Kawasaki 500r

does any body know what the top speed, torque and horsepower numbers are for the Kawasaki 500r?  Any good/bad personal experiences with the bike??

thanks

-Kyle  

Waaaaay back in 1987 I bought the first EX500 that Kawasaki imported to the states.  It was a fantastic ride.  Insurance was a lot cheaper than a 600 and after I was done modifying it (I think the frame and engine cases were the only factory pieces left) there weren't many 600's capable of outrunning it.  It was an excellent bike and got me through thousands of safe street miles.  Still own it to this day, maybe someday I'll put it back together.

Sport Rider's review of the '94 can be found here.

Motorcycle.com's review of the '00 can be found here.

I don't recall what the horsepower numbers were for it.  Probably around 50-60 horsepower.  Top speed on my overly tweaked 500 was 128 MPH at it's extreme limits.  I loved the bike, hence the reason I still have it even though it lives in Rubbermaid containers.  Someday it will be resurrected and breath high octane life again.  

Neat bike a fun feature project for you.  

how is it for a beginners bike?  

The EX500 is, in my opinion, absolutely the best beginners street bike on the planet.  It's equally as great for experienced riders as well.  Especially a good bike for those who prefer lighter bikes but want enough power to get through heavy freeway traffic without fear of becoming bugsquat on a Mac truck.  With some progressive fork springs and a good set of front brakes pads (Ferodo, SBS) it handles the twisties great too!  I still have that old '87 because it was such a wonderful all around easy to ride bike that I just couldn't stand to part with it.  

My other half is excited to get her own bike and we were leaning towards a Ninga 250 but it sounds like the EX500 could be an even better option (More fun for me perhaps!).  Any thoughts?  Is the seat height on the 500 condusive for Hobbit like legs or is it comparible to other middleweight sportbikes?  

The EX500 should have a short enough seat height and be light enough that your wife shouldn't have any problems with it.  The advantage it has over the 250 is that since it's got more HP she'll have a lot more fun on it for a much longer period of time as her skills improve.  

I had a 2000, I think they said it had 64bhp. I did 130 on the speed-o and never really attemped to top it out. The seat height is on the low side and the bike and seat are narrow making it seam even lower.  

I started on a 250 and if the 500 is just about as nimble and light with more power than hell yeah its a great beginner bike.  I got tired of the lack of power after a few months riding on my 250, so if the 500 offers up more HP with a similar riding experience then buy it.  

In Motorcyclists mag's "hard numbers" section it lists an 01' Ninja 500r at 50.2 hp and 30.9 ft.-lb. at the rear wheel with a 1/4 mile time of 12.81 @ 101.2mph