2009 Kawasaki Ninja 500R
Kawasaki updated their website this week to include the 2009 Ninja 500R. There was quite a bit of anticipation that the 500R would receive a similar face lift to the 250R. I guess now we know it is clearly not happening in the 2009 year.
I’m guessing that Kawasaki feels that it would be competing with it’s ZZR and ZX lines if it did a face lift on the 500R, or, they will upset the more conservative economical audience the 500R attracts? (Ie. Some people don’t like the ‘crotch-rocket’ look..)
I would personally put an Updated 500R as a nice upgrade path for 250R owners looking for a lil more freeway ooomph, without having to jump directly into a Supersport bike. I guess thats why the ZZR is still around, but at 2K less, a sexy 500 would be a nice option…
Thoughts?
Kenny Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
I don’t mind the 500’s body style much… but get rid of those cheesy graphics I say! … they could at least do something similar to the 650, that looks bitchn
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Mr. 2Fiddy Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Kenny,
Yeah, I think the 650 has a decent mix of Modern looks / Practicality… But the lack of a split seat just really seems to date the whole look of the design.
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Kirk Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
Its unfortunate, honestly I was almost sure I would see a redesign for 09. Unfortunately the old ones does look so dated. If they get a new design out by 2010 they will likely still get a load of 08 250 owners trading their bikes in for one, it seems like a really bad move to miss that chance to sell all of these new kawi owners more bikes, maybe of them may move onto gsx 500s or other companies next year
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Bryan Thornhill Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
I just can’t get excited about the 500R. I really like the price point of the more affordable 250R’s and the 500R’s verses the a lot more expensive 600’s, but for me to ever consider buying the 500R it would have to have a much more aggressive and modern look. The big seat and out dated/bulky rear section kill the deal for me. My main decision in buying the 08 250R was purely the combination of it’s updated design and the stellar mpg. Without the updated look, I might have actually gone with a 150cc Vino or a 250cc scooter of some sort and that would have been a shame as I would not have had as near the fun. How cool would it be if Yamaha came out with a rad little 250cc sport bike. Even better would be to build a small sport bike with the new Raptor ATV 350cc engine in it. If it’s anything like the old Raptor 660 engine or the newer 700 it would have some serious performance. Another idea would be to kill the current Kawasaki 650 bike altogether and design a slick 500RR at a slightly lower price point then the 650 bike. Suzuki already has the twin 650 area covered with their great SV - SVS bike so make a whole new class that no one offers.
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Mr. 2Fiddy Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 10:09 pm
Bryan,
You might be right… Have an updated 250R-500R in the arsenal could really give kawi that 1-2 punch they need to drive people into the dealerships and off scooters.. ( Which kawi is missing from its lineup )
However… I do think if they redid the 500R they wouldn’t make it as radical of an update as the 250R…
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Terry Said,
June 24, 2008 @ 12:49 pm
The look of the 500 is the reason I didn’t buy it. I wouldn’t have gotten a bike if I couldn’t get the 08 250R. I guess I could have found a nice used 600 or 650 though.
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Mike Said,
June 24, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
Yea I agree with Terry. The look of this bike is so outdated. Maybe splitting the seat up would make this bike a little more appealing. Just not my kinda bike tho. Kawasaki tho has sold these bikes for years and remember all 250 riders our bikes were not far off from these just a short year ago!!! They must make them because of the market for them. But like i said just not the bike for me!
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Bryan Thornhill Said,
June 24, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
I personally would have been much more interested in a 500cc type bike then the 250cc version mainly due to the fact that the 500cc bike has more highway cruise-ability and would be a better all around general purpose bike. I would have never really considered buying a 250 of this type unless some manufacturer came out with a super cool package like the new Kawi 250R with it’s lower then average sticker price. With all my years of riding experience with 450F motocross bikes and 600cc and 1000cc sport bikes how could I consider down sizing to such a small bike. It all rolls down to the mighty green dollar. For years I have not been able to ride because of the sticker price that these bigger bikes have. In the last few years instead of shelling out the 10 to 14 grand for a bike, I have had to make the wiser decision and go with a car due to my job demands. The difference between 4 grand and even 6 grand is huge when you compare it to 10,000 dollars. Plus the priced 600’s and 1000’s don’t get much better gas mileage then a lot of the newer higher mileage cars. I have to say that the price of gas and all the other variables that have changed because of this has really had a profound effect on with I can do with my money. The 250R allows me to have a little fun in an otherwise un-fun world.
