive either, and pretty good insurance quotes too. I love mine

 

I don't think you'll go wrong with it. 99.9% of the bugs have been worked out of it through all the years of production. The insurance should be reasonable, so should the general cost of ownership.

 

I must respectfully disagree with you, Mark. Can you name one single bug (or even .1% of a bug) left in this bike?

Sure the engine could be more powerful, the suspension could be adjustable, and the whole package could be lighter weight; but if KHI made those changes, we wouldn't be able to buy a brand-new one for only $5049.

I've owned bikes (like the Honda Superhawk) that had serious problems, that were common enough to warrant a recall. Problems with camchain tensioners, with regulator/rectifiers*, with leaking coolant and many other things just as serious. But this bike has none of those regular recurring problems, and that's why it (and the EX500's father, the Concours) have been successful enough for Kawasaki to keep producing and selling unchanged since '94.
Sure, some things do go wrong; but it's not as if every one of us is having the same problem.

*Riders of the VFR750's from the '90's refer to them as regulator/rectifryers.

 

insurance is dirt cheap, most insurance companies consider the 500 a standard. If yours doesn't ... switch

 

I have full coverage for $25 a month, and Im guessing liability only would be less than $10 for me

 

I have both a 500r and a GSXR600. I ride the 500r daily, and the 600 every once in a while (usually at the track). The main reason is that the 500r so much more comfortable to ride than the 600. The 500r is a great bike for the daily commute, but you will also have fun on the twisties. Just my two cents.