KAWASAKI Z500 & NINJA 500 LAUNCH
I get so used to riding big bikes that it's often all too easy to overlook the smallercapacity motorcycles – and just like myself, good things come in small packages. With the European midrange markets looking as healthy as ever, this is exactly where Kawasaki needs to be with exciting new machinery, so without further ado, allow me to introduce the new Kawasaki Z500 and Ninja 500.
I don't spend much time in the saddle of twins anymore, but it's not that many years ago since I started out on my very own Tarmac journey with twin-cylinder motorcycles and can vividly remember how fun and fast they felt. It was a 650 twin I started out on, I admit, so it would have packed a bit more punch than this little 500, but even still, the characteristics remain similar, and riding Kawasaki's new Z and Ninja prompted a lovely trip down memory lane.
For the eagle-eyed Kawasaki fans out there, you'd be right in saying this new 500 is basically identical to the outgoing 2023 Z and Ninja 400s, which have been around for a while; it's still a twin-cylinder A2 machine, but with a slighter bigger ‘500’ engine – namely, a longer stroke with the same size bore, whichcompetition from other manufacturers, and even though it falls slightly short on cc and horsepower compared to the Honda CB500, for example, it wins by 10% when it comes to power-to-weight ratio, which is a huge advantage. In racing, this advantage will probably go out the window when all bikes are stripped of their roadgoing clobber, but it's still a bloody good stat for the Kawasaki rider.