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DJAZ Said,
June 27, 2008 @ 2:59 am
Anyone complaining about the 08′ 250r and highway cruisability needs the jet kit and exhaust installed immediately. Problem solved. Don’t forget to adjust preload to stabalize the front end at speed.
The 500r has looked like crap since I was in high school, that’s a long time of looking like crap. Kawi, in it’s infinite half-assedness, has avoided dominating the street bike market and building it’s reputation by leaving the 500r where it is. It is the missing link to bigger bikes. My next bike will NOT be a zx-6r or 10 or ZZR. It will be a suzuki SV or Triumph or Aprilla. Why, because they are priced right, move me and perform.
But it could be a Kawi if they would make an affordable screamer of larger displacent. And by affordable I mean 5500 out the door.
Do it and rule Kawi. Learn from the 250r, if you are hot, they will come.
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Bryan Thornhill Said,
June 29, 2008 @ 1:37 am
I agree with you DJAZ. Now that you mention it, Triumph makes their sweet Daytona 675 and I’ve been in love with that bike since the day they came out with it. That is one of my favorite bike out. Still, it’s on the expensive side as the one dealership here in Little Rock even has the balls to marks them up 500 bucks from MSRP. I wish Triumph would jump on the 250 band wagon and build a zippy little machine. I bet they would build a pretty cool little unit as well. Also, I noticed where Kawasaki made a page from their site where they list the top mpg rated bikes that they offer. It list the 250R at 61 mpg where that alone makes it a kick ass deal. http://www.kawasaki.com/MPG/
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Mike Said,
June 30, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Triumph sells the UM bikes atleast in pa they do
MB
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Bthornhill Said,
July 1, 2008 @ 12:31 am
Mike are you saying that Triumph Motorcycles design and manufacture the UM brand bike? If this is true it is new news to me. You might be mistaken as your local Triumph dealership located in your city might sell the UM brand bikes along with their Triumph bikes but as far as I know about the UM ” United Motors” company they are a Korean or Taiwan base business with a U.S. office in Miami.
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Bthornhill Said,
July 1, 2008 @ 12:51 am
This just made me think about the Um V2S-250 and whether the upside down hydraulic forks on this machine would be better then the stock forks on the Kawasaki. they sure look good from its pictures. One might be able to find a good pair of these forks on Ebay or something. Just a thought… Maybe 2fiddy should start a section on Kawi 250R fork tuning options or tips. Do they even make heavier springs for the 250R fork that fit the new fork design for 08? Maybe heavier springs and a higher weight shock oil would be the answer to stiffen up the action.
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Mike Said,
July 1, 2008 @ 10:03 am
OK sorry maybe i should make myself slightly clearer when i post i apologize. Here in Pennsylvania Triumph is about the only place that sells the United Motor/Hyosung bikes that i have seen. But they also sell there full Line of bikes as well. What im getting at is i just dont believe that the UM/Hyosung bikes are made like the other widely know bikes here in the states Kawi,Suzuki,Ducati,Aprillia,Yamaha,. Im only saying this from the threads i have read online the reviews i have seen videos i have watched and my buddy owned one an was not at all happy with it. Yes they may look nice in photos, videos, etc… But what it comes down to is the shear workmanship and overall quality that people look for and in my opinion ( just wanna make that clear) they are not worth the money.
MB
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hayes Said,
July 2, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
Revamping the 500 would mean sudden death for the 250 sales. it seems like a very smart move to me.
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DJAZ Said,
July 3, 2008 @ 12:03 am
Bryan…yes and thanks. I live in Pa. I hear the build quality sucks on Hyo/UM’s. The upside down fork is an interesting mod idea. From what I gather, it doesn’t make as much difference as a really good Ohlins replacement would. But great question!
