2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500 SE Review | Daily Rider 

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 !!

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

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 😁

Always pleasant and informative reviews, Zack! I like how you describe the engine configuration, specs, options and prices. As a fan of quiet exhaust, the most-anticipated part of each episode for me is hearing the post-start-up idle before the throttle is blipped. That alone is what makes me want to take each model for a test ride. It's the sound of anticipation becoming reality...what a rider hears after pushing their bike out of the garage, while pulling on a helmet, adjusting the visor and cinching the chinstrap before swinging a leg over the seat. Your descriptions of highway-speed vibration level, a bike's overall balance, wind/debris protection, seat height, etc, enhance my estimation of where the motorcycle being tested might find a niche in my riding world. Thanks - and best wishes for your ongoing road safety & riding enjoyment.

This guy does the best bike reviews on RU-vid, absolutely awesome. Goes over everything and even takes it down dirt roads and pops wheelies lmao.... Love it, thank you

Kick flips and bong rips. Famous quotes by Zac..

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.

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.

Patiently waiting on a rebel 1100 daily ride...

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.

Nobody does this better than Zack !

You have the best reviews

Man, for the third time already, this is still "a quick walkaround the 890 SMT" 😆

Zack Courts, thank you for everything that you do =)

Fantastic review as always! Really appreciate your reviews as you never fail to answer the most important question: Is it FUN? 👍🏻

My and most Kawis will only shift into 1st and neutral when not in motion. It is as simple as that.

Ohh yes!!! Been waiting for you to review this one... thanks!!

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.

Great as usual Zack.

Another awesome episode. Thank you!

Got mine a few weeks back, it's been a blast so far! I wish I had gotten the SE or at least purchased some frame sliders earlier on, I've got to fix the farings, readjust the clutch lever, and grab a new mirror. Runs fine still, can't wait to get back on it

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

Another great ride to work, another great video. 🏍️

Kick flips and bong hits? Welp. There goes my childhood.

These are great starter bikes! I had one for my girlfriend and loved it myself... You could do anything on that bike. Thumbs up on this one....

I am almost in love with the 40y paint scheme, pity you didn't get that one. As for the displacement creep, that's been going on for decades, you just need to be old enough... Thanks for the test!

I love you bro I was just watching ninja 500 videos and you upload

Beautiful review. The slightly lower camera angle, although features the bike more prominently, did cause some sort of Pavlovian response in me. I found myself subcontiouly bending my head back in hopes of improving the video's line of sight. Odd that. PS: You made me do the math in my head to just see if I could swing buying this one. Fun that.

I'm 6'2" 345lbs. I've lost just over 50 since autumn. Can't wait for the day I'm 100lbs lighter than I am now so I can get a motorcycle, and ride it safely without botched suspension. Can't find a beginner bike that'll hold me AND be safe while doing it, and idk if any aftermarket suspension is beefy enough to solve that problem. To anyone that rides, don't take it for granted. I'd love to be able to learn how to ride. One day!

thanks Zach!

Great review, I'm in the hunt for a new bike and the 500 SE has peaked my interest. How is the TFT in direct sunlight? What steps to open the gas cap since you have a keyless start?

Just a heads up, the timestamp at 1:29 to 5:19 says "A quick walkaround the *890 SMT*" instead of Ninja 500 SE

Great video. If i heard right you are 6’2 same as me. Do you felt it to cramped? I rode the new Suzuki 8R in the weekend and loved the roomy riding postion not to lent forward to much. Very comfy and handled great. The downside i felt it a little quirky in lower revs and not sure about the front. Kawa looks better. Its hard to find that comfy not to much lent forward bike if you dont go for a sporttourer. They are to pricey for me. Dont want a naked bike. Maybe wait for a new upgrade ninja 650 (maybe 650 se) or even better 750.

Good job, Zack. Thank you.

Nice take on the 500 👍 I'm really curious to see your take on the latest gen of the ninja 1000sx, and if it feels relevant in an increasingly competitive 1000cc market.

