autoX Awards 2024: Kawasaki Ninja 500 Performance, Quality and Value for Money Ranked

autoX Awards 2024: The Kawasaki Ninja 500 has been one of my favourite machines, both on and off the track. The 451cc parallel-twin engine has a very friendly, approachable character, and it doesn’t lack in terms of power either. You can easily ride the bike at low RPMs without worrying about it stalling, which means that you don’t have to constantly shift gears. The icing on the cake is the engine’s incredible smoothness, which you can feel most of the time. Even though it’s a twin-cylinder unit, it has a refined feel and character of an inline-four.

Even with basic telescopic forks at the front, the Ninja 500 handles rough roads brilliantly. The front 41mm right-side-up forks and the mono-shock at the back are tuned to absorb bumps and undulations without feeling too soft, making it suitable for both daily rides and spirited track days. It took to the BIC’s curves like fish to water. In fact, Simran remarked that the Ninja was one of the best when it came to mid-corner stability. The engine has enough grunt to easily break the triple-digit barrier, and its agile nature makes it quite easy to dart from side to side. However, I think that a better set of tyres would have made the Ninja 500 even more capable.

If you are after a machine with a muscular, bulky look, the Ninja 500 is undoubtedly a great pick. That said, the bike is only available in an all-black colour, which may not appeal to everyone. Also, while the digital dashboard is fairly informative and supports Bluetooth connectivity, it isn’t exactly a design marvel.

Also Read: Aprilia RS 457 vs Kawasaki Ninja 500 vs Yamaha YZF-R3: 300km Road Trip Comparison

Unfortunately, what kept the Ninja 500 from ranking higher on the list were its less-than-ideal build quality and steep pricing. The cowl panel shakes noticeably as you ride over bumps, and the mirrors vibrate as well. To make matters worse, Kawasaki has priced the Ninja 500 at ₹5.24 lakh (ex-showroom), which makes it fairly more expensive than other bikes in the segment. While not essential, the absence of traction control or other fancy equipment, like a better instrument cluster, further hurts the Ninja 500’s value proposition.

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