[500r1]

I have a 2004 ninja 500 is it a 500r or a ex500 Kawasaki.com says it is a 500r Every place i look for parts they dont even list a 500r or even that year all they list is a ex500 What is the differeance and Were is the best place to buy parts like exhaust and much more thankyou.

 

[Ebbs15]

I saw a thred on someone asking about moding a 500r... here...http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-1431.html
one of them should know...hope that helps bro
:cheers

 

[HalfLiterBeater]

Simple. There is no difference.

EX-500 is the model designation. Ninja 500R is the name. Sort of like Calling a Lexus IS-300 an Altezza. Same difference. (It IS an IS-300 right? I forget... To hell with these imports... )

Also, check out the Kawasaki>Ninja 500R section on these boards...there's quite a few of us there, and we started up an absolutely AWESOME parts list. You'll be surprised that you're gonna find there.

 

[3l1t3]

The Ex500 rims are smaller by an inch it's like 15 or 16 on the ex and 16 or 17 on the 500r. Also doesn't the 500r have a rear disc? The ex500 has a drum. Except for those differences they are the same.

 

[HalfLiterBeater]

You might be thinking of an old, OLD EX?

As far as modern times are concerned, 500R's ARE EX-500's. They still are called EX-500's...just in like 94 or 96 or so, Kawasaki decided to adopt the "500R" moniker and place it on the bike...try to make it look more performance-oriented I suppose. Which is also probably the time the 250R monikers came about.

Either way, the 500R and EX-500 are identical, with no changes whatsoever.

The EX-250 (250R) comes with 16 inch wheels. The EX-500 (500R) has 17 inches. And I am not aware of rear drums being used on these bikes *ever*. But I could be wrong there.

Either way, they are THE SAME bike. Trust me. I had the same problem initially until I found out.

 

[drmnlateef]

No, the older generation EX500 did indeed have drum brakes, but in 94 it was updated to disk.....They also made the change in 94 from a 16 inch wheel to a 17 inch one...this is all in article on SportRider.com....it talks about when these changes took place!

 

[Oni]

The Ex500 rims are smaller by an inch it's like 15 or 16 on the ex and 16 or 17 on the 500r. Also doesn't the 500r have a rear disc? The ex500 has a drum. Except for those differences they are the same.

I own a '91 EX500. Your right about the tire size. It's 16in. It also has a rear drum brake and single disk front. Another differences are the forks. Pre '94 use a 36mm.

 

[HalfLiterBeater]

Thanks for the information guys...

EEEK....drum brakes on a BIKE. AHHHHHCKKKKK, bad idea..... :hshot

Ok so with what you guys have said...the EX-500 IS the Ninja 500R...but the Ninja 500R is not the EX-500. If your bike says Ninja 500R, it's also the EX-500. But if it doesn't...it's just an old EX-500. :twofinger

 

[taziscool]

Thanks for the information guys...

EEEK....drum brakes on a BIKE. AHHHHHCKKKKK, bad idea..... :hshot

You wanna explain WHY???? I can lock up the rear on ALL my rear end, drum braked bikes just as easy as a disk. seeing as how MOST of the braking comes from the front wheel(80-90%), a rear drum is worthy of the other 10-20% of braking duty. There is NOTHING wrong with them.

 

[HalfLiterBeater]

You wanna explain WHY???? I can lock up the rear on ALL my rear end, drum braked bikes just as easy as a disk. seeing as how MOST of the braking comes from the front wheel(80-90%), a rear drum is worthy of the other 10-20% of braking duty. There is NOTHING wrong with them.

Just too outdated for my tastes. Plus they look bad. And the easy visual inspection of a disc brake is quite nice. Quite a bit harder to visually inspect a drum brake...you gotta take things apart. They don't perform bad since like you said, most of the braking is done at the front...but I don't like them for the above reasons. All other things being equal (like you said, can lock up the back wheel on both), I'd take a disc over a drum any day.

