Kawasaki Ninja 500R (EX500) Vs. Suzuki GS500

[WillStunt]

Whats up? I'm new to the forum, thought it would be a good idea to post up this comparison article on the two bikes I found at another forum. It answered all the questions I had about the two, and right now I'm penny pinchin for my 2005 Ninja 500R as a starter. Here you go http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/NinjaGScomparo07a.pdf and your going to need adobe reader:thumbup.

[pixierides]

Go for a GS500e. Its a better bike for a new rider. I used to race these bikes back east and they are bullet-proof. As a seasoned rider, i still would rather own a GS. Kawasakis are generally, dare i say it, crappier than Suzukis.

[78KZ650sr]

l luv my ex500!:p i think it is a perfect beginner bike. it is my first bike and had no problems with it yet. It is light weight , nimble in the twisties, gets excellent gas mileage(50-55mpg), sorta low seat height, and looks pretty good.:)

The only thing is kawi's ex500 is liquid cooled and suzuki's gs500 in air cooled(less maintance)

[new4ever]

fwiw, I totally love my gs500. I haven't tried the EX, so I can't really compare, but I can't really think of anything wrong with my gs500 besides the lack of wind protection (mine is an '02, so it's naked). But that is easily fixed. Oh, the down side of carburetion is that the bike needs some choke to warm up on cold days, but that's not really a big a deal... The biggest difference is the fact that you can get an older GS500 without plastics. This both lowers the cost of a drop/fall, and (in my opinion) looks better as well. From what I've heard of the EX, you can't go wrong either way and, assuming you're not worried about getting a faired bike, should just pick whichever you think looks better.

good luck!