The Perfect Budget Motorcycle For A First-Time Shopper

Your first motorcycle is a landmark event. It will set you on a path to freedom, exhilaration, and sometimes, financial ruin. But the market has so many choices these days that as a beginner, choosing the right motorcycle can be overwhelming. Cruiser or naked? Sport bike or adventure bike? Let’s eliminate things logically.

Adventure bikes are out because they are usually tall and heavy. Sport bikes not only have an abysmal steering lock, but they also force you into an uncompromising riding position that can be a deterrent to learning, long rides, and exploring off the beaten path. Of course, dropping a sports bike can be a costly affair, with fairings taking the brunt of falls. Cruisers make a good case for themselves with their short seat height and stability, but switching to other formats becomes a learning curve.

This leaves us with the naked motorcycle, with its relatively upright riding position, seat height that is second lowest (cruisers being the first), handlebars that are wide, requiring less effort, and steering lock with ample leverage. There is a lot of choice among such small displacement motorcycles, but we think we’ve found one that is better than the rest if you’re on a budget and are a first-time motorcycle buyer.

The Kawasaki Z500 Is The Perfect Budget Motorcycle For A First-Time Buyer

Price: $5,599

The Z500 is the entry to the Kawasaki lineup of full-size motorcycles. The only cheaper Kawasakis are the Ninja 500 (because it is available without ABS) and the Z125 Pro monkey bike. The W230 is priced the same as the Z500, but while it will be easier initially, it won’t help the learner develop as much as the Z500 will. The Z500 is a tried-and-tested platform that can trace its history to the Ninja 250, which remained unchanged for decades. However, it was launched in 500 cc form just last year, which means it offers the best of both worlds – modern refinement with old-school reliability.

The parallel twin engine should make it easy for beginners to learn to get away from rest, with its 180-degree firing order. Power is adequate at 51 horsepower, even a tad too much if you’re a certified noob. A six-speed transmission with an assist and slipper clutch is available but a quickshifter is not. The Z500 is available only with ABS, which is a step in the right direction by Kawasaki. It weighs under 340 pounds to boost its accessibility further. If we have one grouse with the Z500, it is that it is available only in a single color: a black/grey with green accents.

Kawasaki Z500 Engine Specs

Here’s What Makes The Z500 So Good For A Beginner

Not Just History But No Shortage Of Useful Features

Usually, manufacturers will treat entry-level models like step children. But this is not the case with the Z500. It might get ‘just’ an LCD display, but it is one of the clearest, well-thought out displays across motorcycles in the price range. It is a reverse LCD unit, and Kawasaki has smartly given it touches of color – there is red, green, orange, and blue as well, thanks to the warning lamps, so it doesn’t feel monochromatic.

If you want a TFT color display, you actually can have one, with the Z500 SE. This adds a bunch of things to the base Z500. There’s the color display, of course, and smartphone connectivity, LED turn signals, a radiator cover, belly pan, pillion seat cover, tank pads, knee pads, frame sliders, a USB charging port, and it is available with a color scheme that features red with gray and black, and different graphics. Again, there is only the one color scheme available for the Z500 SE ABS. You have to pay a premium of $700 for the Z500 SE, for a list price of $6,299. Under the skin, a trellis frame helps reduce weight. Conventional front forks do their job well and will be far cheaper to replace than inverted units. At the rear, a preload-adjustable monoshock does duty. Speaking of adjustability, the Z500 gets Kawasaki’s ‘Ergo-Fit’ tech, which allows the rider to change the handlebar and footpeg position to suit the rider’s height. The right rider triangle will offer a massive boost to rider confidence, and is well worth the investment.

Kawasaki Z500 SE Key Features

• TFT color display
• USB-C charging port
• Belly pan
• Tank pads
• Knee pads
• Radiator guard
• Frame sliders
• Pillion seat cover
• Exclusive red color scheme

Kawsaki Z500 Hardware Specs And Weight

An Attractive Sugomi Design Makes Matters Sweeter

It Is Fancy Enough To Grab Eyeballs

Kawasaki’s ‘Sugomi’ design language is usually polarizing, but it has wisely toned it down for the Z500. Entry-level bikes have to be universally appealing, and the Z500 toes that line beautifully. We still have the complaint that it isn’t available in more colors (and not having a Kawasaki available in green anymore). But Kawasaki has done a commendable job with the Z500. It has the right proportions – a large tank, brooding headlamp, a high subframe that looks like it is floating, and the conventional front suspension and large muffler that don’t attract too much attention. Had the TFT been standard things would’ve been even sweeter. Can’t have it all, though.

Notable Kawasaki Z500 Design Features

• Trellis frame
• Rear shock mounting and placement
• Three-pod headlamp is unique
• Ergo-Fit is unique to segment
• LCD display is extremely well designed

Kawasaki Z500 Dimensions

Other Motorcycles Good For Beginners On A Budget

Competition Is Fierce In The Segment

The Z500 exists in a crowded space. Let’s run through a couple that we’ve eliminated before we get to the good stuff: the Benelli 302S isn’t worth the money, there is a better, cheaper version of it that wears a different brand, and we’ve included that in our comparison instead. At the other end of the scale are the KTM 250 Duke and 390 Duke, but these are beginner performance machines with aggressive power for their size.

It might seem like a joke to an experienced rider, but to a beginner, it won’t be as friendly as a calmer twin-cylinder machine. The KTMs also have a ton more features and electronics, which means maintenance won’t be as low as the Z500. The Honda CB500F is also a great option but is priced too high (nearly $7,000) for a beginner to take seriously. It does have similar specs to the Z500, with some better points like the separate function inverted forks and dual front brake discs. That leaves us with our list of key Z500 rivals. The Yamaha MT-03 is a fun little bike but needs more power to truly be entertaining to a beginner beyond the initial learning phase. The QJ Motor SRK400 looks great but performance is blunted due to its high curb weight. Some might appreciate the traditional inline four-style exhaust note, though. Finally, the CFMoto 450NK offers a lot more than the Z500 for less, but will be difficult to match the maintenance and repair costs of the Kawasaki simply because of the kind of components it uses.

Kawasaki Z500 Vs Rivals