Never ever ridden a bike or owned one and got the new 500 2 months ago, only put it about 550 miles but I love it so much. I'm glad I got that instead of the 636 because I've made plenty of mistakes so far and if I was on a 636 I probably would've been punished way more harshly.

I love the small bike fast of this class of bikes!

My first bike 25yrs ago was a Ninja EX500. I’ve had Ninjas of various sizes over the years, but I wouldn’t mind just going back to a 500 now. Don’t need any more tickets. Just love to ride and the 500 will do everything I need it to do.

You may not like the sound. But I LOVE it.

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.

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.

Any chance we see the road version of the Suzuki V-STROM 800 review?

i was waiting on a review on this from my favorite daily rider!

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.

Is the engine still as fun? I noticed the longer stroke and reduced rpm and whilst it should still be more lively than the cbr500r it is a step in that direction. Positive for street riding, but yeah in the twisties is it as fun?

I am assuming they reused the frame from the other model but you gotta love the passenger pegs with no passenger seat.

I know you’ve done a daily rider for the scrambler 400x but can you please do one for the Speed 400 now that they have been around a few months? Would love to hear your thoughts and comparisons to the scrambler

Are people really gonna be surprised when the 650 because an 800, this becomes the 650 and then they reintroduce a 250 and the whole charade starts again lmao

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.

Your love for that bike makes me want to try one. I’m classic guy HD, Triumph and Moto Guzzi.

Well laid out review as always. At my size, 6’3, I tend to ignore bikes under 600cc. Maybe I need to rethink that.

I'm going to be setting mine up as a mini tourer.. one of my trips will be florida to maine, I weight 165, 5'10" what's your thoughts?

Been loving this bike, been getting 58mpg breaking it in, I have no reason to redline it, 80mph is about 7800 rpm though. A good bit of vibration from the motor, but better than my 2015 Honda CB500F. The SE is the way to go. I was astonished at the ABS, never liked ABS cars or motorcycles, but this bike feels more compliant to the rider. Braking on this bike feels like a dream compared to the MSF bikes and my old Honda 500. Been using a lot more rear brake on this bike too. Full tuck on this bike was new to me, I've been wanting a GSXR-750, and they both feel comfortable but push into that full "shrimp" mode highway tuck.

I'm 5'9" and step one after I went on the highway the first time was to order a Zero Gravity Corsa windscreen (from RevZilla, of course!) that's taller than the stock on my 500 KRT. Even the taller stock OEM piece blasts me with wind.

Thank you Zack although I would appreciate a comparison between ninja 500 and Cfmoto 450SS rather than what the new engine adds to the 400.

great review. Anyway to submit a bike review request? I don't see a Ryvid Anthem / Outset review on your page. Would love to see your opinions. Thanks for the cool videos!

How is the zx4rr doing?

Thank you for this one, I was waiting for it! Now, could you please review the new Honda Hornet? 750cc would do, but 500cc would be ideal!

I have a ninja 650 and I do love it but there are so many aspects of the 4/500 that I wish they transferred over and just made the 650 a "bigger" bike. The seating position, the clip ons, even the ignition location. This bike is styled so much sportier but I like the little bit of extra torque and power from the bigger engine

Are yall doing a review for the Z500?

Long Beach CA!! My hometown!!

So I just went through 4 years worth of your Vids and I find there are many motorcycles that you have not looked at. I'm wanting to upgrade, but not going too much higher in performance, just New! And at 187cm tall, I found an issue with the Gixxer250's and that is my knees are too high, and the wings on the tank stop me from moving my feet around the pegs and work the levers, and then there is the Muffler in the way of my boot. Do you think you could do a feature on the Gixxer250? and address these problems and how to work around it if it's possible? And changing frames to the V-Strom 250 SX, a heap less street cred, but more versatile and a little safer given the extra 30mm in seat height and then rock hard rear suspension with no sag at all means quite a bit more elevation and a better view in traffic (and a sore butt) This is basically a commuter bike with the ability to go down roads where you wouldn't dare take a sportbike, even if that doesn't include a forest trail. but I do have concerns about the 880mm wide handle bars and filtering (the number one reason to get a bike and work around and reduce congestion for everybody! I would like to know how that affects daily use as well, but not on mile wide American roads, I'm talking roads that are not wide enough for American vehicles even though there are multiple lanes.

