2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500 SE Review | Daily Rider

The Ninja 400 has become the Ninja 500. Does that mean it’s too big, too fast, and too fancy to be the excellent choice it’s always been? Zack hits the Daily Rider route to talk over the evolution of the baby Ninja.

SPECS:
MSRP: $6,400
Engine: 451 cc parallel twin
Measured weight: 381 lb. / 173 kg
Fuel capacity: 3.7 gal. / 14 liters
Seat height: 30.9 in. / 785 mm
Claimed power: 51 hp @ 10,000 rpm
Claimed torque: 31.7 foot-pounds @ 7,500 rpm

Zack’s gear:

0:00 Intro
1:27 A quick walkaround the Ninja 500
5:21 On The Road!
7:48 Freeway Cruisin’
12:12 Urban Manners & Stop Sign Challenge
15:51 Lover’s Lane
19:17 At the Lights
23:42 Gettin’ Dirty
25:08 Will it Wheelie???
27:39 Instagram Questions!
33:05 On the Daily Rider Leaderboard

[monawoka]

The entry level motorcycle class is SO important. Simple, reliable, fun, and high value machines! I really hope manufacturers never lose sight of that.

[TheGreatChrisB]

One of the most fun bikes I've ever ridden was the Ninja 300. The og Ninja 250, 300, and 350 even were so easy and fun to ride. They were a perfect size, lightweight, handled amazingly, and never had the power to get away from you really. They couldn't wheelie without you actively putting in effort. My brothers first bike was the Ninja 300, and even though I'd had a 650 for a while, the 300 was more fun, even he has an R6 now and still says sometimes he misses his old 300. It was everything you could want. It was a motorcycle, faster than a car, but small and easy to work with. Even if you were tired it was so easy to pull out of the garage and hop on. Going 160mph is fun, but how often do you need that, you're paying 3x the price so you can once in a while blast off. Beginner bikes get a bad rap, they're honestly a blast. It's why people love the Grom.

[garyphilip]

Love it when Zack calls us “ Two Wheeled Friends “ !

[deanzaZZR]

It would be fun to see a Ninja 500 v. a 1980s era Ninja 500R (EX 500) review. Of course much has changed.

[christiantaylor]

Hate the fact that its a 451 and they're calling it a 500. I get rounding up a little, but that feels a bit disingenuous.

[Wheels.FishingReels]

Got mine on 4/20 😎 this year. My first bike, been wanting a ninja since high school. Know at 28 finally got mine. KRT. Love it.

[dawsonjohannes]

Glad you didn’t pigeon hole it into the whole “beginner bike” thing. I had a Z400 for 3 years, and it was an intermediate step for me and not my first bike. I happily moved up to my MT-07 after those 3 years, however I really thought the 400 (and by proxy I’m assuming the 500 applies too) was more than just a “beginner” bike.

[DuffCo]

Just got Ninja 500 a couple weeks ago as a first road bike. Been loving it! It’s everything I would want in a first bike. Quick, but not fast enough to throw you off if you whiskey throttle it. Also very functional and a great commuter bike.

[samebert]

Of course a 500 can be a mini sport tourer! My 2015 CB500F has a full suite of luggage installed and coming up on 165, 000 miles, the only comfort modification I made was a Corbin seat and I've made my fair share of long hauls with her. I went 16/39 sprockets to reduce highway vibes and engine stress since I spend most of my time between 70-80mph on that bike, and the whole 42hp is plenty still. I strongly believe smaller bikes are underrated 😁

[brianrobinson]

No better way to spend time on a Saturday morning eating French toast and a cup of coffee taking in another episode of the daily rider !!

[monawoka]

The small displacement ninjas are 100% sport touring bikes. I rode my friends ninja 300 about 700 miles in 3 days on a road trip from Utah to Colorado. Absolutely blew my mind how fun that little bike was on a road trip. The slightly leaned forward ergo is actually pretty comfortable. The wind protection is amazing compared to the naked bike I'm used to. The absolutely insane 5.7 gallon gas tank combined with 70mpg (even while going 80 mph) gave it ABSURD range. I was seriously floored by how fun that little bike was. I genuinely think the whole "only big bikes can tour" craze is just marketing garbage. Small displacement bikes are FUN. My only grip is that small bikes always get the bargain bin suspension. Give a small bike some good suspension and it will blow your mind how fun and capable they really are.

[RobertMorgan]

Something that I felt was almost sabotage to new riders like myself was the factory shift light being set SUPER low, like 4500 rpm. I was confused at first, I'm in 6th gear going like 45mph and the screen is screaming to shift up shift up, orange flashing all over....then I read how to dig into the menu and set it more appropriately at like 10k rpm. NOW it makes more sense.

[kcsox]

I’ve been riding 50+ years and I’ve owned everything from a sport tourer to a Supermoto. At 65 I was ready for a smaller lighter bike that still delivered great performance. Two days ago I bought the Ninja 500 KRT SE and I couldn’t be happier. Great power and torque right from the bottom of the rev range. Kawasaki hit it out of the park if you ask me. You don’t need 100 HP to enjoy motorcycling.

[smallfactry]

It’s nice to see that they included a power socket up front for your phone or navigation. It’s something that should be standard issue on all modern bikes.

[KevinWinkler-jo]

Thank you for doing the vid on the 500. I watch them all and currently own 10 bikes. My leaderboard would not be the same as yours... I think the 500 rates higher and some of your choices at the top I would never even own especially for a daily rider. Don't forget the basic meaning of "daily rider" = fun, enjoyable and easy to ride. I had a new Ninja 400 and sold for a new ZX6R and then the Ninja 650... None of those in my garage currently, was thinking last year to get another 400 because of the smiles it gave me while i had it and kept thinking I wanted more horses again... Now I would rather just have the smiles, but before my purchase I caught wind the 500 was coming and waited. Now I will be looking to pick up the 500, probably the SE based on your video. One day when you are in the shop with nothing better to do, and ponder again the true meaning of Daily Rider, also I think you have to factor in how many people actually buy that particular bike as well. Have a great day and keep the videos coming.

[LiminalPerspectives]

My girl & I are going to pick a couple of these up for our first bikes. Absolutely pumped.

[mbflashdrive]

This is a great first bike! Now that it's been modestly updated, the 400 being even cheaper second hand makes that the perfect first bike.

[jimbroen]

Another video that starts with "A quick walkaround the 890 SMT".

[JeppeAchtonNielsen]

The ninja 500 SE is definitely on the list as a possible next bike for me when I move up from my CBR250R. Similar weight, more power more torque... so much to love.

[RiceSandwiches]

I'm just about to sell my ninja 400 and this is bringing me a lil nostalgia and making me miss my lil baby