I am much more interested in Radial tires of a larger variety. This bike turns in too quickly at speed, and I would scrifice slow speed turn-in for high speed control and stability.
Mike…Where in PA?(NWES?) I am in the east near Reading. Would be great to do an 08 250r ride exclusive!
Hayes..they can’t build enough 250r’s to settle the demand and eventually the market will flood with pre-owns. What they need is a two bike strategy, a supersport 550 and 250 with price and power being the differentiator. You are suggesting that v6 mustangs don’t still outsell v8’s? They are both cheap but the market for the v6 is always there. Even though the v8 only costs a little more..and they own that market completely!
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Mike Said,
July 3, 2008 @ 8:28 am
I live In Mount Joy i dunno if your familiar with that area? about 45-to an hour out of reading
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voodoo Said,
July 13, 2008 @ 12:48 am
I think the main reason the 500 is not as popular as the 250 or their 600/650, is the fairing…It’s missing! The bike should be manufactured with a full flaring, maybe with a new seat design too.
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Vadrigar Said,
August 2, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
make a 500 in green.. and i would buy one tomorrow…
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Owen Said,
September 2, 2008 @ 5:11 am
from where i sit in australia, kawasaki US, and most of the jap brands for that matter, do a really weird thing in the US… they keep selling old bikes along side new bikes…
the ZZR600 over with u guys is simply and 00-02 ZX6R… yamaha do the same thing with the old YZF600 (the predecessor to the R6) which they sell along with the R6 and R6S (an older version of the R6 but not quite as old and the YZF60)… this realy puzzles me as if u are gonna update a bike but still sell the old one, then why did u update??? anywho moving on…
kawi already have the ninja 650 R (ER6f in australia) so to release a modern looking ninja 500R (actually just a GPZ500) would muddy the waters too much…
to leave suzuki in the 650 market by them selves (dont forget the new suzuki GSX650F as well) would mean cutting themselves out of a whole market segment… i would not think that to be very smart…
it also doesnt surprise me that they havnt updated the 500 as kawasaki have a precedent for keeping old models going and going and going and going…
the ninja 250 (GPX250 in Aus) was the biggest selling bike in the US … FULL STOP… when they updating it this year… so if kawasaki doesnt have to spend money updating a model that obviously sells well enough and is different enough from the 650… why wouldnt they??
just my 2c
Owen
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Sarah Said,
September 18, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
I was hoping they would do something similiar to the 250 for the 2009 line. I am not fond of the 500 look, and wanted either a 250 or a 500 as my first bike this comming year. Looks arn’t everything, but the body style and graphics just arn’t me. So, it look slike it’ll be a 2009 Ninja 250 for me.
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FM Said,
October 19, 2008 @ 10:50 am
I would buy the the 500 if they gave it Fuel Injection, that said I would buy the 250 if they gave it FI, the new 2009 650r packs so much value it is very hard to overlook
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Steve Said,
December 28, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
I can tell that you guys haven’t actually seen a 2009 500r. They are insanely beautiful. From what I hear this is the last year for the model. Kawasaki finally got it right with the last bit of refinements. Look at it from a 3/4 perspective. It has beautiful curves. The last thing I wanted was a large gap above my rear wheel. Like one fellow said, some folks just don’t care for the crotch rocket look (hand raised). Furthermore, if you want to visualize just how “ugly” the NEW 250 is, try to imagine it without the fairing. It’s really not an impressive bike visually. It is, in all essence, a BEGINNING BIKE. You sit perfectly straight up on this tiny frame. It is not made for the highway. Have you looked at those tires! …and you can add fifty more sprockets if you like. The first real gust of wind that hits you is going to remind you darn quickly just what it is you’re riding.
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James Reply:
December 30th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I would have to agree with you steve i’ve been in some pretty heavy winds having to ride at a 45 degree angle to the road just to keep it straight on the other hand i also ride an 82 harley fxr that does the same thing due to the solid rim on the back tire… you get used to it. as far as the highway goes, Ive had my 09 better than 100 mph, if that’s not fast enough, idk what is.
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