It was about 1989, I was 11 years old and living in the tranquil state of Louisiana. A friend of the family named Jeff had just bought this “super bike” that looked like mix between a rocket ship and a motorcycle to my young eyes. When he pulled up into the gravel driveway of my grandmother’s house in rural Jackson, Louisiana it sounded like a race car. It was black with red graphics and he called it a “Ninja”, which to any young boy only made it about 200% cooler than it already was. My dad and Jeff were friends and he brought the bike over to show it off. Of course everyone wanted a ride and Jeff obliged us one at a time, shooting down the 2 lane highway that ran through the middle of the woods, in the dark at speeds well over 100mph. Responsible? Not a bit, but this was a different time when “child safety” meant your toddler used a “spork” and you kept the loaded handguns in the top drawer “out of reach”.
My turn came around and I hopped on the back of the bike. Jeff gunned it a couple of times and I had a vision of being in a jet fighter in my head. The bike took off like a shot, pretty soon the white dotted lines on the highway became a single white blur, shortly after it looked like we were out running our headlight and finally Jeff let off the throttle and the bike seemingly roared in protest. I sat up and looked over his shoulder at the speedometer; we were idling down and still pegged at over 130mph by the speedometer on his bike. To this day that is the fastest I have ever traveled on any type of ground conveyance.
When it came time for me to pick out my first motorcycle there was not a doubt in my mind that it would be a Kawasaki Ninja. The bike’s image and power had been irrevocably burned into my brain and I couldn’t imagine myself on anything else. I shopped for about a week when I ran across an ad for a Kawasaki Ninja EX500R with 3,000 miles on it, like new for about $3,000. I went to see the bike in person and when the owner started it up I felt my heart start to pound in my chest. At the time I didn’t have a motorcycle license, didn’t own any gear and didn’t even know how to ride. So like any logical thinking mid twenty year old, I bought it on the spot. Fortunately the bike was light enough and small enough to fit into the bed of my pickup truck and soon I had it home sitting in the driveway in all its glory. I enrolled in the first Motorcycle Safety Foundations course I could, got my license and bought all the requisite gear (including some I really didn’t need).
The Ninja EX500R might be the most perfect starter bike ever made. It’s light, nimble, powerful yet forgiving and very easy to maintain. Add to that mix that it’s also one of the least expensive bikes on the market and it’s a true no brainer. When I first started riding my Ninja I made all of the dumb rookie mistakes you expect a new motorcyclist to make. I stalled it, gunned it, dropped it, and neglected to check the fluids in it. I almost wrecked it several times and each time something about the bike and the training I took at the MSF class saved my bacon. The three biggest incidents were…
…first coming over a hill on the freeway there was a car at a full stop, sitting in the middle of the freeway in my lane on the far right. I couldn’t see him until I was right on top of him going 70mph. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could, the front forks dived under my weight and fortunately the bikes brakes and engineering were enough that the wheel didn’t turn causing a high side. Thank God for the bastard that designed that front brake and suspension.
…second, I was at a stop light when two motorcycle cops (yes the police) were begging me to do a wheelie for them at a stoplight. At first I thought “this is a trap” but they kept insisting. I had no idea how to do a wheelie but I tried anyway. I hit a patch of sand in the middle of the intersection and lost traction in my rear wheel which then slid out from under me. The bike was light enough that I kicked my left foot down reflexively and righted the bike. If it had been any heavier I would have eaten the pavement. The cops? Yeah they just rode past me laughing…(serve and protect , right?)
…third and perhaps the most dangerous, I was waiting to make a left turn out of a center lane into a the parking lot of a store. I gunned the bike to turn into the driveway but being a newbie, overshot the turn and headed right towards a high curb (guaranteed high side). I leaned the bike as hard as I could to the left WAY over, cut the sharpest corner probably ever attempted on a 500R and made it by an inch.
“Forgiving” is the word that comes to mind when I think of a Ninja 500R. Once I began getting better and more confident as a rider I started to commute on the bike to work daily. The bike got about 50 miles to the gallon (something we can all appreciate) but still had plenty of power. I never got bored riding it and even topped it out once at 120mph (according to its speedometer which was pegged). I am ashamed to admit that I put 7,000 miles on the bike and never once changed the oil, but the bike never leaked or burned oil, never had a hiccup.
The styling of a Ninja EX500R is like stepping back into time to the mid 1980s, my childhood and buying a brand new piece of motorcycle history. I’ll always have an emotional attachment to this particular machine. If anyone is looking for the perfect starter bike I can’t think of a better one than this model of Ninja. Sure Harley has the Sportster (which isn’t a bad option) but as forgiving as a Sportster is, it has neither the brakes, light weight nor cornering abilities of a Ninja 500R.
Specs:
498cc engine
6 speed tranny
Liquid cooled four stroke inline
Chain driven
Dry weight of 373
0-60mph in 3.76 seconds
Average miles per gallon 48
Interesting, but one could probably say thus with any mid-range bike. My first bike was the 2001 Yamaha YZF-R1, perhaps I spoiled myself from the get go bc after a year I go to ride the R6, which to me, felt like riding a beginners bike. So in essence perhaps like I said maybe anything mid-range or less can be considered so?
ReplyDeleteI agree, I rode nothing but 110s, 150s and 250s before the Ninja 500R I bought. At first it felt like a lead rocket between my legs, one week later and I'm working the clutch like an extension of my body and the bike feels weightless around corners. It has plenty enough power to keep up on the highway and lots for the twisties. Good commuter bike and very reliable. Haven't dropped mine so far.
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