Question about the Ninja 500

Mr_anderson · 06-26-2004, 04:40 PM

Just bought me a Kawasaki Ninja 500. I really love the bike, but I am completely new to sportsbikes so I have a question to ask. This bike has plenty of power for what I want, but I noticed that when I get on the freeway and get it up to 65mph to run along with traffic, in highest gear the tachometer is reading about 5,500 rpm. Now I know that it is not in the red until much much higher than that, but if I were to cruise on the interstate for like an hour at that speed and rpms, will it put a lot of stress on the engine over time or is it made to handle that? I realize that it has to be properly broken in first, but my question is after properly breaking the bike in and riding it a lot at that power setting. A few guys I talked to said that that is completely normal rpm to run the bike at and it would not put very much stress on the engine at all but would only burn gas a little quicker. Is this pretty much right? I don't want to sound stupid but I know nothing about these bikes and I sure don't want to harm the engine over time. Any input would be great! Thanks!

gondzur · 06-26-2004, 05:27 PM

5500 is nothing...keep in mind it's not the same engine you'd find in your Chevy or Ford.

Inky24 · 06-26-2004, 05:31 PM

First, let me say congrats on the bike. My first street bike was a 500 and i loved it. It's a great bike, comfortable, and it has plenty of power for what you need.

As for the RPM's, 5500 is fine. I used to cruise around anywhere between 5000-7000. As a rule, bikes rev higher then cars do. If your not used to it, you might be thrown off by it, but no worries, the bike will be fine.

RayOSV · 06-26-2004, 10:07 PM

As was said before, 5500 is nothing. Just try to vary the revs especially during break in. It's not a good idea to run for hours at the same engine speed.

20R602 · 06-27-2004, 12:18 AM

What they said and congrats on the new bike!!

TexasRyda · 06-27-2004, 12:30 AM

Congrats man, I'm thinking about making the 500R my first bike as well. Post some pics if you can. It's good to see that you didn't go overboard and start with a 1000cc bike.

kawagirl · 06-27-2004, 12:31 AM

welcome to team green!

RACER X · 06-27-2004, 01:51 AM

congrats, and get training

www.msf-usa.org

Süsser Tod · 06-27-2004, 02:10 AM

Man, my 150 does like 9,000-10,000 RPMs at 60mph on fifth gear!!!

Don't worry, they are designed to run at those speeds!

You have a lot to learn about motorcycles!

BMF136 · 06-27-2004, 03:38 PM

As everyone has said, it's no big deal. I had the same concerns when I first started riding since I was used to the (lower) rpms while driving cars. Your bike can handle it.

Mr_anderson · 06-27-2004, 03:55 PM

Thanks for the Congrats everyone and all the input! I just wanted to make sure because this is my first bike. I didn't think it was much to worry about but I wanted to get the advice from you experienced guys.

TigerB · 06-28-2004, 04:17 PM

The Ninja 5 is a sweet bike. I am a begginer and in the process of purchasing one myself but my friend let me ride his last year and I was hooked after that. Just like everyone else said 5500 is no big deal.
I was wondering if anyone knew of an exhaust system that can be put on a Ninja 500R?

Adempha · 06-29-2004, 01:06 AM

I had to stop in and say something so you guys might not make a mistake I did.

500CC is fine for the beginner. I bought a 2003 500R and god I loved that bike. I purchased it in June 2003. In April of 2004 I traded it for the 636CC I have now.

According to the 500R Oklahoma title I got, that model is known to have 67HP. My 636, although not much larger displacement, 4 cyclinders and not 2, has 125HP.

Now, I LOVE the 500R. I wished I could have kept it, but I had to keep my Kawasaki account under $8K or so or I'd need a cosigner, so I had to trade it in.

Since the purchase price of the two bikes is only like $2000 difference, get the bigger bike. After only one year, I owed more on the bike than it was worth and lost about $2k going bigger.

Ghost Rider · 07-02-2004, 11:31 AM

No worries; it was made to rev that high.
Just keep the tach out of the red zone and you'll be fine.

RACER X · 07-02-2004, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adempha

Since the purchase price of the two bikes is only like $2000 difference, get the bigger bike. After only one year, I owed more on the bike than it was worth and lost about $2k going bigger.

it's not always about the $, better to learn the basics and learn from there as opposed to crashing and not learning anything or stifling your learning curve w/ the bigger bike.....shoulda bought the 500 used , and you coulda sold it for a very good price.

you traded the bike in to the dealership?.....another dumb move, they aren't gonna give you squat for the bike, but they are gonna sell the bike for what you coulda sold it for........and anytime you have a vehicle for 1 yr and resell your gonna take a loss. shoulda kept the 500 and hit a trackday, woulda opene your eyes to how little you really know about riding. how many miles do you put on the 500?

mr anderson, MSF?