In Australia we would cop the biggest fine if we crossed the boom gate like that 🤣

Very much looking forward to your review of the 2024 Triumph Speed 400. Hopefully...

Do aftermarket 2023 ninja 400 parts fit on this new 500?

Hi rev, quick question! Does this come with the passenger seat or you have to purchase this after the fact.

Zach I would love to see a daily rider on the returned new cbr600rr to see how it competes with the others in the 600 class.

Man i kinda want one of these for when i don’t want to play with the liter bike

I need to see a head to head between the ninja and the Aprilia 457

Would it be ok for a 6'4 190?

Shoutout to that squirrel. Alright! 👊🏽✊🏽👊🏽✊🏽

So which one is the better freeway commuter, the "500" or the 650?

Started on the 250.

Nice review man. Looking to have this one as an upgrade from a 250cc. Looks nice, but What I dont like is that SE thing. Could have been the base model.

Hey. What’s better on the highway, the interceptor 650 or this one?

Great review, I hope he can get his hands on the 24’ MT09. Very curious about that.

Would love to see you test a 650. Thinking about getting one for my gf sense she is short and it’s easy to lower it.

I would love to see esteemed reviewers like you conduct a comparison review of the top bikes in each class. For example, comparing the Ninja 500, Aprilia 457, CBR 500R, and CFmoto 450SR would be very interesting!

How is the sitting position on the ninja 500 compared to the z500

could you please do the comparison between the ninja 500 abs and the aprilia rs 457? I'd like to buy my first beginners bike and I'm still undecided whether buying the aprilia or the ninja...

I like high reving, so I'm thinking of upgrading my 300 vs swapping to a 400 (zx4r is a big jump in cost). This looks nice, i'd send people toward it, but I'd wish for a more reving version. Hope some competition comes!

So having the Ninja 400 available, was this bike necessary?

On the topic of gas mileage: My 500 KRT came from the dealer with a full tank, shoutout to Big St Charles Motorsports, Missouri, at least that $200 dealer prep charge wasn't wasted lol...I've put 230 miles on it, filled the tank back up, I've put 4.5 gallons in it total, roughly. $18 worth of 93 so far. I'm very impressed with that economy.

Sniff, sniff....I miss you Ninja 250R. But looks like another winner from Kawasaki.

I really wish manufacturers would shroud the instrument panel a bit. I can only occasionally see what's on the dashboard through your chin camera, which is pretty close to what your eyes would see...and I can only imagine that it would be worse in full summer sunshine. At least on an old '70s Honda I can add a cafe fairing to get the sun off the clocks - but not really an option here. This is the main thing that prevents me from buying anything new - or at least, anything with a screen instead of 3-dimentional gauges.

I did SF to Portland on a Ninja 300 with some panniers and a backpack. You can tour on anything, dunno why people would be upset. I'm waiting for the day where they just bump the displacement to be the same with the 650, then kawi can just tell people to start on the 650.

What would I do to it? Suspension. Brakes. Full exhaust with a tune.

I have 07 ninja 500 and the 10+ ft/lb of torque it has over the new one is really noticeable!

I think it fits into the category of "it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow." You will definitely spend more time wringing out this bike than an open sport bike on an average commute, and that may result in a bigger grin.

Oh btw can tou take a passanger ? And if you can't bcs of the plastic thing some bikes have can you change it and make it as a pasanger seat ?

The ninja 500 is a great first bike and daily rider. Although I would not get the SE model. Keep It Simple Stupid! This is a fun simple bike and you don’t want keyless ignition which is a weird option for this bike. 😎

I bought my 450ss recently, I was caught between the 2 but thought the 450 looked and sounded better.

I would love to see a “best of the best” leaderboard where you compare the top 3-5 of each year and place them all in one ranking list.

I thought the SE model only came in black/red and the screen was an LED color one?