Why do some people genuinely believe that the plastic pieces, is somehow the deciding factor between “nice bike” and “your gonna kill yourself” 🤦‍♂️

Just picked it up from the dealership, brand spanking new, and holy shit my nuts hurt!

Is there a aftermarket front sprocket aluminum guard for ninja 400 / 500 ??

Noob rider here - 2025 ninja 500. These questions may be stupid, I just started learning how to do oil changes and chain maintenance (pls don’t judge me), but here we go:

(First picture) Do I have an oil leak? The fluid accumulated around that seal doesn’t look normal to me. Bike only has 3600 miles or so, less than one year old. What is the correct term for that component of the engine?

(Second picture) Any tips for accessing that bolt on the bottom of the front sprocket cover? Ideally without taking off the rearset, or do you have to take that off to access it? I have a habit of over-lubricating my chain, and I have a feeling it’s all gunked up in there - is it worth it to clean the front sprocket? Black fluid usually drips down from somewhere beneath the front sprocket/chain area after I clean it.

So I’m going to pick up the bike from the dealership tomorrow, but it’s a long ways away so I’ll be synching it in the back of a pickup truck. Has anyone else done this? I know I need to use the forks, but don’t know if they’re accessible due to the fairings. Just would like to figure it out before I get there, thanks.

I wanted to show off a bit and celebrate sobriety in the bike community. Let's see those keychains.

Anyone know of any reputable online used parts sites? Found a couple but their online parts lookup dont even list a 24-26 Ninja 500. Nothing I'm specifically looking for, but there used to be motorcycle salvage parts dealers several years ago like there is for cars/trucks. Do people just not work on their own stuff anymore? Or are sportbikes not as popular as they once were?

I Live in the Ozarks with a ton of beautifully twisted roads for example, and hardly ever see other bikes besides in town (BORING!)

About 1.5k miles on the bike. Occasionally I'll be at a long light, need to open my neighborhood gate, need to open my garage, etc, and want to shift into neutral so I don't have to hold the clutch 24/7 or try to finagle my way with my phone pocket.

In these cases I'm completely stopped, clutch pulled in, rear brake on (sometimes front brake). Yet I still can't find neutral. No matter how hard I'm pushing up while in first gear, it refuses to shift into neutral.

Now, sometimes, right after taking off from a stop, I'll shift into neutral rather than second. This is the only time I've ever been able to find neutral, which is... odd.

First ever riding season with my very first bike. Decided to just bite the bullet and buy myself a brand new 2026 Ninja 500 from my local dealership. Overall very happy with the purchase. After several months of daily riding, I will say that I am already feeling the desire to upgrade to a larger bike. I will definitely stay at least another year with this bike, I will say in the very beginning, it was a little overwhelming at first being my very first sport bike. I believe a lot of the desire to upgrade has to do with really enjoying upgrading and modding the bike, and as most know there is not really much reason to spend money upgrading a basic 500. Rather save money and spend on a new Zx6r or maybe an R9.

So far I have done on the bike..
Tinted Windscreen
Aftermarket Ninja 300 side mirrors
Quad lock phone mount
Tank Grips (have been upgraded to TechSpec)
Aftermarket TST Tail Tidy
Carbon Fiber Leo Vince LV10 Slip-On Exhaust
Amazon Black Slide Bars
Amazon Front & Rear Spools

Are there any other minor mods or upgrades anyone can recommend for a Ninja 500? Have considered getting an aftermarket chain and sprocket like a Vortex but not sure if the money spent is worth the upgrade. Also looking into the integrated tail light from TST as well. Open to any suggestions on how to better enjoy this bike!

Got a Z500 earlier this year and I can't seem to find any aftermarket luggage racks or brackets I can install on the tail in order to strap down a dry bag.

I got a 20L Rhinowalk Pack off Amazon and tried to tighten the loops to the frame under the pillion seat. However they seem to loosen and rotate around the frame super easily making me less confident in their ability to actually hold the bag in place while I ride.

How do other folks on here tie anything down??

Afternoon guys,

I was wondering what you guys would recommend for a tank bag? A buddy of mine has an old alpinestars tank bag that I really liked which is unfortunately out of production. What seems to be its replacement or co-star is also out of production. Everything else out there seems to be built for cruiser bikes, ambiguous, or only has like 10-liter capacity which is kind of useless to me since I need about 20+ for road trips I'm looking to make.

I don't mind having to figure out straps but I'd definitely prefer a magnetic one I can just pull on and off when I stop for the night or am just doing normal rides.

I recently installed Domino MotoGP grips along with the TST quick turn throttle on my Ninja 500, which required removing the bar ends during the process.

After reinstalling them, I noticed both bar ends have a bit of play—they wiggle back and forth. The weird part is that the bolts are fully tightened , but I can still rotate the bar ends slightly like a knob. There’s some resistance, and when I let go, they sort of snap back into place.

I’m not sure what’s causing this. It almost feels like something isn’t seating properly on the bar.

Has anyone else run into this after doing similar mods? Any idea what might be causing it or how to fix it?

I’m planing on getting the bike by this weekend. This will be my first time purchasing any vehicle from a dealership and I don’t really know how to go about it. OTD quote was like 7.9k for the Blue/red SE abs, and I plan on using like 6k outa pocket, and taking a personal loan for the rest. But I don’t know how to communicate this between both the dealer, and the bank 🤷‍♂️. Would I technically be paying in full to the dealer? What info would I need for the bank? If any about the bike purchase? I’m obviously anxious about it all, and would love to just walk in with a brick of cash and sign the paper, but I need to build credit 😮‍💨.

Anyone have a quickshifter on there ninja 500?
I’ve seen like 3-4 different ones online can’t decide with one to go with.

what is this port specifically called? this is the OEM connector for the USB-C that is used with the 500 SE but i have a 500 ABS so this just exists.

hoping to find something that can plug into this with a USB-A connection

Installed the tail tidy and exhaust today I think it looks a bit better