VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P89
radiator guard, frame protectors,
seat cover, tank and knee protec-
tors, and a USB charging port. You
get all that for an extra $700 over
the base Ninja 500 ABS model, de-
pending on what color Ninja you
choose. The least expensive Ninja
500 is the non-ABS base model at
$5299, while the top-of-line Ninja
500 SE 40th Anniversary Edition
(special color and graphics) ABS
costs $6599. Kawasaki offers
most of these upgrade items as
accessories for the non-SE Ninjas.
Kawasaki upgraded the Ninja by
increasing the parallel-twin power
-
plant's displacement from 399cc
to 451cc. The engine retains the
same 70.0mm bore but with an
increased stroke of 58.6mm from
51.8mm. Valve diameters were
also adjusted, and various compo
-
nents were redesigned to match
the larger displacement. The
Ninja 500 features a lower 11.3:1
compression ratio and a redline
at 11,700 rpm, differing from the
Ninja 400's 11.5:1 compression
ratio and 13,000 rpm redline.
The stroked engine improves
responsiveness without exhibit
-
ing any additional harshness. The
Ninja 500 power is instead super
smooth and predictable, and there
is plenty of it to be way fun. The
Ninja 500 gets a slight power
boost from 44 horsepower to 51
over the previous model. While
that's not a dramatic difference,
you will notice it after coming off
the Ninja 400.
You can have as much fun on the
Ninja 500 on back canyon roads
as you can on higher-performance
sportbikes but without the
intimidation factor.
