BREAKING: Kawasaki Ninja 500 Launched In India

Days after teasing the 2024 Ninja 500 on its social media, Kawasaki has launched the 500cc sportbike in India at a competitive price. The Ninja 500 will be sold in the country via the CBU (Completely Built Unit) route. It comes with the same 451cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine as the Kawasaki Eliminator.

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

The 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500 has been launched at an introductory price of Rs 5,24,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). It is available in a single Metallic Spark Black colour. Bookings for the Ninja 500 are open across the country, with deliveries starting at the end of February. The Ninja 500 mainly competes with the Aprilia RS 457. 

The Ninja 500 essentially replaces the Ninja 400, the original price of which was also Rs 5.24 lakh. However, Kawasaki is running a Rs 40,000 discount pan-India, bringing the Ninja 400’s price down to Rs 4.84 lakh (both prices ex-showroom Delhi). This offer is valid only until stocks last. The Aprilia RS 457, meanwhile, is Rs 1.14 lakh cheaper (at Rs 4.10 lakh, ex-showroom) while the R3 is Rs 59,000 cheaper at Rs 4.65 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Do note that the Aprilia is a fully made-in-India bike as opposed to the imported Ninja 500.

What’s New?

The 2024 Ninja 500 is powered by a new 451cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine shared with the  Eliminator. It churns out a peak output of 45.4PS at 9000rpm and 42.6Nm at 6000rpm and gets a 6-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch. For perspective, the Aprilia RS 457 produces 46.7PS and 43.5Nm, which is 1.3PS and 0.9Nm more than the Ninja 500.

The Ninja 500 features a fully LCD instrument console with smartphone connectivity. Its top spec SE variant, which has not been launched in India yet, features a TFT display. The bike gets an LED headlight with a projector for the low beam and reflective LED for high beam along with LED taillights. 

Built on a trellis frame, the Ninja 500 gets a telescopic fork with 120mm wheel travel, and a preload-adjustable gas-charged monoshock with 130mm wheel travel. Braking is managed via a 310mm disc at the front and 220mm disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS as standard. It rides on 110-section front and 150-section rear Dunlop Sportmax GPR-300 tyres. The sportbike comes with a relatively accessible 785mm seat height and has a reasonably light kerb weight of 171kg.

The 500cc sportbike comes with a range of accessories including a large (clear/smoke) windshield, USB-C charging port, optional high seat (+30mm), tank bag, tank pad, knee pads, radiator guard, frame sliders, pillion seat cover, wheel rim tape, helmet lock, and U-lock.

Zig Says

The Kawasaki Ninja 500 has been launched at a great introductory price (by Kawasaki standards). However, when compared to the Aprilia RS 457, the 500cc sportbike lacks modern features such as turn-by-turn navigation, riding modes, and traction control. Additionally, the Aprilia RS 457 boasts inverted forks, a feature missing in the Ninja 500 despite being a premium bike. Moreover, living with the Ninja 500 is bound to be relatively more expensive as it is a full import.