ER-5 Are They Really That Bad?

[sparkywilliam...]

Item number: 280489228536

Hi,
This bike is local to me on Ebay and ive a year and half untill my A2 restricted licence expires and i want something better than my YBR125.

Its got low mileage and has the restricter fitted so it would be ideal but when i read the MCN review of it i almost choked on my bacon sarnie.

I'd appreciate any opinions on them.
I would only keep the bike for a couple of years as i eventually want a tourer.

Thanks

[Ingah]

[sparkywilliam...]

NB: I've never owned, ran or ridden an ER5, and am basically summarising everything i've read elsewhere, and therefore it's worth waiting for an owner/ex-owner to come along to give you their view on their example of the bike.

Thank you very much for your comments.
And i know what you mean by flogging rubbish,buyer beware and all that.
Any owners out there atest to them being okish bikes?

[metalangel]

I did my DAS on one and it's a solid but uninspiring machine. Certainly it felt rather smaller and flimsier than the CB500 I bought, but it's worth pointing out both were of similar age and mileage (and my CB was an ex school bike).

I doubt you'll be disappointed but bear in mind it's just a stepping stone to something good and proper once you've got some mileage under your belt.

Saying that, I've got a friend who absolutely loves his but then is a complete maniac so take that as you like.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[Tome]

They've said it all really. I did my 2 year sentence on one lol. That was only really so that I could get out there and ride!
I'd say look for a CB500 over the ER5.
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Kawasaki ER-5 - Honda Hornet 600 S
"A foetal shape is the body's default performance setting - think jockey, downhill skier... Tron."

[sparkywilliam...]

ok i get the drift.
the holy grail that is the CB500 it is then. I expect to pay over the odds.
Thank you all for your advice

[27cows]

Nothing at all wrong with the ER5, IMHO. I had one, liked it, decent commuter and runabout bike, ideal for building up confidence and gaining experience on the road, I would have said.
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[YZFR1IAN]

I preferred the Er5 to the CB500 lol
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05 Yamaha YBR125 > 94 Honda CB500 > 98 Honda Hornet 600 > 02 Yamaha R6 > 2000 Yamaha R1 > 2000 Yamaha XJR1300SP > 2000 Honda CBR929RR Fireblade
MY BIKES Past & Present

[Darth]

Sat my DAS on one - remember how awesome it felt the first time my instructor told me to give it some gas on the dual carriageway!
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[CaPo]

Isnt the ER5 a naked GPZ500? If thats the case id have thought they were pretty good.
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Had: NS125R
Got: GPZ500s, '02 R6

[crowe]

[Pickle]

I did my test on a CB500 and thought she handled like a cow. Horrid machine. My ER5 on the other hand handles very nicely and is very forgiving - good stuff for a new rider.

I also happen to have one for sale... Not restricted, but it's pretty simple to get done i understand.

[cyberglass]

The way i look at is if the schools are using them then they must be decent reliable bikes. Did my test on one big n heavy and lets you feel the road its the perfect commuter and first bike.
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DL650 Vstrom 2004
DRZ400S 2003
Yamaha R1 2005

[chris-red]

Nothing wrong with it, nothing good about it either
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[swampy]

At the risk of spamming, I'm considering selling my CB500 and am in Portsmouth if yer interested
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[steppen22]

Hi mate,

I have a er5 restricted to 33bhp.
(I also had a ybr before

They are basically, no nonsense - no thrills, too - bikes. They are really like big ybrs - same sort of riding style, etc.
Coming from a ybr, the er5 will feel like a rocket. For a little while, any way.
Perfectly powerful to lose your license.

If you see your 2 year bhp as a sentence, then ther er5 is as good as any other bike to serve it. If you want to keep the bike you buy after the 2 years, I'd think about something else.

The er5, like any other bike, is as exciting as you make it. Sure, it doesn't have the wow factor, but it' as fun as you make it.
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no regrets, no retreat, no apology.
I've made mistakes in the past, and I apologise for FUCK ALL.

[hedgehugger]

My er5 sounded like a tractor, and was used as a shopping trolley, but I loved it and was oh so sad to see it go to live by the sea in Ilfracombe!

As a first 'big bike' it is as good as any others out there.

[Philious]

I sold my GS500 it was more or less the same as the ER5 bar the oil cooler rad thing and the forks were pants on the GS bottoming out if you touched a drop kerb, pot hole etc at anything more than walking pace.

Rode an ER5 for my DAS for 6 days continually even sat my CBT on it a month earlier, Great first bikes to be honest, that or the CB500.

They're all pretty much bullet proof engines needing minimal maintenance.
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Previously; Honda XR125 - Yamaha DT125r - Aprilia Rs125 - Suzuki GS500e, Currently; Kawasaki ZX6R + ZX10R
Theory : Passed 28/7/09 Module 1: Passed 21/09/09 Module 2: Passed 23/09/09

[Kal]

I did my DAS on an ER-5, I found the sportsbike like concertering of the legs uncomfortable, and on one occasion had an attack of pins and needles where my nuts had been crushed against the tank.

ER5 isnt actually a bad machine, it is very predictable with good handling all the way up to about the 8k mark. Now I only banged it past this once on my way back from my DAS, but it has some guts to have fun with at the high end of its rev range until the power runs out.

You can ride it like a hooligan if you want to, plod around town or take a cruise two up. They will never be spectacular and you are unlikely to have school boys chasing you, but then you might not want school boys chasing you.

Would I buy one? Probably, but then I also like the CB500 and the GPZ500 as well.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[Gazdaman]

ER-5s are alright, mate of mine owned 2 and I rode both of them several times.

They're good, cheap, easy to ride, everyday bikes. They're not particularly quick, they're not horrible looking, but they're certainly not a sportsbike.

It's certainly a step up from a YBR in every respect.

I like em, I'd have one.

Gaz

[Clanger]

Ugly.
Mate had one, and he found it gutless, struggled to keep up with me on the sv. Wouldn't have one myself. There are far better looking beasties out there to choose from. Why limit yourself?
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Not as good as a CB500, but not as cheap as a GS500.

I'd get a CB500 over one personally.
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[steppen22]

Clanger, every bike is "gutless" if you're losing to a girl. Ever thought that you mate is a shit rider?

Quite frankly, the ER5 is one of the top10, no top 5, bikes on the market today. It ticks all the boxes. Far from being ugly, it's one of the best designed motorcycles that can be bought.

Many people here are blinkered by the current fad for anything fast and loud to appreciate just what a awesome bike it is. Sure, it doesn't do 0-100 in ten seconds. Who cares? Polls consistently show the Er5 rated as one of the three most popular bikes of all time amongst bikers, and the general public, when asked, agree that it's sexy, stylish and inviting.
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no regrets, no retreat, no apology.
I've made mistakes in the past, and I apologise for FUCK ALL.

[Steve-D]

What.
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[stephennorman...]

rode one today on step up fromm 125 was a whole new world smother easier to ride more predictable i liked although the tank and my nuts were a tight squeeze lol but then again the 125 i had been on was a suzuki van van dont like them one bit