 

[kazlab67]

Also changing shoes on a drum brake is a lot harder than flipping out the pads. You have those springs to deal with.

I have basically rebuilt my bike from ebay parts and bikebandit.com

 

[taziscool]

Also changing shoes on a drum brake is a lot harder than flipping out the pads. You have those springs to deal with.

I have basically rebuilt my bike from ebay parts and bikebandit.com

Only for mechanically INEPT people....and what does that last part have to do with this?

Btw, disregarding a bike JUST because of the rear brake would be foolish.....JMHO.

 

[Itchy]

Simple. There is no difference.

EX-500 is the model designation. Ninja 500R is the name. Sort of like Calling a Lexus IS-300 an Altezza. Same difference. (It IS an IS-300 right? I forget... To hell with these imports... )

there is a difference between the is300 and the altezza because first altezza is a toyota made only in japan = less luxury
is300 is a lexus = more money for more luxuary
was really big into the import scene b4 now got into bikes :twofinger

 

[kazlab67]

Only for mechanically INEPT people....and what does that last part have to do with this?

Btw, disregarding a bike JUST because of the rear brake would be foolish.....JMHO.

Damn man, a little harsh. I didn't say hard, just a lot harder than undoing two Allen Head Bolts and slipping the front brake off the rotor?
And the last part was in reference to the original poster asking where to get parts.

I have a 2004 ninja 500 is it a 500r or a ex500 Kawasaki.com says it is a 500r Every place i look for parts they dont even list a 500r or even that year all they list is a ex500 What is the differeance and Were is the best place to buy parts like exhaust and much more thankyou.

 

[HalfLiterBeater]

Simple. There is no difference.

EX-500 is the model designation. Ninja 500R is the name. Sort of like Calling a Lexus IS-300 an Altezza. Same difference. (It IS an IS-300 right? I forget... To hell with these imports... )

there is a difference between the is300 and the altezza because first altezza is a toyota made only in japan = less luxury
is300 is a lexus = more money for more luxuary
was really big into the import scene b4 now got into bikes :twofinger

Eh, imports all suck anyways. :twofinger :twofinger
With a few exceptions.

I suppose me calling the IS-300 and Altezza the same, is sort of like calling a Camaro and a Firebird the same. They're not, but they are. Know what I mean?

 

[Inky24]

It's just the year that the 500's were made in. It's not like they are making 2 seperate bikes this year one being the ex500 and one being the 500r. There the same bike, just different year. It's now called the 500r. Back a few years ago it was the ex500. I dunno when exactally they started calling it the 500r, but from what i heard and understand thats how it works. So obvisouly there will be differences in the bike, but thats just because each year they modified it, just like they do everything else.

 

[500r1]

Thankyou for explaing this to me i was not real sure I am new to motorcycle's

 

[drmnlateef]

Actually, I have the Ninja 500r, and on the owners manual it calls it the EX500....so officially the bike is still a EX500.....They made some minor adjustments to the bike this year (2005 model), but has otherwise been the same since 1994.

 

[Süsser Tod]

My 150cc bike haves a drum on the back, it is easy to inspect it, it has a dial, just press the brake pedal, look how far the lever goes against the dial and you can know how much life the pads have left.
As Taz already said it, back brakes need so little power that almost anything can get the job done.

I like the simplicity of a disc brake, but it requires a lot more manteinance than a drum (replace the fluid every 6 months, inspect the lines and replace them to avoid any minimal break in them that may not be visible, etc.). In my bike's drum, just replace the pads once the lever goes too far on the dial, it is as manteinance free as a brake can be.

 

[Oni]

My 150cc bike haves a drum on the back, it is easy to inspect it, it has a dial, just press the brake pedal, look how far the lever goes against the dial and you can know how much life the pads have left.
As Taz already said it, back brakes need so little power that almost anything can get the job done.

My bike has a similar setup that lets you visually see how much you have left on the drum.